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State v. Rudy Nino Parras
Will consider whether state "felon in possession" law, as applied to defendants with prior drug felonies, violates the Oregon Constitution’s “right to bear arms” clause or the Second Amendment.
Connor v. Oklahoma
Reversed a district court’s denial of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission’s motion to dismiss a discrimination claim brought by the former general counsel of the commission. The commission claimed she failed to comply with the notice provisions of the Governmental Tort Claims Act, but the lower court had found conflicts between that act and state anti-discrimination statutes meant the notice requirements did not apply. The Oklahoma high court, reaffirming that the liability limitations in the act apply to both constitutional torts and statutes, said no irreconcilable conflicts exist.
Defining Legal Parenthood for Same-Sex Families
Now-unconstitutional bans on same-sex marriage can undermine efforts to establish parental rights even today.
Taking Offense v. State of California
The California Supreme Court will consider whether a law that makes it a misdemeanor for staff at long-term care facilities to “willfully and repeatedly” fail to use a resident’s preferred name or pronouns violates federal and state free speech protections.
People v. Poole
Michigan Supreme Court held that its 2022 decision in People v. Parks — that mandatorily sentencing to life-without-parole defendants who were 18 at the time of their charged crimes violates the state's "cruel or unusual" punishment clause — applies retroactively. Thus, defendants in cases where the period for direct review had expired when Parks was decided are entitled to resentencing.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in May
Issues on the dockets include limits on a reform-minded prosecutor, automatic life sentences for late adolescents, and a ban on misgendering LGBTQ+ senior citizens.
State v. Gonzalez
Held that defendant's mental health could not be considered in determining whether sentence was unconstitutionally disproportionate
White v. City of Mableton
Held that legislation that created and incorporated a city and created community improvement districts within it did not violate the Illinois Constitution's single subject rule
Wasserman v. Franklin County
Held that federal third-party standing was not compatible with Georgia's well-settled constitutional standing rule requiring a plaintiff to assert her own rights to maintain an action; therefore, a plaintiff cannot establish constitutional standing in Georgia courts asserting only the rights of third parties not before the court
