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Massachusetts Rejects Harmful Federal Standard for Evaluating Whether Punishment Is Unconstitutional
The state supreme court’s decision outlawing life without parole for people aged 18 to 20 is notable for both its outcome and the test it used to get there.
Massachusetts Reminds Youth Defense Attorneys to Consider State Constitutions
By holding that life without parole sentences are unconstitutional for anyone under 21, the Massachusetts high court goes far above the federal floor.
Where Abortion Litigation in Georgia Stands
Last year the Georgia Supreme Court rejected one challenge to a six-week abortion ban, but additional state constitutional challenges continue to wind through the lower courts.
A Conversation About Abortion Rights and the Future of State Constitutions
A retired state supreme court justice, a reproductive rights scholar, and the director of the Brennan Center’s Judiciary Program discuss the role of state courts after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that there is no federal constitutional right to abortion.
Why Have States Diverged on Trump’s Ballot Eligibility?
As the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether Trump should be disqualified from the 2024 ballot, it’s worth exploring how state law has impacted outcomes in different states.
The Writ of Mandamus in State Courts
The centuries-old remedy is increasingly used to force hotly contested political issues before state courts.
Knife Laws on the Chopping Block
Massachusetts’s highest court confronts the nuances of federalism in a Second Amendment challenge to the state’s switchblade ban.
Scholarship Roundup: That’s a Wrap on 2023
New publications on state public law focus on topics ranging from constitutional conventions to criminal sentencing.
State Supreme Courts Reach Opposite Conclusions in Trump Ballot Disqualification Cases
Colorado’s high court kicked Trump off the primary ballot, while Minnesota’s declined to.
Virginia Supreme Court Announces Expansive Interpretation of Religious Liberties Protection
The justices rejected the federal First Amendment standard but differed about what the standard should be and how to discern the original meaning of the state constitutional provision.