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The Puerto Rico Constitution: A Unique Territorial Framework
Though the island’s territorial constitution offers unique provisions and a focus on human rights, Congress still exerts plenary powers over Puerto Rico.
Sync Title Agency, LLC v. Arizona Corporation Commission
Arizona Court of Appeals held that juryless administrative hearings for civil securities charges do not violate the state constitution's jury trial right. The court relied on the same holding reached by a separate panel of the appeals court in EFG America v. Arizona Corporation Commission. The company plaintiff in EFG has petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court for review of this issue.
Rand v. New Hampshire
New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed trial court and held that statewide property tax scheme designed to pay for schools that allows a locality to retain any tax revenue in excess of what the district needs to fund an adequate education does not not violate a state constitutional clause empowering the legislature to levy "proportional" taxes on all New Hampshire residents. Also held that the state tax agency’s practice of setting negative local tax rates in unincorporated places with minimal or no education costs to offset nearly or completely the statewide rate does violate that clause.
Elliott v. City of College Station
Texas Supreme Court declined, based on constitutional avoidance and separation of powers principles, to resolve claim by residents of an extraterritorial jurisdiction that a clause preserving a “republican form of government” protects them from being subject to city regulations when they cannot vote in city elections. While the appeal was pending, the legislature changed the law to provide a process for opting out of the jurisdiction, of which the plaintiffs did not avail themselves.
Ava Kaufman
Ava Kaufman is the special assistant to the director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice.
Extreme Heat Exacerbates Dire Prison Conditions, With Few Paths to Relief
People behind bars are particularly vulnerable to harm during heat waves and climate-related disasters. Advocates should consider state constitutional solutions.
The History of Same-Sex Marriage in the United States, and What Might Come Next
Until the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, the country was a patchwork of laws regarding who could marry.
Jordan Thompson Long
Jordan Thompson Long is senior associate director of the Human Rights Program at the Carter Center. Previously, he was at senior counsel for the Center for Human Rights at the American Bar...
Reflections on the Supreme Court’s Decision Upholding a Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
We spoke with a transgender rights advocate about U.S. v. Skrmetti’s impact on trans people and what’s next in the struggle for equal rights.
Atlantic Games, Inc. v. Georgia Lottery Corporation
Concurral to denial of certiorari by Justice Peteerson questioned whether the court should reconsider existing caselaw on the nondelegation doctrine in a different case because, in their view, it does not comport with original public meaning
