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Giving Meaning to Georgia’s ‘Social Status’ Clause
A recent case considered a unique and underappreciated state constitutional provision.
Reforms Making It Easier to Sue Child Abusers Are Running into Due Process Concerns
The Colorado Supreme Court is the latest to consider whether retroactive extensions of statutes of limitations on child sexual abuse claims violate the state constitution.
Judicial Selection and Administration
How judges are selected and how the judiciary operates can impact the role and effectiveness of state courts. Processes for judicial selection may vary depending on both the level of court (trial...
Judicial Interpretation
In considering state constitutional questions, judges may apply an array of methodologies, including originalism and other uses of history, textualism, purposivism, comparativism (including...
Civil Due Process
State constitutions generally protect both procedural and substantive due process rights. Many state constitutions also include rights to access the courts. State courts review a...
Torts and Liability
State courts routinely hear tort claims, including product liability, medical malpractice, and personal injury. Many states have passed tort reform legislation that cap damages, alter statutes of...
Education
Every state constitution includes language mandating the establishment of a public education system. At least 15 state constitutions and multiple state statutes hold that public education is...
Economic and Labor Rights
State constitutions include provisions protecting economic liberty, or the right to engage in work without undue interference; property rights, including protections against takings; and...
Criminal Law
Criminal justice is administered primarily at the state and county level. The vast majority of incarcerated people in the United States are in county and state custody....
Environment
Beginning in the 1970s, several states added environmental rights amendments, also known as “Green Amendments,” to their constitutions. The wording of the amendments can be as broad as...
