Search
Filter Search
Substantive Rights That Limit Prison Terms
Transcript of panel from Symposium: State Constitutions and the Limits of Criminal Punishments
Professor Robert F. Williams Keynote and Introduction: The Perpetual Guardians of the Penitentiary Houses
Transcript of panel from Symposium: State Constitutions and the Limits of Criminal Punishments
Ohio Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Trans Rights Case
Transgender children and their parents are challenging the state’s ban on gender-affirming care.
Pennsylvania “Cruel Punishments” Decision Nods Toward International Human Rights Law
In striking down mandatory life-without-parole sentences for felony murder, the Pennsylvania justices differed on the appropriateness of looking to international law.
Menzies v. Department of Corrections
Utah Supreme Court will consider challenge to the state's lethal injection and firing squad protocols as violating prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment and treating incarcerated people with unnecessary rigor
Department of Development Services for the City of North Canton v. CF Homes
Ohio Supreme Court will consider whether the state's prohibition against unreasonable searches requires officials seeking to inspect homes for regulatory reasons, not for criminal violations, to make a greater showing than what federal law requires
Sagoonick v. State of Alaska II
Alaska Supreme Court will consider whether law requiring the state to develop a natural gas project violates youth plaintiffs' rights to equal access and sustained yield of public trust resources and to a climate system that sustains human life
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in April
Issues on the dockets include ranked-choice voting, de facto life sentences, so-called “shadow” foster care, and defamation against a drag performer.
Joanna C. Schwartz
Joanna C. Schwartz is the Honorable Harry Pregerson Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law.
The Tenacious Power of Constitutional Torts
Despite hurdles, civil rights litigation is a critical tool for people who have been harmed by the government and for those seeking long-lasting change.
