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The History of Dueling and State Constitutions
State constitutions helped end dueling — a deadly way men proved their “honor” — in a way state laws could not.
Edwards v. Montana
Montana trial court held that a law — which defines “female,” “male,” and “sex” wherever used in the state code as two binary categories — facially violates the state constitutional right to privacy by interfering with individuals' "ability to make personal and intimate decisions concerning their bodies and psyches." The court also found as-applied state equal protection violations based on sex and cultural discrimination.
North Carolina’s Constitution of Contrasts
The state’s 55-year-old constitution offers progressive protections like a right to education while retaining elements of state-sponsored efforts to prevent Black progress in the post-Reconstruction era.
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.
Bailey v. McKintosh County, Webster v. McIntosh County, McIntosh County v. Webster
Will consider whether to uphold a lower court order stopping a special election, after early voting had already begun, on a local referendum to repeal zoning changes that would increase permissible house sizes in a historic community of slave descendants. The lower court ruled that a state constitutional provision allowing citizens to petition to repeal or amend county ordinances by referendum does not extend to zoning ordinances.
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.
State v. Gonzalez
Held that defendant's mental health could not be considered in determining whether sentence was unconstitutionally disproportionate
Knight v. Fontes
Will consider whether the retention election process for intermediate appellate judges violates the state constitution's "free and equal" election and equal protection provisions. Voters represented by Goldwater Institute allege that the retention elections -- in which voters currently vote only for the appellate judges who reside in their designated geographic area -- should be statewide, as appellate decisions may have statewide impact, and cases are assigned not based on a judge's residency and regularly transferred.
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
