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The Story of the First State Constitution
New Hampshire’s 1776 constitution and the story behind it set the stage for subsequent state constitutions over the next 250 years.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in January
Issues on the dockets include legislative responses to Missouri’s voter-approved reproductive rights amendment, Utah’s execution methods, and Idaho’s school-choice program.
2025’s Most Significant State Constitutional Cases
Leading legal thinkers weighed in on the state constitutional rulings our readers should know about from this past year.
A Conversation with North Carolina Justice Allison Riggs
Riggs discusses the drawbacks of partisan judicial elections, the decisions that have meant the most to her, and why she smiles at everyone who argues in her court.
Why We Should Care About Diversity on the Bench
New data shows women and people of color are underrepresented on state high courts.
Supreme Court and Election Law Still Feel the Fallout 25 Years After Bush v. Gore
The 5–4 decision started a long slide in public approval for the court, accentuated by a widening partisan gap.
Bush v. Gore Introduced a Fringe Theory that Threatened Elections Decades Later
The “independent state legislature theory,” shut down in 2023 by the U.S. Supreme Court, would have robbed state courts of the power to review state laws related to federal elections.
How Originalism Revived an Abortion Ban a Majority of the North Dakota Supreme Court Held Unconstitutional
Although three of the five justices on the court concluded the ban violated state due process rights, a state rule requiring a supermajority to strike down a law means the dissenting opinion controls.
Judging Democracy: A Former Justice Reflects on Bush v. Gore 25 Years Later
The legal battles over the 2000 presidential election were the beginning of a cautionary tale reminding us that democracy does not sustain itself.
"Liberty" is a Big Word, and That’s OK
A recent abortion rights decision in North Dakota demonstrates that the distinction between “fundamental” and “non-fundamental” rights doesn’t always make sense in state constitutional jurisprudence.
