Search
Filter Search
Resistance to Public Policies Assisting the Poor
Property owners have challenged programs meant to assist vulnerable populations, alleging they are unconstitutional takings of private property for public use.
Center for Arizona Policy v. Arizona Secretary of State
Arizona Supreme Court will consider allegations that a campaign-disclosure law violates state constitutional rights to free speech and not to be disturbed in "private affairs," as well as separation of powers. Lower courts dismissed the claims.
Montana Environmental Information Center v. Office of the Governor
Montana Supreme Court held that a party who succeeds on a state constitutional “right to know” claim in a public records dispute is entitled to a presumption that they should be awarded attorneys’ fees. Two dissents opined that the holding was motivated by partisan bias.
Baxter v. Philadelphia Board of Elections
Pennsylvania Supreme Court will consider whether it violates the state constitution's "free and equal" elections clause not to count a mail ballot because the voter failed to comply with a state law requiring the date to be handwritten on the ballot's outer envelope.
Schwartz v. Washington County
Will consider whether statutes that establish state tobacco retail licenses and that authorize licensees to sell tobacco products and vaping devices preempt a county ordinance that prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products and vapes. An intermediate court found the statutes did not preempt the county ordinance.
Commonwealth v. Shivers
Pennsylvania Supreme Court will consider whether a person fleeing from officers in a high-crime area, standing alone, can create reasonable suspicion to make a police stop lawful under the state constitution's search and seizure clause.
Paxton v. Annunciation House
Texas Supreme Court held that a clause empowering the state attorney general to seek judicial forfeiture of corporate charters permits him to bring a quo warranto action to shut down a Catholic charity based on allegations it violated a state law against harboring undocumented immigrants. The state's religious freedom restoration act does not bar the claim from being filed, and the law is neither unconstitutionally vague nor precluded by federal immigration law. Remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings on the merits.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in November
Issues on the dockets include indigent defense crises in multiple states, what’s been called a “de facto repeal” of citizens’ initiative power, and a voter-approved ban on large-capacity magazines.
Stephens v. State
Georgia Supreme Court upheld, under the state’s right to bear arms clause, a law banning individuals younger than 21 from carrying handguns in public, unless they have military training. Declined to import federal Second Amendment standards into Georgia’s clause, noting it distinctly and expressly grants the legislature power to regulate the manner in which firearms may be carried.
The Maryland Constitution: One of the Nation’s Oldest, Was a Model for Other States
The state’s current constitution was adopted during the Reconstruction Era as a reactionary effort to re-establish pre-Civil War government.
