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State v. Miller
Held that the Iowa Constitution’s cruel and unusual punishment clause does not prohibit sentencing juvenile offenders to a minimum prison term before they are eligible for parole and rejected the defendant’s argument that the same clause bars such a sentence unless there is expert testimony concerning defendants’ “youthful characteristics"
Executive Orders and Threatened Cuts Challenge Public Education and the Courts
Education rights expert Joshua Weishart discusses the effects of Trump’s education policy changes and how states are pushing back.
Clerking on a State Supreme Court
Judges from high courts across the country share insights for law students and recent graduates.
State ex rel. Spung v. Evnen
Ordered election officials to implement immediately a 2024 law that reinstated voting rights to those convicted of a felony upon completion of their sentence, meaning affected people can now register to vote for November’s election. The secretary of state, based on an advisory opinion from the state attorney general calling the law unconstitutional, had directed election officials to stop registering people with a felony conviction who had not received a pardon.
Adam Brown
Adam R. Brown is an associate professor of political science at Brigham Young University.
The Utah Constitution Is ‘Distinctively Undistinctive’
The original charter sought to limit the influence of the state’s distinct religious history.
State Constitutional Resources We Love
For those who want to know more about state constitutions, a compilation of tools including case databases, interactive maps, and more.
League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature (LWV 2)
Voided Amendment D, a legislatively referred proposed state constitutional amendment that would have allowed lawmakers to repeal citizen-initiated and approved ballot measures. The amendment would have overturned a prior Utah high court ruling. The state supreme court found that legislature failed to follow the proper procedure for placing an amendment on the ballot.
Walker v. Chasteen
Held that the refund claim of unconstitutionally added-on filing fees for mortgage foreclosure complaints was a retrospective monetary award to redress a past wrong, which fell under the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, not the circuit court
Planned Parenthood of Montana v. State (Planned Parenthood 3)
Upheld preliminary injunction against 2023 laws and an agency rule that limit Medicaid coverage for abortion, finding that they likely violate the right to a pre-viability abortion the Montana Supreme Court has recognized as protected by the state constitution's right to privacy, as well as the state's equal protection clause.
