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Manny Marotta
Manny Marotta is a legal and political journalist who has contributed articles to JURIST, The Hill, Business Insider, and other outlets. He is currently a law clerk with Fix the Court, where he...
State Supreme Court Justices and Ethics Investigations
Challenges faced by state judicial ethics bodies show the need for reform.
City of Fargo v. State
Held that a 2023 statute barring localities from enacting ordinances related to the purchase, sale, or possession of firearms and ammunitions that are more restrictive than state law preempted the city of Fargo’s limits on such sales and did not violate state constitutional “home rule” clauses as applied to Fargo’s restrictions.
State v. Waldner
Held that privacy right in the state's victims'-rights amendment (known, along with versions in other states, as "Marsy's Law") is not self-executing, but a statute providing for appeal of certain orders affecting "substantial rights" may be used by crime victims to appeal denials of motions to quash discovery to enforce that privacy right. Also held that the right to privacy in the amendment is not an absolute protection from discovery requests and must be balanced against defendants' due process rights. For a discovery request to be upheld, a defendant must establish the relevance, admissibility, and specificity of the information sought.
Hawaii’s Lawsuit Against Oil Companies Alleges “Harm to Public Trust Resources”
States are suing companies that cause harm to the environment, relying on mandates requiring protection of public resources.
McKay v. State
Reversed trial court ruling that a 2023 law that gives the attorney general control over the state’s defense of the imposition of the death penalty on collateral review violates the state constitutional provision governing the duties of district attorneys
Steven D. Schwinn
Steven D. Schwinn is a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
How the Constitution Constrains Presidential Overreach Against the States
Existing “anti-commandeering” doctrine is one avenue to challenge abuses of presidential power, but stronger arguments are rooted in the Constitution’s separation of powers.
Ellutzi v. Regents of the University of California
Two students and a professor allege university violated their state and federal constitutional rights to due process, speech, and assembly by summarily banning them from campus after they failed to disperse when the university deployed law enforcement to dismantle a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment." The trial court denied plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction, citing "disputed evidence."
Richard Michael Fay v. David Pedro
Oregon trial court found the corrections department had unconstitutionally inflicted cruel and unusual punishment and unnecessary rigor by failing to provide adequate medical treatment and diagnosis to an inmate for serious injuries sustained in prison, and ordered specific medical care to be provided.
