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Katherine Steefel
Katherine Steefel is an Assistant Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law.
The Extra Hurdle in State Courts to Prove a Statute Violates the U.S. Constitution
Many states require a litigant challenging a statute as violating the U.S. Constitution to prove the statute is unconstitutional “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Harrison Stark
Harrison Stark is Senior Counsel, Director of Special Projects at the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Resuscitating State Damages Remedies Against Federal Officials
There are forceful legal arguments that individuals can use state civil rights statutes to sue federal employees who violate the U.S. Constitution.
Glen Oaks Village Owners v. City of New York
New York Court of Appeals upheld New York City law establishing greenhouse gas emission limits for large city buildings, concluding state climate law that sets emissions targets statewide does not preempt the field of regulating emissions.
Case Trends: State Courts Are Battlegrounds for Transgender and Reproductive Rights
State courts are leaning on their unique state constitutional provisions, departing from federal precedent, and deciding who can challenge restrictive laws.
North Carolina NAACP v. Moore
North Carolina Supreme Court ruled principles of popular sovereignty and democratic self-rule impose limits on authority of legislators elected from unconstitutionally racially gerrymandered districts to initiate process of amending constitution
A Win for Georgia's Gullah Geechee
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that an island community descended from enslaved people could move forward with a referendum to overturn zoning changes that they argue will price them out of their homes.
State ex rel. Hilgers v. Evnen
Nebraska Supreme Court held that provisions of a criminal justice reform law expanding parole eligibility, including retroactively to already-sentenced offenders, do not have the effect of substituting milder punishments for the ones already imposed, so do not infringe on the Board of Pardons’ exclusive commutation power under the state constitution.
State Department of Education & Early Development v. Alexander
Held that statutes permitting local school districts to operate correspondence study programs as alternative to traditional schooling and authorizing allotments of public funds to purchase nonsectarian educational services and materials did not facially violate state constitutional prohibition on using public funds for the direct benefit of religious or private educational institutions
