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Ainslee Johnson-Brown
Ainslee Johnson-Brown is a constitutional law scholar and advocate specializing in judicial interpretation and the evolving role of state courts in protecting democracy.
Ex parte Jackson Hospital & Clinic
Ruled that the Governor's emergency proclamation limiting healthcare providers' liability for negligence as to COVID-19 was neither unconstitutional under the separation-of-powers clause nor the provision that only the Legislature could suspend laws, nor did it violate the constitutional prohibition on curtailing a right to a remedy
Gatehouse Media Ohio Holdings v. City of Columbus Police Department
Court will decide whether Ohio's Marsy's Law requires the identity of police officers involved in use of force incidents to be shielded and, if so, whether that requirement violates a state constitutional right of the public and press to inspect public records.
North Carolina Could Be on the Verge of a Constitutional Crisis
If the courts hand a victory to the state’s losing supreme court candidate, citizens across the political spectrum could perceive the court as unfair — and the justices risk losing their legitimacy.
Kansas v. Harper
Trial court upheld requirement that driver’s licenses be issued only with driver’s sex as assigned at birth because it applied equally to every single person applying for a driver’s license, rejecting equal protection claim that the rule discriminates against transgender people
Virginia Courts Are Revisiting How to Interpret the State Constitution
A recent case announcing greater state protection of religious liberties than under federal law marked a turning point in Virginia jurisprudence.
In re Tom Malinowski
Appellants claim that state's ban on fusion voting violates rights to vote, to free speech and political association, to equal protection, and to assemble
Layla H v. Virginia
Plaintiffs claim that state’s practice of approving permits for fossil-fuel infrastructure violates substantive due process and public trust rights to natural resources, protected by the state constitution. They claim such practice infringes these rights by contributing to greenhouse-gas pollution and climate change. A trial court dismissed plaintiffs’ complaint, and the intermediate appellate court affirmed on the basis that the plaintiffs lack standing. Finding that there was no reversible error, the Virginia Supreme Court declined to grant review of the appellate court decision.
Cincinnati Enquirer v. Bloom
Found the blanket sealing of a juvenile’s delinquency records when the juvenile is found not delinquent — the juvenile equivalent of not guilty — unconstitutional because there was no determination that the harm to the juvenile outweighed the public’s right to access court records
