Search
Filter Search
Arizona Supreme Court Grapples with Challenge to “Dark Money” Disclosure Law
Voters overwhelmingly approved the law in 2022 to shed light on anonymous campaign spending from large donors.
Ohio v. Isaiah Morris
Court will review court of appeals's decision finding that the state constitutional right to counsel is more protective than the 6th Amendment and requires a defendant, who has been formally charged and secured an attorney, to consult with counsel before any waiver of his right to have an attorney present during a police interrogation can be valid.
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"
State v. Thompson
Ruled that state constitutional and statutory provisions required a concurrence of only ten jurors for acquittal for offenses committed before January 1, 2019
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.
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.
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.
Planned Parenthood of Montana v. State (Planned Parenthood 4)
Upheld preliminary injunction against 2023 laws that prohibit dilation and evacuation abortions—the only outpatient procedure available in the second trimester in Montana—and require an ultrasound pre-abortion, effectively preventing telehealth mediation abortions. A majority of the court found that these laws 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.
Sarah J. Morath
Sarah J. Morath is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for International Affairs at Wake Forest University School of Law.
