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City of Wenatchee v. Stearns
Washington Supreme Court upheld the legality, under the state's private affairs clause and the Fourth Amendment, of a police stop that was based on information received in a 911 call. A stop based on a 911 tip is lawful when circumstances indicate the tip is reliable and it contains a factual basis to give the officer reasonable suspicion of a crime, even if how the caller gathered the facts conveyed in the tip is not established.
Commonwealth v. Shivers
Pennsylvania Supreme Court will consider whether a person fleeing from officers in a high-crime area, standing alone, can create reasonable suspicion to make a police stop lawful under the state constitution's search and seizure clause.
Stein v. Berger
Refused to halt an appeals court decision allowing a law to go into effect that shifted power to appoint members to the state elections board from the governor to the state auditor. The governor had requested a stay of the appeals court decision. A trial court found that the law was unconstitutional, and litigation on those issues is ongoing.
Doe v. Uthmeier
A 17-year-old petitioned for a judicial waiver so that she may consent to an abortion without parental notification and consent. A Florida intermediate appellate court held that the judicial waiver law, which allows parental consent to be bypassed upon certain trial court findings, violates parents' due process rights. Anticipating Florida Supreme Court review, the intermediate court certified the question of the law's constitutionality to the state high court.
We Need More Public Defenders on the Bench
A series of decisions from the Colorado Supreme Court suggests that justices who used to be prosecutors are more likely to issue law-enforcement friendly decisions.
Can the Right to Bear Arms Be Waived?
A solution to the constitutional uncertainty around many state-issued protection orders may come from an overlooked detail in a recent Second Amendment decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Care and Prevention of Eve
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that department of children and families violated the state constitution's free exercise of religion protection when it vaccinated a child temporarily in its custody over the religious objections of her parents. Parents who have temporarily lost custody of their children retain a residual right to direct their religious upbringing, and the state must demonstrate that allowing the child to remain unvaccinated would substantially hinder the department’s compelling interest in the vaccination.
Hilo Bay Marina v. State of Hawaii
Hawaii Supreme Court held the state constitution’s provision against state establishment of religion prevents the state from enforcing a deed restriction requiring property to be used “for Church purposes only.”
State v. Davieontray Breax
Louisiana Supreme Court held that the state constitution bars prosecutors from joining capital charges with other felony charges in one indictment.
Howell v. Cooper; North Carolina Bar and Tavern Association v. Stein
The North Carolina Supreme Court held, in two cases heard together, that bar owners pleaded colorable claims that executive orders shutting down or restricting operation of their businesses violated their right to earn a living.
