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Sarah L. Swan
Sarah L. Swan is a professor of law and Dean’s Civil Governance Scholar at Rutgers Law School.
How Will Federal Funding Cuts Impact State Budgets?
Fiscal provisions found in every state constitution constrain states’ ability to work around budget shortfalls.
Cities Battle State Legislatures for the Right to Regulate Vapes
City efforts to prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco are an important part of the push to curb tobacco usage in children.
Sean Beienburg
Sean Beienburg is an associate professor in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, where he has...
The Arizona Constitution: Deeply Skeptical of Power
Arizona’s governing document is easy to amend. While Arizonans have approved changes on issues like abortion and immigration, they use the right relatively sparingly.
People v. Kardasz; People v. Martin
Will consider, in two cases argued together, whether mandatory lifetime sex offender registration and electronic monitoring violate the state's “cruel or unusual" punishment clause or the federal 8th Amendment, and whether lifetime electronic monitoring constitutes an unreasonable search under the state or federal constitution. With respect to the sex offender registry law, at issue is whether the court should extend its July 2024 holding in People v. Lymon that application of the registry requirement to non-sexual offenses is “cruel or unusual” punishment, to those convicted of sexual offenses as well.
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.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in September
Issues on the dockets include charter schools, minimum wage for live-in caregivers, online arbitration agreements, and a controversial handwritten date requirement for mail ballots.
The Power of State Constitutional Rights
Judges, practitioners, and scholars explore critical issues facing state courts and constitutions.
State v. City of San Antonio
Court of Appeals blocked a city from distributing payments under a $100,000 fund created to cover reproductive healthcare costs, which may include out-of-state travel for abortion care, while a full appeal is pending. Preliminarily held the fund violates the state constitution's gift clause because sending residents to undergo procedures out of state that Texas prohibits within the state does not count as a public purpose. Although the city had not yet disbursed any money and argued it still had the option to choose not to pay for out-of-state abortion travel, the panel found it sufficiently likely such payment would occur for the dispute to be ripe.
