Massachusetts
Massachusetts’ highest court is called the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The court has six justices and one chief justice. The chief justice is chosen according to the same procedures as the associate justices. (Source: Supreme Judicial Court Justices)
Judicial Selection
The governor nominates candidates to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The governor receives a list of candidates from a judicial nominating commission but is not required to select a candidate from the list. The nominee must be confirmed by a majority vote of the governor’s council, consisting of elected district representatives and the lieutenant governor. An appointed justice serves a single term until mandatory retirement at age 70. To fill an interim vacancy, the governor receives a list of candidates from the judicial nominating commission but is not required to select a candidate from the list. The nominee must be confirmed by a majority vote of the governor’s council. An appointed justice serves a single term until mandatory retirement at age 70.
State Constitution
Massachusetts’ first and only constitution was adopted in 1780. As of January 1, 2024, it had 121 amendments. (Source: John Dinan, 2024)
Filters
States, Not the President, Run Elections in America
The administration’s attempts to undermine or interfere with elections run afoul of constitutional delegations of responsibility.
State Legalization of Marijuana Is Changing Search and Seizure Jurisprudence
The smell of marijuana, on its own, is no longer considered to be evidence of criminal activity in many jurisdictions.
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.”
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.
Book Excerpt: Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy
The U.S. prison system violates democratic social orders aiming to lessen racist and class hierarchies. Its development was not inevitable.
Book Excerpt: Sedition: How America's Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis
Throughout history, state constitutional drafting has involved failure and violent crisis and has sometimes torn us apart rather than brought us together.
How Will Federal Funding Cuts Impact State Budgets?
Fiscal provisions found in every state constitution constrain states’ ability to work around budget shortfalls.
How the Tort Wars Became the Court Wars
Recent rulings in Ohio and North Carolina demonstrate divisions on medical malpractice damages caps.