Symposium: The Power of State Constitutional Rights
State courts and constitutions are increasingly in the spotlight as significant sources of rights. In areas ranging from abortion to education to property rights, many state constitutions offer protections that are distinct from and often more expansive than those found in the U.S. Constitution.
In November 2025, State Court Report, the Brennan Center, and the Northwestern Law Review hosted an academic symposium on the role of state constitutions in protecting rights. The two-day event (November 6–7) featured state supreme court justices, scholars, practitioners, and other experts discussing voting rights, protections for LGBTQ+ people, federalism and interstate conflicts, and more. In addition to the sessions presented below, attendees were given the opportunity to attend breakout sessions on such topics as criminal sentencing, economic rights, reproductive rights, and hurdles to securing state rights.
The law review will be publishing a series of essays by scholars who participated in the symposium.
Find videos and links to transcripts of the symposium’s panels below.
Welcome: The Power of State Constitutional Rights
Speakers:
- Zachary Clopton, Interim Dean, Daniel Hale Williams Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
- May Hiatt, Editor-in-Chief, Northwestern University Law Review
- Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center for Justice
Link to transcript of the conversation.
Session 1: A Moderated Conversation with Chief Judge Jeff Sutton
In this moderated conversation, Chief Judge Jeff Sutton discussed his thoughts one why a strategy of strengthening rights via states constitutions can be more effective in part because it is less likely to trigger backlash than a federal approach.
Moderator:
- Daniel B. Rodriguez, Harold Washington Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Speaker:
- Chief Judge Jeff Sutton, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Link to transcript of the conversation.
Session 2: Voting Rights and Democracy in State Courts
This panel focused on the idea that a “democracy principle” is a structural feature of state constitutions and can be the source of greater protections; however, there are also hazards that advocates need to be aware of, particularly in state supreme courts where there political majorities chosen via elections.
Speakers:
- Michael Kang, Class of 1940 Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
- Hon. Allison Riggs, Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court
- Miriam Seifter, Richard E. Johnson Bascom Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School
Moderator:
- Sean Morales-Doyle, Director, Voting Rights and Elections Program, Brennan Center for Justice
Link to transcript of the conversation.
Session 3: The Diversity of Rights in State Constitutions
This panel focused on the many types of rights that are embedded in state constitutions, from “mini” bills of rights to child labor to gender. State supreme court justices are not limited to lockstepping federal interpretations of rights.
Speakers:
- Ting Ting Cheng, Director of the ERA Project, NYU Law’s Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center
- Martha Davis, University Distinguished Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law
- Andrew Hammond, Professor of Law and Harry T. Ice Faculty Fellow, Maurer School of Law
- Hon. Melissa A. Long, Associate Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
- Anthony Sanders, Director of the Center for Judicial Engagement, Institute for Justice
Moderator:
- Alicia Bannon, Director, Judiciary Program, Brennan Center for Justice
Link to transcript of the conversation.
Session 4: Federalism and Interstate Conflicts
In this session, participants discussed what happens when state supreme courts interpret rights in ways that conflict with other states, and how those disputes are playing out on such issues as reproductive rights.
Speakers:
- Bridget Fahey, Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
- Roderick M. Hills, Jr., William T. Comfort III Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
- Jenny Notz, Illinois Solicitor General, Office of the Illinois Attorney General
- Adam Sopko, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
- Julia Spiegel, Founder and CEO, GovAct
Moderator:
- Ryan Park, Solicitor General, North Carolina
Link to transcript of the conversation.
Session 5: LGBTQ+ Rights & State Constitutions
In this panel, participants discussed how current federal retrenchment on gender rights can be moderated by a state constitutional strategy. Evan Wolfson, a veteran advocate for the the right to marry, explained how states were an integral part of the ultimately successful battle to secure that constiutional protection.
Speakers:
- Akilah Deernose, Executive Director, ACLU of Montana
- Whit Washington, Senior Attorney for the Nonbinary & Transgender Rights Project, Lambda Legal
- Evan Wolfson, Founder and President, Freedom to Marry
- Quinn Yeargain, 1855 Professor of the Law of Democracy and Associate Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law
Moderator:
- Kara Ingelhart, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Director of the LGBTQ+ Rights Clinic, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Link to transcript of the conversation.
Session 6: State Constitutional Amendments and State Conventions
State constitutions are famously more easily amended than the federal constitution. In this session, panelists discussed the benefits and also the challenges that amendments bring in understanding rights.
Speakers:
- Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney, State Democracy Research Initiative
- Marcus Gadson, Assistant Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
- Hon. Elizabeth M. Welch, Associate Justice, Michigan Supreme Court
Moderator:
- Wilfred Codrington, Walter Floersheimer Professor of Constitutional Law, Co-Director of Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy, Cardozo Law School
