State Supreme Court Initiative
State Supreme Court Initiative
The U.S. Supreme Court is increasingly not an option to protect, let alone expand, civil liberties and civil rights. Last year鈥檚 Supreme Court term was the most conservative in a century, as President Trump鈥檚 three nominees exercised their newfound power to rule against liberty and shrink our constitutional rights.
But state supreme courts offer promise in the face of a hostile federal judiciary. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e taking the fight to the states 鈥� we want to show up with as many resources and tools as we have available. The 老澳门开奖结果 is launching a dedicated effort, called the State Supreme Court Initiative, to fight for the expansion of rights through state supreme courts, both through litigation and advocacy work.
The State Supreme Court Initiative will build on the organization鈥檚 existing work in state supreme courts and will expand the organization鈥檚 litigating capacity. With lawyers in every state in the country, the 老澳门开奖结果 is uniquely situated to do this important work and to develop cross-state expertise on state constitutional litigation.
Read the Report
In our report, 鈥淥ur New Federalism,鈥� we featured more than 125 cases in which the 老澳门开奖结果 and our state affiliate offices have advanced arguments across 24 states over the last 5 years.
老澳门开奖结果 the Attorneys
Matthew Segal
Senior Staff Attorney, 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court Initiative
Matt is a senior staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, after serving for 11 years as Legal Director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Massachusetts. At 老澳门开奖结果M, Matt led a team of lawyers and legal professionals in advocacy across a range of issues in both state and federal courts. Matt has argued cases that…
Julie Murray
Senior Staff Attorney, 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court Initiative
Julie Murray is a senior staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果, where she co-launched the national organization鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative (SSCI) in May 2023. In that capacity, Julie litigates a wide range of civil rights and civil liberties issues in state courts around the country. Before coming to the 老澳门开奖结果, Julie was…
Bridget Lavender
Legal Fellow
she/her/hers
Bridget Lavender is a Skadden Fellow with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative. Before starting at the 老澳门开奖结果, Bridget clerked on the Utah Supreme Court and in federal district court in North Carolina. Bridget is a 2021 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (JD) and School of Social Policy and Practice (MS in…
Jackson Springer
Legal Fellow
he/him
Jackson Springer is a legal fellow with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative. Jackson is a 2024 graduate of Columbia Law School, where he was awarded the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Prize for outstanding academic achievement and the E.B. Convers Prize for writing the best original essay on a legal subject. While in law school, Jackson…
Where We Are Litigating
Since the SSCI was created in March 2023, we have provided formal assistance in the states highlighted below.
Last updated on May 6, 2024
Alabama
No cases yet
Alaska
No cases yet
Arizona
No cases yet
Arkansas
No cases yet
California
No cases yet
Colorado
Connecticut
No cases yet
Delaware
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District of Columbia
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Florida
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Georgia
Active or previously active cases
Guam
No cases yet
Hawaii
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Idaho
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Illinois
No cases yet
Indiana
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Iowa
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Kansas
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Kentucky
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Louisiana
No cases yet
Maine
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Maryland
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Massachusetts
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Michigan
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Minnesota
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Mississippi
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Missouri
No cases yet
Montana
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Nebraska
Active or previously active cases
Nevada
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New Hampshire
No cases yet
New Jersey
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New Mexico
No cases yet
New York
No cases yet
North Carolina
No cases yet
North Dakota
No cases yet
Ohio
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Oklahoma
No cases yet
Oregon
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Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
No cases yet
Rhode Island
No cases yet
South Carolina
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South Dakota
No cases yet
Tennessee
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Texas
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Utah
Vermont
No cases yet
Virgin Islands
No cases yet
Virginia
Active or previously active cases
Washington
No cases yet
West Virginia
No cases yet
Wisconsin
No cases yet
Wyoming
No cases yet
Latest Cases
South Carolina Supreme Court
Nov 2024
Reproductive Freedom
Planned Parenthood聽South聽Atlantic v. Wilson
This case in the South Carolina Supreme Court involves the question whether a ban on abortion, the 鈥�2023 Fetal Heartbeat Act,鈥� forbids abortion starting after approximately nine weeks of pregnancy or, as the state contends, earlier at six weeks of pregnancy, before many people even know they are pregnant. This case is the third state supreme court proceeding in South Carolina involving a post-Dobbs challenge to an abortion ban. The outcome will substantially affect access to reproductive care in the state.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Nov 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Shivers
This case in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asks whether flight from the police in a high-crime area, without more, can justify an investigative stop. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Pennsylvania, filed an amicus brief arguing that it does not. The brief argues that the Pennsylvania Constitution supports broader protections against investigative stops than those recognized under the U.S. Constitution, and that flight in high-crime areas is not inherently more suspicious than flight elsewhere.
Colorado Supreme Court
Aug 2024
Voting Rights
League of Women Voters of Greeley, Weld County v. Board of County Commissioners of Weld County (Amicus)
When drawing its new maps, the Weld County Board of County Commissioners violated Colorado law imposing specific requirements meant to guarantee that county commission districts are drawn transparently and fairly, such that voters are empowered to elect responsive and accountable commissioners. A Colorado district court granted summary judgment to voter plaintiffs who challenged the maps, but the Board appealed the decision, arguing in part that voters lacked standing and a right of action to challenge the unlawful districts.
Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Civil Liberties
Human Rights
Barrani v. Salt Lake City
Hundreds if not thousands of Salt Lake City, Utah, residents have nowhere safe to stay and must live and sleep in public. This case鈥攂rought by a small group of residents and businesses鈥攊nvolves the question whether this citywide homelessness crisis constitutes a nuisance under Utah state law. It also presents the question whether Salt Lake City can be ordered to clear encampments, forcibly relocate people who are unhoused, and enforce vague and overbroad laws criminalizing homelessness where doing so will likely, if not certainly, violate unhoused people鈥檚 state and federal constitutional rights. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative and Trone Center for Justice and Equality, along with the 老澳门开奖结果 of Utah and the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association, represent amici curiae in the trial court who oppose the plaintiffs鈥� nuisance claims and their request for relief.
Oregon Supreme Court
Sep 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Huskey v. Oregon Department of Corrections
This case in the Oregon Supreme Court centers on whether Article I, Section 41(3) of the Oregon Constitution, which provides that Oregon prisoners lack legally enforceable rights to prison jobs and training, bars prisoners from collecting damages relating to lost prison jobs and training caused by the alleged breach of a settlement agreement by prison officials. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Oregon, filed an amicus brief arguing that that plaintiff Arnold Huskey, an incarcerated individual whose identity was used in Department of Corrections training materials, is entitled to damages notwithstanding Article I, Section 41(3), because plaintiffs in contract disputes never have to show standalone legal rights to the damages they claim. Instead, they need only show that the damages were reasonably foreseeable consequences of the alleged breach of contract.
Ohio Supreme Court
Sep 2024
Prisoners' Rights
State v. Morris
This case in the Ohio Supreme Court concerns the scope of the state constitutional right to counsel. The police in this case interrogated the defendant, Isaiah Morris, without mentioning his already-appointed counsel or asking him to waive his right to counsel. This procedural circumstance risks confusing criminal defendants and undermining their state constitutional rights. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Ohio and WilmerHale, filed an amicus brief arguing that merely providing a defendant notice of Miranda rights falls short of the bare minimum requirements for a valid waiver.
Indiana Supreme Court
Sep 2024
Civil Liberties
J.F. v. St. Vincent Hospital
This case in the Indiana Supreme Court concerns whether a case is moot when someone is released from a civil commitment while appealing the commitment order. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Indiana, filed an amicus brief arguing that the appellant鈥檚 case is not moot, despite her release from civil commitment, because the Indiana Constitution favors adjudicating appeals by people whose liberty has been curtailed, because it meets a traditional mootness exception for cases that at capable of repetition yet evading review, and because it also meets Indiana鈥檚 public interest exception to mootness.
Kansas Supreme Court
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Kansas v. Harper
Five transgender Kansans are challenging an effort by Kansas Attorney General Kobach to require the state to issue driver鈥檚 licenses with a gender marker that reveals their sex assigned at birth. The Attorney General is asking a state court to apply a new state law that defines 鈥渟ex鈥� to functionally erase the existence of transgender people under the law.
Texas Supreme Court
May 2024
Juvenile Justice
State v. Ochoa
This case in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals concerns the admissibility of a fourteen-year-old defendant鈥檚 confession following a Texas Ranger鈥檚 coercive interrogation. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Texas, filed an amicus brief arguing that the defendant鈥檚 confession was induced by positive promises, and is inadmissible, particularly given his juvenile status and the circumstances of the interrogation.
Mississippi Supreme Court
May 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Love v. State
This case in the Mississippi Supreme Court is a post-conviction appeal of a pro se defendant, Mr. Soweto Love, who argued that his guilty plea was not entered knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Mississippi, filed an amicus brief arguing that the law is on Mr. Love鈥檚 side, but urging the Court to exercise its discretion to inform Mr. Love that a win could resuscitate his charge and expose him to longer sentences. Consistent with the 老澳门开奖结果 amicus brief, the Mississippi Supreme Court held that the trial court had plainly erred by misinforming Mr. Love that his applicable mandatory minimum was one year of imprisonment on each count to which he had pled guilty, when in in fact the mandatory minimum sentence was five years鈥� imprisonment on each count. The Court remanded Mr. Love鈥檚 case to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing.
Montana Supreme Court
May 2024
Juvenile Justice
+2 Issues
Held v. Montana
This case pending before the Montana Supreme Court asks, among other things, whether the claims of sixteen youth plaintiffs challenging Montana energy policy present a political question under the Montana Constitution. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Montana, filed an amicus brief arguing that the claims do not present a political question and, moreover, that state courts should not wholesale adopt the federal political questions doctrine.
Nebraska Supreme Court
May 2023
Reproductive Freedom
LGBTQ Rights
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Hilgers
In May 2023, the 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Nebraska filed a lawsuit on behalf of Nebraska abortion providers and their patients challenging a state law that bans physicians from providing abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy and that, as of October 2023, will restrict health care available to trans youth. The 老澳门开奖结果 has asked a state court in Nebraska to enter an emergency order blocking the law鈥檚 enforcement. The Court ruled that the two halves of L.B. 574 fall within the single subject of regulating health care, and thus the Court held that L.B. 574 does not violate the single-subject rule. Consequently, the abortion ban and gender-affirming care restrictions in L.B. 574 remain in effect. However, the Court did reject the state鈥檚 argument that the single-subject is a nonjusticiable political question.
Latest Cases
South Carolina Supreme Court
Nov 2024
Reproductive Freedom
Planned Parenthood聽South聽Atlantic v. Wilson
This case in the South Carolina Supreme Court involves the question whether a ban on abortion, the 鈥�2023 Fetal Heartbeat Act,鈥� forbids abortion starting after approximately nine weeks of pregnancy or, as the state contends, earlier at six weeks of pregnancy, before many people even know they are pregnant. This case is the third state supreme court proceeding in South Carolina involving a post-Dobbs challenge to an abortion ban. The outcome will substantially affect access to reproductive care in the state.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Nov 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Shivers
This case in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asks whether flight from the police in a high-crime area, without more, can justify an investigative stop. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Pennsylvania, filed an amicus brief arguing that it does not. The brief argues that the Pennsylvania Constitution supports broader protections against investigative stops than those recognized under the U.S. Constitution, and that flight in high-crime areas is not inherently more suspicious than flight elsewhere.
Colorado Supreme Court
Aug 2024
Voting Rights
League of Women Voters of Greeley, Weld County v. Board of County Commissioners of Weld County (Amicus)
When drawing its new maps, the Weld County Board of County Commissioners violated Colorado law imposing specific requirements meant to guarantee that county commission districts are drawn transparently and fairly, such that voters are empowered to elect responsive and accountable commissioners. A Colorado district court granted summary judgment to voter plaintiffs who challenged the maps, but the Board appealed the decision, arguing in part that voters lacked standing and a right of action to challenge the unlawful districts.
Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Civil Liberties
Human Rights
Barrani v. Salt Lake City
Hundreds if not thousands of Salt Lake City, Utah, residents have nowhere safe to stay and must live and sleep in public. This case鈥攂rought by a small group of residents and businesses鈥攊nvolves the question whether this citywide homelessness crisis constitutes a nuisance under Utah state law. It also presents the question whether Salt Lake City can be ordered to clear encampments, forcibly relocate people who are unhoused, and enforce vague and overbroad laws criminalizing homelessness where doing so will likely, if not certainly, violate unhoused people鈥檚 state and federal constitutional rights. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative and Trone Center for Justice and Equality, along with the 老澳门开奖结果 of Utah and the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association, represent amici curiae in the trial court who oppose the plaintiffs鈥� nuisance claims and their request for relief.
Oregon Supreme Court
Sep 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Huskey v. Oregon Department of Corrections
This case in the Oregon Supreme Court centers on whether Article I, Section 41(3) of the Oregon Constitution, which provides that Oregon prisoners lack legally enforceable rights to prison jobs and training, bars prisoners from collecting damages relating to lost prison jobs and training caused by the alleged breach of a settlement agreement by prison officials. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Oregon, filed an amicus brief arguing that that plaintiff Arnold Huskey, an incarcerated individual whose identity was used in Department of Corrections training materials, is entitled to damages notwithstanding Article I, Section 41(3), because plaintiffs in contract disputes never have to show standalone legal rights to the damages they claim. Instead, they need only show that the damages were reasonably foreseeable consequences of the alleged breach of contract.
Ohio Supreme Court
Sep 2024
Prisoners' Rights
State v. Morris
This case in the Ohio Supreme Court concerns the scope of the state constitutional right to counsel. The police in this case interrogated the defendant, Isaiah Morris, without mentioning his already-appointed counsel or asking him to waive his right to counsel. This procedural circumstance risks confusing criminal defendants and undermining their state constitutional rights. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Ohio and WilmerHale, filed an amicus brief arguing that merely providing a defendant notice of Miranda rights falls short of the bare minimum requirements for a valid waiver.
Indiana Supreme Court
Sep 2024
Civil Liberties
J.F. v. St. Vincent Hospital
This case in the Indiana Supreme Court concerns whether a case is moot when someone is released from a civil commitment while appealing the commitment order. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Indiana, filed an amicus brief arguing that the appellant鈥檚 case is not moot, despite her release from civil commitment, because the Indiana Constitution favors adjudicating appeals by people whose liberty has been curtailed, because it meets a traditional mootness exception for cases that at capable of repetition yet evading review, and because it also meets Indiana鈥檚 public interest exception to mootness.
Kansas Supreme Court
Oct 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Kansas v. Harper
Five transgender Kansans are challenging an effort by Kansas Attorney General Kobach to require the state to issue driver鈥檚 licenses with a gender marker that reveals their sex assigned at birth. The Attorney General is asking a state court to apply a new state law that defines 鈥渟ex鈥� to functionally erase the existence of transgender people under the law.
Texas Supreme Court
May 2024
Juvenile Justice
State v. Ochoa
This case in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals concerns the admissibility of a fourteen-year-old defendant鈥檚 confession following a Texas Ranger鈥檚 coercive interrogation. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Texas, filed an amicus brief arguing that the defendant鈥檚 confession was induced by positive promises, and is inadmissible, particularly given his juvenile status and the circumstances of the interrogation.
Mississippi Supreme Court
May 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Love v. State
This case in the Mississippi Supreme Court is a post-conviction appeal of a pro se defendant, Mr. Soweto Love, who argued that his guilty plea was not entered knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Mississippi, filed an amicus brief arguing that the law is on Mr. Love鈥檚 side, but urging the Court to exercise its discretion to inform Mr. Love that a win could resuscitate his charge and expose him to longer sentences. Consistent with the 老澳门开奖结果 amicus brief, the Mississippi Supreme Court held that the trial court had plainly erred by misinforming Mr. Love that his applicable mandatory minimum was one year of imprisonment on each count to which he had pled guilty, when in in fact the mandatory minimum sentence was five years鈥� imprisonment on each count. The Court remanded Mr. Love鈥檚 case to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing.
Montana Supreme Court
May 2024
Juvenile Justice
+2 Issues
Held v. Montana
This case pending before the Montana Supreme Court asks, among other things, whether the claims of sixteen youth plaintiffs challenging Montana energy policy present a political question under the Montana Constitution. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the 老澳门开奖结果 of Montana, filed an amicus brief arguing that the claims do not present a political question and, moreover, that state courts should not wholesale adopt the federal political questions doctrine.
Nebraska Supreme Court
May 2023
Reproductive Freedom
LGBTQ Rights
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Hilgers
In May 2023, the 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Nebraska filed a lawsuit on behalf of Nebraska abortion providers and their patients challenging a state law that bans physicians from providing abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy and that, as of October 2023, will restrict health care available to trans youth. The 老澳门开奖结果 has asked a state court in Nebraska to enter an emergency order blocking the law鈥檚 enforcement. The Court ruled that the two halves of L.B. 574 fall within the single subject of regulating health care, and thus the Court held that L.B. 574 does not violate the single-subject rule. Consequently, the abortion ban and gender-affirming care restrictions in L.B. 574 remain in effect. However, the Court did reject the state鈥檚 argument that the single-subject is a nonjusticiable political question.
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