Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today)
This issue of The Judges’ Journal explores the differences between federal and state laws to show how state constitutions can be applied to uphold rights when federal law is lacking.
The Importance of State Constitutions
Volume 64, Issue 2
Introduction
Features
Excerpt from “Judicial Treatment of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights in Relation to Cognate Provisions of the United States Constitution”
In this 1980 article, Herbert P. Wilkins of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court predicted that state consitutions would become greater sources of individual rights than the federal Constitution.
The Importance of State Constitutions: Our Role in Preventing Malpractice and Getting to Justice
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have increased public attention on state constitutions, which have always been important, though focus in recent times has been almost exclusively on the federal C…
Brennan and State Constitutions
U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. argued that state courts must aid in protecting rights through their interpretation of state constitutions to provide greater protection than the Sup…
State Court Decisions on Federal Elections as Statutory, State, and Federal Constitutional Questions
Surveying court rationales in decisions that impact federal elections gives insight into whether state law provides the best route to expanding voting rights.
A Most Interesting Time for State Constitutional Law
Our dual federal constitutional structure ensures that a single court does not have exclusive control of all American constitutional interpretation and the rights and liberties of all Americans.
The Right Against Self-Incrimination Under the Georgia and Federal Constitutions: A Microstudy in Federalism
The right against self-incrimination under the Georgia Constitution is expressed through similar language as the federal right, but it has been interpreted more expansively to provide additional prot…
Guam’s Organic Act and the Search for Self-Governance
The 1950 Organic Act of Guam serves as a constitution for the U.S. territory. To understand how congressional legislation can provide this function, it helps to examine the historical context of Gua…
On Jury Unanimity, Peremptory Challenges, and So Much More: The ABA Updates Its Principles for Juries and Jury Trials
The ABAs Commission on the American Jury has completed its first revisions to it Principles for Juries and Jury Trials in nearly a decade to reflect developments in the law and the world in which jur…
Technology Column
Guidelines for Judicial Officers: Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence
Judge Dixon shares recently published guidelines for the responsible use of AI by judicial officers developed by five judges and a lawyer/computer science professor and reports on discussions that le…
Ethics Column
State Constitutions Anchor Judicial Conduct
Perhaps one of the most remarkable movements in amending state constitutions occurred in the 1960s and ’70s: establishing independent commissions to enforce judicial ethics.