State Court Docket Watch

  • Council of Organizations and Others for Education About Parochiaid v. State of Michigan

    Docket Watch 2021 By Thomas J. Rheaume & Gordon J. Kangas Michigan’s Supreme Court confirmed that the state’s constitution permits reimbursement to religious schools for costs incurred from mandated health and safety measures. The case, Council of Organizations and Others for Education About Parochiaid v. State of Michigan, was decided on December 28, 2020, but […]

  • Commonwealth v. Alexander

    Docket Watch 2021 By Matthew P. Cavedon Pennsylvania’s highest court has extinguished the automobile exception to the warrant requirement. No warrant is required to search a car under the federal Fourth Amendment. In 1925’s Carroll v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court held that probable cause authorizes warrantless seizures “of contraband goods in the course […]

  • Arizona v. Mixton

    Docket Watch 2021 By Timothy Sandefur Arizona’s Constitution is virtually unique in its treatment of searches and seizures. Unlike its federal counterpart, which prohibits only “unreasonable” searches of “persons, houses, papers, and effects,” the Arizona Constitution promises that “[n]o person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.”[1] […]

  • League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa v. Pate

    Docket Watch 2020 By Drew Watkins In League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa v. Pate (LULAC v. Pate), the Iowa Supreme Court denied a request to block enforcement of a portion of Iowa’s absentee balloting law which requires county auditors to contact voters who submit defective absentee ballot applications in order to correct […]

  • Texas v. Hollins

    Docket Watch 2020 By Cory Liu In Texas v. Hollins, the Supreme Court of Texas unanimously enjoined the Harris County Clerk from mailing unsolicited applications for mail-in ballots to every registered voter in the county, regardless of whether the voter was legally eligible to vote by mail. Texas has more than 16 million registered voters, […]

  • Adams v. McMaster

    Docket Watch 2020 By Stafford (Mac) J. McQuillin, III Background In early March, South Carolina’s Governor, Henry McMaster, issued a State of Emergency following the President’s national emergency declaration due to the public health risks posed by the coronavirus. By the end of March, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), which […]

  • In Re Individuals in Custody of the State of Hawai’i

    Docket Watch 2020 By Jeremiah Mosteller As COVID-19 spread across our country, many jurisdictions struggled with how to protect those in our prisons and jails. Many jurisdictions responded by, among other things, seeking to reduce the number of people entering the system while also finding ways to safely release more individuals into the community.[1] Nevertheless, […]

  • State v. Harris

    Docket Watch 2020 By Robert Alt When does uncertainty regarding enforcement standards constitute an impermissible delegation of legislative authority such that a criminal law should be declared unconstitutionally vague? The Kansas Supreme Court addressed this important question in answering whether a small pocketknife meets the statutory definition of a prohibited knife in State v. Harris.[1] […]

  • State of New Jersey v. Robert Andrews

    Docket Watch 2020 By Billy Easley Can law enforcement compel you to unlock your smartphone to access your texts, phone logs, and other private materials? State and federal courts are all over the place when it comes to this question.[1] In State of New Jersey v. Robert Andrews, New Jersey joined Massachusetts[2] in explicitly allowing […]

  • Midwest Institute of Health, PLLC v. Governor of Michigan

    Docket Watch 2020 By Thomas J. Rheaume & Gordon J. Kangas In the wake of Michigan’s first positive tests for the coronavirus, Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency pursuant to two state laws: the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945 (the EPGA)[1] and the Emergency Management Act of 1976 (the EMA).[2] […]

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