State Court Docket Watch
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Wisconsin Court of Appeals Strikes Down Noneconomic Damages Cap
Docket Watch 2017
Wisconsin’s statutory cap on noneconomic damages for medical malpractice cases has taken many twists and turns over the past 30 years. A recent state court of appeals decision in Mayo v. Wis. Injured Patients & Families Comp. Fund has added to this seemingly never-ending saga by striking down the legislatively enacted $750,000 cap on noneconomic damages. The Supreme Court of Wisconsin will likely have the final say.
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Bogorff v. Scott
Docket Watch 2017
In Bogorff v. Scott, the Florida Supreme Court revealed the difficulty many property owners face when it comes to enforcing the constitutional right to just compensation.
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Carousel of Kansas Education Finance Lawsuits Continues in the Gannon Case
Docket Watch 2017
By Patrick McKinley Brennan, David Dorsey
The citizens of the Sunflower State are holding their collective breaths, waiting for the Kansas Supreme Court to hand down its fifth – yes, fifth – opinion in Gannon v. Kansas. Gannon is only the latest in the unending legal-battles over education funding, a fight in perpetuity since the early 1990s. Gannon was originally filed in 2010 with the plaintiffs claiming state funding to education inadequate to meet the constitutional test of the Legislature making “suitable provision.” Gannon is an undeniable artifact of Montoy v. State, a 1999 case that took seven years to conclude. In Montoy, the Supreme Court set an unsustainable bar by ordering the Legislature to increase funding to public schools by $853 million. Two years later the impact of the Great Recession on state revenues made it impossible for the Legislature to maintain that level of support.
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The Constitutionality of School Choice Tax Credits (Gaddy v. Georgia Department of Revenue)
Docket Watch 2017
The Georgia Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Gaddy v. Georgia Department of Revenue continues the unbroken record of high courts rejecting constitutional challenges to tax-credit scholarship (TCS) programs.
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Louisiana Supreme Court Finds Sentence of Life Without Parole For Juvenile Unconstitutional
Docket Watch 2017
The United States Supreme Court held in Graham v. Florida that the Eighth Amendment prohibits juvenile offenders convicted of non-homicide offenses from being sentenced to life in prison without parole. Many states, however, have habitual offender laws that allow for life sentences without the possibility of parole. In these instances, defendants have multiple prior felony convictions. Thayer Green was one such defendant, who by the age of 17 had two prior felony convictions in addition to his conviction for home invasion, simple robbery, and second-degree battery. All are defined as crimes of violence under Louisiana law. Thayer Green challenged his life sentence, arguing that it was unconstitutional.
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State of West Virginia v. Steward Butler
Docket Watch 2017
In State of West Virginia v. Steward Butler,[1] the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia determined that “sex” as used in West Virginia Code § 61-6-21(b), a statute that criminalizes violence, threats of violence, and other pernicious conduct on the basis of sex, did not include “sexual orientation.” Based on this determination, Chief Justice Allen H. Loughry II, writing for the 3-2 majority, affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of two charges alleging that the defendant violated West Virginia Code § 61-6-21(b) by assaulting two men based on their sexual orientation.
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League of Women Voters of Florida v. Scott
Docket Watch 2017
Which Florida governor—the outgoing or the incoming one—will have the authority to appoint successors for appellate judges, including three Florida Supreme Court justices, whose terms are set to expire in January 2019? That is the question the petitioners asked the Florida Supreme Court to resolve in League of Women Voters of Florida v. Scott, SC17-1122. On December 14, 2017, the court dismissed the petition as unripe and refused, at least for now, to wade into a controversy that could make its composition a political issue in the 2018 gubernatorial election. This post describes the background of the case, summarizes the court’s ruling, and assesses the case’s significance.
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Masterpiece Cakeshop Inc. and Jack C. Phillips v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Charlie Craig, and David Mullins
Summer 2016
On April 25, 2016, the Colorado Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a bakery and its owner who had challenged a finding by the State’s Civil Rights Commission. The suit argued that the Commission’s view of the coverage of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), was impermissibly broad, and also violated state and federal law. An appellate court had previously affirmed the holding of the Commission.
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Colorado Supreme Court Strikes Down Local Fracking Bans
Summer 2016
In City of Fort Collins v. Colo. Oil and Gas Ass’n and City of Longmont v. Colo. Oil and Gas Ass’n the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously struck down two attempts by city governments to ban fracking and the storage and disposal of fracking waste within their city limits. The Court determined that state law preempted the fracking bans and thereby rendered them invalid and unenforceable.
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Missouri Employers Now Potentially Liable for Increased Workers’ Compensation Liability
Spring 2016
In a recent worker’s compensation decision, the Missouri Supreme Court has increased protections for workers in the state and greatly expanded potential employer liability.