Bree Grossi Wilde, Executive Director PDF Available Here As part of the November 5th election, Wisconsin voters will be asked for the fifth time this year whether to amend the Wisconsin Constitution. In April, voters …
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Wisconsin Supreme Court – LeMieux v. Evers Amicus Brief Filed
LeMieux v. Evers – Amicus Brief, Wisconsin Supreme Court On September 17, the State Democracy Research Initiative filed an amicus brief on behalf of Columbia Law School Professor Richard Briffault in LeMieux v. Evers, a case before …
Washington Supreme Court – Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs Amicus Brief Filed
Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs – Amicus Brief, Washington Supreme Court On September 16, the State Democracy Research Initiative submitted an amicus brief in Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs, a case pending before the Supreme …
Pennsylvania Supreme Court – BPEP v. Schmidt Amicus Brief Filed
BPEP v. Schmidt – Amicus Brief, Pennsylvania Supreme Court On September 4, the State Democracy Research Initiative submitted an amicus brief in BPEP v. Schmidt, a case pending before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The …
Call for Papers: Federalism Scholarship Roundtable
August 23, 2024 The University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative (SDRI) is pleased to announce a Federalism Scholarship Roundtable, to be held on April 25, 2025. The Roundtable will be co-hosted by …
Work With Us! SDRI is Seeking 2025 Fellowship Applicants.
About SDRI The State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School (SDRI) is a leading source of cutting-edge research and expertise on state-level democracy, state constitutions, and state government institutions—subjects too often …
Spotlight on Democracy: The Michigan Supreme Court’s 2023-2024 Term
By Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney* PDF Available Here The Michigan Supreme Court finished its 2023-2024 term in July, wrapping up a year in which the court decided several cases that will likely leave lasting …
Direct Democracy in State Court: Judicial Approaches to Ballot Initiative Conflicts
Allie Boldt, Legal Research Director Published: August 9, 2024 Link to PDF Introduction In roughly half of U.S. states, state constitutions confer rights of direct democracy, allowing the people to make law directly through statutes …
Michigan Supreme Court Strikes Down Legislature’s Attempt to Thwart State’s Direct Democracy Power
Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney Published: July 31, 2024 PDF Available Here Today, in a highly anticipated decision, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the Michigan Legislature violated the state constitution when it used a …
White Paper: State Judicial Conduct Commissions—The Challenge of Judging Judges
Bryna Godar, Staff Attorney Published: July 10, 2024 Updated: July 30, 2024 Link to PDF Introduction This report analyzes an often-overlooked set of state entities that hold substantial power: judicial conduct commissions.[1] These entities, which …