Public Law in the States 2024

In May 2024, the State Democracy Research Initiative hosted its fourth annual Public Law in the States conference, convening legal scholars and state supreme court justices to discuss a range of state-level issues at the intersection of law and democracy. This annual event seeks to foster dialogue and community around state-level public law, which often receives less attention than its federal counterpart.

The conference’s keynote panel, The Work of State Supreme Courts, highlighted the perspectives of five state supreme court justices from across the country. The justices discussed distinctive features of their respective state courts, including decision-making practices and judicial selection methods. Academic panels explored topics relating to state courts, state constitutions, state institutions, and state-level democracy. Essays from conference participants are published in a special issue of the Wisconsin Law Review.

SDRI faculty co-director Robert Yablon (University of Wisconsin Law School) moderated a panel of five supreme court justices: Justice Joy Cunningham (Illinois Supreme Court), Justice Melissa Hart (Colorado Supreme Court), Justice Goodwin Liu (California Supreme Court), Chief Justice David Nahmias (ret.) (Georgia Supreme Court), and Justice Rachel Wainer Apter (New Jersey Supreme Court).

Each justice discussed distinctive or notable features of their court and its work. The justices explored how procedural differences between each court can shape the way that opinions are drafted and finalized. The justices also discussed the non-adjudicative aspect of their work, touching on community outreach, judicial administration, and judicial security.

Public Law in the States: Academic Panels

Panel 1: State Constitutions

• Single Subject Rules and State Judicial Power by Chad Oldfather (Marquette Law School); introduced by Sharon Brett (University of Kansas Law School).
• Constitutional and Statutory Innovation in Labor Rights by Kate Andrias (Columbia Law School); introduced by Karen Tani (Penn Carey Law School).
• The Common Law of Constitutional Conventions by David Pozen (Columbia Law School); introduced by Miriam Seifter (University of Wisconsin Law School).

Panel 2: State Institutions

• Maximizing Disability: Fiscal Federalism and Privatized Extraction by Karen Tani (Penn Carey Law School); introduced by Philip Rocco (Marquette University).
• City Standing, State Standing by Katherine Mims Crocker (William and Mary Law School); introduced by Jessica Bulman-Pozen (Columbia Law School).

Panel 3: State Courts

• Towards Critical Family Regulation Scholarship by Lisa Washington (University of Wisconsin Law School); introduced by Issa Kohler-Hausmann (Yale Law School).
• Administrative Law's Political Dynamics in the States by Christopher Walker (University of Michigan Law School) and Neena Menon (University of Michigan Law School); introduced by Bridget Fahey (University of Chicago Law School).
• The State Statutes Project by Diego Zambrano (Stanford Law School) and Neel Guha (Stanford Law School); introduced by Nate Atkinson (University of Wisconsin Law School).

Panel 4: State Public Law and Democracy

• The Party (Always) Decides by Joshua Sellers (University of Texas School of Law); introduced by Rob Yablon (University of Wisconsin Law School).
• Good Faith Elections by Rebecca Green (William and Mary Law School); introduced by David Pozen (Columbia Law School).
• The Purcell Principle in the States by Rob Yablon (University of Wisconsin Law School) and Derek Clinger (University of Wisconsin Law School); introduced by Rebecca Green (William and Mary Law School).