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There has been growing public interest in the potential of state courts and constitutions to provide greater protections to people within their borders than what’s offered under the federal Constitution. In 2024, multiple high-profile cases wound through state judiciaries, addressing reproductive rights, democracy, criminal justice, and much more.

National-level developments in law and government typically grab the biggest headlines and drive discourse in the legal academy. With a high-stakes presidential election, major U.S. Supreme Court rulings, and more, 2024 has been no exception. But many consequential legal developments have unfolded at the state level as well. The Essays in this Special Issue explore questions pertaining to state public law, including examining distinctive features of state governance and the relationship between states and the federal government.

As part of the November 5th election, Wisconsin voters will be asked for the fifth time this year whether to amend the Wisconsin Constitution. Wisconsin voters will decide whether to amend the constitutional provision defining suffrage or voting rights. Specifically, the ballot question asks: “Shall section 1 of article III of the constitution, which deals with suffrage, be amended to provide that only a United States citizen age 18 or older who resides in an election district may vote in an election for national, state, or local office or at a statewide or local referendum?”

New articles and books cover a wide range of topics related to state constitutions, judiciaries, state-level democracy, and more, as of September 2024.

In August, Wisconsin voters will see two proposed state constitutional amendments on their ballots, both aimed at increasing the legislature’s role in allocating federal funds received by the state. The amendments stemmed from legislators’ desire to be more involved with the funding distribution process for billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funding. This explainer describes each proposed amendment, lays out the main arguments being made for and against the proposals, and provides some broader national context.

This is What Democracy Sounds Like is a podcast brought to you by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin covering government, hot issues and voting! For the pilot episode, host Carol Koby talks with guests about constitutional amendments and our state constitution.

Recent articles address states taking policy questions away from courts, standing in election cases, and state shadow dockets from the 2023-2024 academic year.

This April, Wisconsin voters will be asked to vote on two proposed amendments to the Wisconsin Constitution. The two proposed amendments on the April 2, 2024, ballot were introduced in the wake of the 2020 election, when cities across Wisconsin—but most prominently Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, and Racine—accepted private grants and consultation services to assist with election administration. This Explainer breaks down the backstory, proposed text, and policy arguments regarding each amendment.

This Article finds state shadow dockets are more expansive and less transparent than their federal counterpart. In this way, state supreme courts have access to more ways to shape and influence case outcomes with less public scrutiny. I refer to this broader, less transparent form of shadow docket activity as invisible adjudication. This Article develops the concept of invisible adjudication and provides a framework to analyze its various manifestations. Its analysis of the phenomenon highlights the institutional implications for supreme courts.

New publications on state public law focus on topics ranging from constitutional conventions to criminal sentencing published in the latter part of 2023.