Our Work

This Report describes the recently enacted mask ban in California and the proposed laws in other states. Under existing precedent, mask bans are neither clearly prohibited nor clearly permissible. This Report also provides an overview of other options states may have to address masking by federal law enforcement.

Victims of unconstitutional federal actions often have difficulty recovering money damages for their injuries. This Report discusses a potential remedial pathway that is beginning to garner interest among policymakers and litigants: state-created causes of action authorizing people to sue federal officials for damages.

This report explores when states can or cannot pursue prosecutions against federal officials and what that has looked like in practice. This practice stretches back to at least the early 1800s, but it comes with a mixed track record.

Governmental power in the United States has always been divided between the federal government and state governments, each providing a check on the other. As states face controversial federal government actions, they are pursuing or considering an array of options in response.

In a series of ongoing projects, we are examining some of the potential tools states have to help counter federal abuses of power. These studies aim to provide in-depth legal background and context for anyone interested in learning more about how our federalist system creates space for and seeks to manage confrontations between states and the federal government. Questions considered include whether states can prosecute federal officials, states can create damages remedies against federal officials, and states can prohibit federal law enforcement from masking on the job?

Governmental power in the United States has always been divided between the federal government and state governments, each providing a check on the other. As states face controversial federal government actions, they are pursuing or considering an array of options in response.

In a series of ongoing projects, we are examining some of the potential tools states have to help counter federal abuses of power. These studies aim to provide in-depth legal background and context for anyone interested in learning more about how our federalist system creates space for and seeks to manage confrontations between states and the federal government. Questions considered include whether states can prosecute federal officials, states can create damages remedies against federal officials, and states can prohibit federal law enforcement from masking on the job?