Amid federal upheaval, myriad important legal and policy developments continue to unfold at the state level. The Essays in this Special Issue were presented at, or grew out of, the fifth annual Public Law in the States Conference hosted by the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School in May 2025.
The deluge of high-profile, high-stakes controversies flowing from the federal government over the past year has made it easier than ever for legal scholars and the broader public to overlook events in their own backyard. But amid federal upheaval, myriad important legal and policy developments continue to unfold at the state level. State courts have continued to issue important opinions on topics ranging from voting and redistricting, to education and guns, and to state constitutional structure. State and local policymakers have continued to confront vexing societal challenges involving housing, education, public safety, the environment, and much more. And voters have continued to weigh whether to amend their state constitutions, including in ways that directly implicate the functioning of state democratic systems. These are all rich subjects for scholarly inquiry that too often go unstudied.
The Essays in this Special Issue were presented at, or grew out of, the fifth annual Public Law in the States Conference hosted by the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School in May 2025. This annual conference brings together scholars and state jurists to explore questions pertaining to state public law, including examining distinctive features of state governance and the relationship between states and the federal government. In addition to a keynote judicial panel, this year’s conference featured four academic panels on state public law and democracy, state constitutions, state courts, and state institutions.