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 …
State Constitutions
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 …
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 …
Bryna Godar on WBAY: Staff Attorney Godar breaks down the potential outcomes of two proposed constitutional amendments on Wisconsin’s August ballot.
Derek Clinger in Bolts: Senior Staff Attorney discusses national implications of major direct democracy rulings from the Michigan and Utah Supreme Courts.
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 …
Explainer: The Proposed Constitutional Amendments on Federal Funding Appearing on Wisconsin’s August Primary Ballot
Bryna Godar, Staff Attorney PDF Available Here 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 …
Miriam Seifter in WPR: Faculty Co-Director Seifter explains how The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling in Evers v. Marklein limits the veto powers of legislative committees.
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 …
New York Court of Appeals – Stefanik v. Hochul Amicus Brief Filed
Stefanik v. Hochul – Amicus Brief, New York Court of Appeals On July 3, the State Democracy Research Initiative submitted an amicus brief in Stefanik v. Hochul, a case pending before New York’s highest court, …