State Courts
Briefs
How the States Avoid Supreme Stalemates
Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She GoesState high courts avoid tie votes in a variety of ways, some more juris-prudent than others. Justice Antonin Scalia’s passing portends a seismic realtering of the Supreme Court’s ideological balance. […]
From the Editor in Chief
From the Editor-in-Chief Cheri Beasley
Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She GoesThe ability to pay court fines, including jail and prison fees, has remained an issue since Michigan first authorized the imposition of correctional fees in 1846.1 Today, many courts order […]
Feature
Money or Justice? How Fees and Fines Have Contributed to Distrust and What Chief Justices Can Do About It
by David F. Levi, Nathan Hecht, Patricia Breckenridge, Maureen O'Connor, Martin Hoshino and Mary McQueen
Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She GoesDuke Law Dean David F. Levi recently convened a roundtable discussion among leaders of a national task force that aims to study and address the courts’ role in the problems […]
Feature
Judges Can Fix the System: Here’s How
by Ed Spillane
Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She GoesMelissa J. Showed up in my court last year with four kids in tow. Her children quietly watched from a nearby table while I spoke with her. The charges against […]
Briefs
Disorder in the Courts: The varied ways states establish and oversee courts presents challenges for reform
Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She GoesLimited jurisdiction courts are coming under new scrutiny and criticism amid calls for criminal justice reform. The Department of Justice’s report on police and court practices in the city of […]
Feature
What do Americans want in their state judges?
Vol. 105 No. 1 (2021) | The Courts HeldAs scholars regularly document, states have frequently changed their systems of judicial selection and retention. What remains unknown is whether these systems actually address the kinds of qualities citizens value […]
Briefs
State Courts Brace for Budget Hit
Vol. 105 No. 1 (2021) | The Courts HeldThe COVID-19 pandemic forced drastic changes in the way courts operate and function. It also caused many courts to change their budgetary practices. An October 2020 survey of the Conference […]
Redlines
At Least Do The Easy Stuff (PDF)
Vol. 105 No. 1 (2021) | The Courts HeldIn these two examples, I have done very little rewriting. I simply used plain words and cut unnecessary words (including the egregiously unnecessary parentheticals). And in the second one, I […]
Feature
2020 Election Litigation: The Courts Held
by Amelia Ashton Thorn, David F. Levi and John Macy
Vol. 105 No. 1 (2021) | The Courts HeldWe had an extraordinary election in November 2020. More Americans voted than in any other election, even though an infectious virus still stalked the nation. Immediately following election day, we […]
Judicial Honors
Judicial Honors (Spring 2017)
Vol. 101 No. 1 (2017) | Citizen-centered CourtsSenior Judge MICHAEL M. BAYLSON of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania received the James Wilson Award from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in honor […]