Derek Clinger

The WI Supreme Court wrapped up its 2024-25 term with high-profile decisions on abortion, legislative committee vetoes, and more. Check out @bgodar.bsky.social’s explainer for a review of the term’s key cases and a preview of what’s to come: statedemocracy.law.wisc.edu/featured/202...

How the GOP Megabill Would Turbocharge Local Immigration Enforcement - Bolts Congress is poised to pour tens of billions of dollars into more immigration detention, private jails, and border operations, plus new ICE partnerships with local police and sheriffs.

NEW from me: The GOP megabill will add $171 billion to immigration enforcement and ICE, a gigantic sum that'll pour funds into a vast network of detention + hire thousands of ICE agents and fund sheriffs.

I talked to an expert on just what to expect:

boltsmag.org/how-the-gop-...

New: The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an 1849 law on abortion was impliedly repealed by later abortion legislation, so it no longer operates as a ban on abortion.

Read the opinion here: www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...

@uwlawdemocracy.bsky.social senior staff attorney @derekclinger.bsky.social published a new paper exploring whether Ohio legislators can override voter-approved laws based on the state's constitution: bit.ly/4jHMUDV

As Ohio lawmakers consider overhauling a voter-approved initiative legalizing adult-use marijuana, my forthcoming Case Western Reserve Law Review essay argues their power to do so is much more limited than commonly assumed. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Election-Litigation Data: 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 State and Federal Court Filings Following the 2024 election, we updated our survey of election-related lawsuits to help understand the role of litigation in our elections. This update underscores key themes from our survey of litiga...

We've updated our election litigation tracker to cover lawsuits in state & federal courts for 2024. Some takeaways:
> High volume of election litigation continued
> Most suits were in state court
> Majority of cases focused on the voting process
go.wisc.edu/q141gm

Fifty Unique, Ever-Changing State Constitutions A new resource from the State Democracy Research Initiative makes the current text of all 50 state constitutions available and searchable on one site.

In light of *gestures wildly* all this, a reminder that state constitutions can better protect our rights than federal law. Read & search the full text of your state's at @uwlawdemocracy.bsky.social's 50Constitutions.org, newly updated w/ full constitutional amendment histories for ten states.

On Voting Rights, Eight Legal Battles to Watch in 2025 From the continued threats against the Voting Rights Act to new restrictions on mail ballots and voter registration, courts will have a lot of opportunities to shape democracy this year.

NEW: Voting rights are under threat from all directions in this new era — first and foremost from conservative courts.

Democracy expert extraordinaire @yeargain.bsky.social wrote for us on the 8 big legal battles you should be watching for democracy this year.
boltsmag.org/voting-right...

The outcome of November's NC Supreme Court election is being litigated, with more than 60,000 votes being challenged. This explainer from SDRI’s @ewlau.bsky.social offers background on the dispute and how it made its way to court: statedemocracy.law.wisc.edu/featured/202...

The partisan asymmetry in 2024 lame-duck sessions is stark.

In North Carolina, Republicans passed a sweeping power grab to take over election admin & strip power from Democrats before losing their gerrymandered supermajority.

In Michigan, a few Dems thwarted the party’s last weeks of unified govt

Whoa—the Montana Supreme Court holds that its state constitution protects the right to "a stable climate system," and strikes down a law that barred consideration of greenhouse gas emissions when permitting new fossil fuel projects. juddocumentservice.mt.gov/getDocByCTra...

"Open-Government Nonprofits Are Dying Off Just When They’re Needed Most" #ELB Daniel Schuman for The Bulwark: OPENSECRETS, THE NONPROFIT RESEARCH ORGANIZATION dedicated to disclosing the role of money in politics, laid off one-third of its staff last month due to financial diff...

“Open-Government Nonprofits Are Dying Off Just When They’re Needed Most” electionlawblog.org?p=147845

"Explainer: Lame-Duck Power Grabs in North Carolina and Beyond" #ELB New from Derek Clinger at SDRI.

“Explainer: Lame-Duck Power Grabs in North Carolina and Beyond” electionlawblog.org?p=147784

Breaking: The North Carolina Legislature overrode Gov. Cooper’s veto of SB 382, a controversial power grab tied to hurricane relief.

Here’s an explainer from SDRI's @derekclinger.bsky.social analyzing the bill and situating it within similar efforts in NC and beyond: go.wisc.edu/7x7qdf
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The annual Wisconsin Law Review issue on public law in the states is live! Great essays by @oldfatherc.bsky.social, @kmtani.bsky.social, @slwashington.bsky.social, @chrisjwalker.bsky.social, @robyablon.bsky.social and @derekclinger.bsky.social, and more. Wlr.law.wisc.edu/volume-2024-no-5/