Chapter 19
State Constitutional Law
Chapter Overview
This chapter explores theory and case law addressing the potential additional protection that state constitutional law might provide to incarcerated people challenging their conditions of confinement. It explores both statutory and case law within the topic-specific chapters and examines the prospects of more-prisoner protective state constitutional law.
Featured Opinions
- North Carolina v. Tirado, 911 S.E.2d 51 (N.C. 2025)
- Sterling v. Cupp, 625 P.2d 123 (Or. 1981)
- Lawson v. Cain, 524 P.3d 529 (Or. App. 2023)
Excerpted Sources & Supplemental Documents
- Kristen Bell, State Constitutional Prohibitions Against Unnecessary Rigor in Arrest and Confinement, 17 Tenn J. L. & Pol’y 124 (2025)
- Erwin Chemerinsky, Two Cheers For State Constitutional Law, 62 Stan. L. Rev. 1695 (2010)
- Robert F. Williams, State Constitutional Law After Dobbs and Bruen, State Court Report (Sept. 7, 2023)
Lived Experiences
Data & Figures
Additional Reading
- William Berry, Cruel State Punishments, 98 N.C. L. Rev. 1201 (2020)
- Brennan Center for Justice, Disenfranchisement Laws