About
This course examines the work of state courts in which 50 million civil, criminal, domestic relations, and juvenile cases are filed each year (add traffic cases and the number doubles to more than 100 million cases per year). Each class will focus on a substantive topic (such as state constitutional law, the death penalty, or juvenile justice) or an administrative challenge (such as judicial selection, access to counsel, or jury reform) that arises in state courts. The course will provide a wide-ranging look at the types of cases faced by state courts of last resort and how they are decided; the relationship between state courts and federal courts; the relationship between state courts and state politics; and the many difficulties faced by state court systems in providing equal justice under law.