Category: Independent State Legislature Doctrine

Supreme Court Hears Case That Could Empower State Legislatures, Not Judges, to Regulate Elections

Supreme Court justices on Dec. 7 grilled an attorney for North Carolina Republicans who was arguing the U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures preeminent authority to make the rules for presidential and congressional elections without interference from the courts. The case is important because, if the high court finds for North Carolina, the rules governing how…


‘Independent State Legislature Theory’ to Get Its Day in US Supreme Court

To some, it’s an arcane discussion among constitutional scholars that reads like cement. To others, it’s a brazen grab for “runaway legislative power” by state lawmakers who say the U.S. Constitution grants them exclusive elections authority, making them immune from their own state constitutions and courts. At its heart, Moore v. Harper is about the…


Biden DOJ Urges Supreme Court Not to Take Away Judges’ Power to Intervene in Federal Elections

The Biden administration has urged the Supreme Court to reject a Republican bid to re-empower state legislatures to regulate congressional and presidential elections as they say the U.S. Constitution requires, including removing the judiciary’s power to weigh in on redistricting and other disputes. The legal filing came in a high-stakes case, Moore v. Harper, court…


SCOTUS to Hear Case That Could Give State Legislatures, Not Judges, Power to Regulate Elections

The Supreme Court decided on June 30 to hear an important new case that Republicans hope will re-empower state legislatures to make rules for redistricting and governing congressional and presidential elections. Republicans say the U.S. Constitution has always directly authorized state legislatures to make rules for the conduct of elections, including presidential elections. Democrats say…


SCOTUS Seems Likely to Take Up Case That Could Recognize States’ Power to Regulate Elections

The Supreme Court seems likely to accept a new election law case that Republicans hope will recognize what they say is the preeminent constitutional authority of state legislatures to set the rules for redistricting and congressional and presidential elections, as well as curb the power of state courts to intervene in such disputes. “The U.S….