ACLU: State Supreme Courts Offer the Best Chance to Advance Rights

ACLU -  Recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court are, to use a complex legal term, not great. In many areas, from abortion to voting rights to tribal sovereignty, the current court has curtailed civil rights and individual freedom, even at the expense of longstanding precedent. In other areas, such as policing and qualified immunity, the court has shown that it can move very slowly, or not at all, when it is apparently unbothered by harsh and legally indefensible precedent. This erosion of our most cherished rights is disturbing, but we are not without hope. The ACLU has long worked in both federal and state courts — and the latter are now more important than ever. To make the most of the opportunities that state constitutional law and state courts present, the ACLU is launching a new State Supreme Court Initiative.