In a recent Justia blog post, Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar discusses the importance of state courts and state constitutions in safeguarding American democracy, using a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to stay out of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court districting case as a catalyst. He writes:
"...even as many citizens hope that the federal judiciary will help keep the nation true to its constitutional commitments notwithstanding the heat of the moment, we also should remember that part of the genius of our constitutional design lies in state constitutions and state courts. Federalism has certainly been getting a lot of play today; states and localities have been standing up to what they see as tyrannical federal policies. In fact, I have written on this site about many such flashpoints, for example here and here. But these headline-grabbing episodes of state/local pushback almost always involve legislative and executive non-cooperation and/or possible interference, perhaps causing us to downplay state judiciaries and the state constitutions they interpret and enforce."
Full post at verdict.justia.com.