State Court Report is a left-of-center commentary and opinion site that also hosts a database and that tracks various state-level legal cases involving various individual rights and state-constitution issues. The website was launched in 2023 as a project of the Brennan Center for Justice and provides commentary on state court cases involving a variety of issues including abortion, transgender issues, issues of jurisprudence, and constitutional rights.

The website is a project of the Brennan Center for Justice, a legal think tank and advocacy group housed at the New York University Law School that is active in many areas of left-of-center politics and legal policy. State Court Report includes commentary several notable left-of-center legal scholars and activists such as former Obama administration U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. ^{1 2}

Background

State Court Report was launched in September 2023 by the Brennan Center for Justice as a website dedicated to state constitutions and courts. The website hosts commentary, news, and case materials focused on state court cases about trending legal policy topics. The announcement of the project advertised a wide array of policy experts who would provide analysis and commentary, including some from outside the let-of-center network of groups with which the Brennan Center is involved. ³

Content

According to its editor-in-chief, State Court Report was launched because “State courts and constitutions haven’t gotten the attention they deserve” citing the fact that most legal scholarship is focused on the federal court despite a vast majority of legal cases taking place at the state level, including many cases regarding individual rights being decided by state courts. Topics the website has covered include the environment, originalism, abortion and contraception, elections, torts and liability, civil due process, criminal law, judicial selection, economic liberty, and civil rights. ^{4 5}

Contributors and advisors to State Court Report include current and former state supreme court justices and legal scholars. A panel held by the website shortly after it was launched discussed “what Dobbs means for state courts and constitutions” and much of the website’s content is dedicated to court cases involving the topic of abortion. ⁶

The website also features a database of state supreme court cases that includes decisions and briefs from over 550 significant cases since 2021, as well as materials regarding pending cases. ⁷

Announced contributors and advisors have included Judge Pierre Bergeron of the First District Court of Appeals of Ohio, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, retired Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack of the Michigan Supreme Court, Cato Institute Senior Fellow Walter Olson, and University of Wisconsin Law Professor Miriam Seifter. ⁸

The website publishes a wide array of opinions, although most opinions center on left-of-center policy positions such as pro-abortion stances and opposing gerrymandering. ^{9 10}

Leadership

State Court Report is led by editor-in-chief Alicia Bannon. Bannon is the director of the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, having held various posts at the Brennan Center since 2012. ¹¹ The website is also run by Douglas Keith, a senior counsel in the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. ¹²

The website’s advisory board includes Tani Cantil-Sakauye, president and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California; Sue Cross, executive director of the Institute for Nonprofit News; Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor at Slate; and Yale Law School professor Judith Resnik. ¹³

1. “About.” State Court Report. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://statecourtreport.org/about/state-court-report
2. Holder, Eric. “State Judges Must Guard Their Independence.” State Court Report. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/state-judges-must-guard-their-independence
3. “Brennan Center Launches State Court Report.” Brennan Center for Justice. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/brennan-center-launches-state-court-report-website-dedicated-state
4. “About.” State Court Report. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://statecourtreport.org/about/state-court-report
5. “Brennan Center Launches State Court Report.” Brennan Center for Justice. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/brennan-center-launches-state-court-report-website-dedicated-state
6. Bannon Alicia. “The Post-Dobbs Patchwork of Abortion Rights.” State Court Report. March 28, 2023. Accessed  October 1, 2023.  https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/post-dobbs-patchwork-abortion-rights
7. Bannon Alicia. “The Post-Dobbs Patchwork of Abortion Rights.” State Court Report. March 28, 2023. Accessed  October 1, 2023.  https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/post-dobbs-patchwork-abortion-rights
8. Bannon Alicia. “The Post-Dobbs Patchwork of Abortion Rights.” State Court Report. March 28, 2023. Accessed  October 1, 2023.  https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/post-dobbs-patchwork-abortion-rights
9. “Brennan Center Launches State Court Report.” Brennan Center for Justice. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/brennan-center-launches-state-court-report-website-dedicated-state
10. Bannon Alicia. “The Post-Dobbs Patchwork of Abortion Rights.” State Court Report. March 28, 2023. Accessed  October 1, 2023.  https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/post-dobbs-patchwork-abortion-rights
11. “Alicia Bannon.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-bannon-942407/
12. “About.” State Court Report. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://statecourtreport.org/about/douglas-keith
13. “Advisory Board.” State Court Report. Accessed October 1, 2023.  https://statecourtreport.org/about/advisory-board