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Articles by John Dinan
How Cases Get to the Supreme Court
Each year, the Supreme Court receives thousands of requests to consider cases on appeal, and only a small fraction are granted. The process is shaped as much by the Court’s role in managing its docket and selecting cases as by the legal questions at issue. Currently, the Supreme Court issues signed decisions on about 60 cases per year. That’s down from more than 160 in the 1980s and significantly lower than the number of cases decided just 15 years ago.
Georgia Supreme Court Allows Under-21 Handgun Carry Ban
The court looked to the state’s own constitutional history rather than following recent U.S. Supreme Court gun decisions. The Georgia Supreme Court last month upheld a state law that prohibits those under the age of 21 from carrying a handgun in public.
The Virginia Constitution: An Influential and Resurgent Declaration of Rights
This essay is part of a 50-state series about the nation’s constitutions. We’ve asked an expert from each state to dive into their constitution, narrate its history, identify its quirks, and summarize its most essential components for our readers. Virginia adopted one of the earliest state constitutions, in June 1776, part of an initial wave of state constitution-making that preceded even the Declaration of Independence.
Virginia’s Constitution: An Influential and Resurgent Declaration of Rights
This essay is part of a 50-state series about the nation’s constitutions. We’ve asked an expert from each state to dive into their constitution, narrate its history, identify its quirks, and summarize its most essential components for our readers. Virginia adopted one of the earliest state constitutions, in June 1776, part of an initial wave of state constitution-making that preceded even the Declaration of Independence.
Case study: Treating burning mouth syndrome with capsaicin
Clinical Tips Case study: Treating burning mouth syndrome with capsaicin Do you have patients who suffer from burning mouth syndrome? Orofacial pain specialist Dr. John E. Dinan explains how capsaicin works to mitigate the pain and discomfort associated with this issue. kevron2001/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images Many years ago, I went to lunch at a Thai restaurant with one of my close friends. I ordered my food “medium spicy,” but my friend wanted very spicy food.
Can Trump Vote Now That He Has Felony Convictions?
View the entire Explainers collection After Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime, many believed that the Florida resident would be barred from voting in the 2024 election because of the state’s harsh felony disenfranchisement law, which denies voting rights to more than 1 million people. However, Trump’s eligibility to cast a ballot this fall will depend on how he is sentenced in New York for falsifying business records.
Myth vs. Reality: Trends in Retail Theft
View the entire Explainers collection Violent crime has declined nationally since jumping in 2020, but trends in retail theft are more difficult to assess, in part because of varying data collection and theft reporting methods. That said, the available crime data and industry figures cut against claims of a national increase in retail theft, despite notable spikes in some cities. Regardless, policymakers must take concerns about retail theft seriously.
Pain after root canal therapy: Causes and considerations
Persistent tooth pain after root canal therapy can occur under several scenarios, and research suggests that between 4% and 6% of all teeth treated with root canals continue to be associated with lingering pain.
Judicial Advisory Opinions Explained
In 2020, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem asked the state’s supreme court for an advisory opinion on a conflict of interest provision in the state constitution. The courtobliged, opining that the provision, which bars legislators from having an interest “directly or indirectly” in contracts with the state, prohibited them from accepting federal Covid-19 relief funds.
New Mexico Supreme Court Adopts New Separation-of-Powers Approach to Disbursing Federal Funds
A recent decision could have a significant impact on how, and how fast, federal money is used to help people in the state. When the federal government provides funding to a state — such as Covid-19 relief money — which branch of government gets to decide how to spend those funds? In New Mexico, the governor and the legislature recently clashed over this very question. In State ex rel. Candelaria v.
Protecting Against Extreme Punishments
View the entire State Court Report collection You’re reading the State Court Report newsletter. Click here to receive it in your inbox twice a month. State constitutions often mirror familiar provisions from the U.S. Constitution, but with small textual differences. These little variations — sometimes only a couple of letters — can have big implications.
Status of Partisan Gerrymandering Litigation in State Courts
View the entire State Court Report collection In 2019, the Supreme Court put partisan gerrymandering claims brought under the U.S. Constitution squarely beyond the reach of federal courts in Rucho v. Common Cause. Since then, voters challenging gerrymandered maps have increasingly turned to state constitutions and state courts to challenge gerrymandered districts.
The Latest Legal Challenge to Reform-Minded Prosecutors
View the entire State Court Report collection This fall, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether state lawmakers can impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who is accused of “misbehavior in office” for pursuing various criminal justice reform policies.
Constitutional Amendment Processes in the 50 States Original
View the entire State Court Report collection The U.S. Constitution is difficult to change and has only been amended 27 times. State constitutions, on the other hand, are much easier to modify, and state constitutional amendments are adopted on a regular basis. The current constitutions of the 50 states have been amended around 7,000 times. States vary in how often they amend their constitutions.
In the year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ruled states should decide the legality of abortion, voters at the state level have been doing just that: 4 essential reads Original
When the Supreme Court ruled on June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that states – some of which have been chipping away at women’s access to abortion for years – should decide the legality of abortion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court’s majority opinion that “women are not without electoral or political power.” In one fell swoop, the court’s 6-3 ruling that abortion is not a federal constitutional right overturned Roe v.
State battles over abortion are leading to state constitutional amendments | Analysis
By John Dinan The battles over abortion – who can get one, when they can get one – largely shifted from a focus on the U.S. Supreme Court back to state lawmakers and judges in June 2022. That’s when the Supreme Court ruled that there was no federal constitutional guarantee of the right to get an abortion. States, they said, should be making the rules. That decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, has meant a lot of activity in the past year in both state legislatures and courts.
State abortion battles lead to state constitutional amendments
The battles over abortion — who can get one, when they can get one — largely shifted from a focus on the U.S. Supreme Court back to state lawmakers and judges in June 2022. That’s when the Supreme Court ruled that there was no federal constitutional guarantee of the right to get an abortion. States, they said, should be making the rules. That decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, has meant a lot of activity in the past year in both state legislatures and courts.
State battles over abortion are leading to state constitutional amendments - an option in all states and available directly to citizens in 18 states
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State battles over abortion are leading to state constitutional amendments
By John Dinan, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University The battles over abortion - who can get one, when they can get one - largely shifted from a focus on the U.S. Supreme Court back to state lawmakers and judges in June 2022. That's when the Supreme Court ruled that there was no federal constitutional guarantee of the right to get an abortion. States, they said, should be making the rules.
State battles over abortion are leading to state constitutional amendments - an option in all states and available directly to citizens in 18 states
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State battles over abortion are leading to state constitutional amendments - an option in all states and available directly to citizens in 18 states
John Dinan, Wake Forest University April 12, 2023 (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) John Dinan, Wake Forest University (THE CONVERSATION) The battles over abortion – who can get one, when they can get one – largely shifted from a focus on the U.S. Supreme Court back to state lawmakers and judges in June 2022.
Scholarship Roundup: Lessons for Evaluating State Constitutional History
As part of our ongoing project on state constitutions, the Brennan Center will regularly feature new scholarship that may be of interest to judges, advocates, and scholars. To share a piece of scholarship with us, please email statecourtreport@brennan.law.nyu.edu. In a host of high-profile arenas, state courts are playing a significant role in state constitutional development.
Government Classification and the Mar-a-Lago Documents
View the entire Explainers collection Among the government documents that former president Donald Trump improperly retained at Mar-a-Lago were more than 300 documents that bore unambiguous classification markings.
American Constitutions: Natural Law and Constitution-Making in the Founding Era
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Federalism and Polarization
The advantages and disadvantages of federalism have generated ongoing debate in many of the 28 countries currently operating federal systems and also in polities such as the U.K. that have considered adopting a federal system. In The Divided States of America: Why Federalism Doesn’t Work, Donald F.
Stability and Contingency in Federalism Preferences
Research Article John Dinan Abstract This article analyzes Americans’ preferences for making policy at the national versus the subnational level. Relying on a Pew Research Center survey question posed in multiple recent years, we investigate the extent to which partisanship and ideology are related to support for decentralization. As expected, Republicans and conservatives are more supportive of decentralization, whereas Democrats and liberals are less supportive.
Flights of Fancy
Air war pulp magazines introduced a generation of action-hungry Americans to drama on the wing. The Germans came in fast, stair-step, the Spandaus on their cowls yammering. The Yank’s face was taut, frozen; the Hisso snarled upward into the hail of death, giving as good as it was taking—the Boche, trying to double back, was caught in the middle turn, and Hamilton was giving him hell from the back seat.
States of affairs: the prominence of the 50 state governments during the Trump presidency | OUPblog
Now that we have passed the 200-day mark of Donald Trump’s presidency and can take stock of elements of change and continuity in US policy-making in the new administration, it is important not to lose sight of the continued importance of state governments. Although developments in Washington, DC naturally attract significant attention, the fifty states continue to play a prominent and under-appreciated role in various policy areas.
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