Douglas Keith

Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction – #63 in United States v. State of California (C.D. Cal., 2:25-cv-10999) – CourtListener.com (IN CHAMBERS)-PLAINTIFF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION (Dkt. 11, filed on November 25, 2025) by Judge Christina A. Snyder: In accordance with the foregoing, the Court...

But the takeaway is that, despite many academic commentators saying that mask bans are destined to lose, the federal district court found that they are actually constitutional so long as they apply to all levels of government and do not discriminate against the federal government. 3/

What to Know About Clerking on a State Supreme Court Judges from high courts across the country share insights for law students and recent graduates.

LAW STUDENTS & RECENT GRADS: Interested in a state supreme court clerkship? Join us on March 19 at 3pm ET for a virtual event where you can hear from justices across the country about the application process and what it's like to clerk. Register below! www.brennancenter.org/events/what-...

How Talks Between Anthropic and the Defense Dept. Fell Apart

NYT’s reporting on the DOD-Anthropic dispute sheds more light on how the Pentagon planned to use Claude for mass surveillance of Americans: by collecting and analyzing commercial bulk data.

So what is this commercial data? And how might Claude be used to collect and analyze it? 🧵 1/

The first state supreme court election of the year takes place today in Arkansas.

It hasn't attracted big spending like some of AR's past judicial races, partly due to these machinations you can read about @boltsmag.org

This is what happens when you effectively have no ethical rules at the top of government — virtually limitless opportunities for insider profiteering.

Arrest of Black Pastor for Refusing to Show ID Reaches Alabama Supreme Court A federal trial court asked the state high court to weigh in on whether police violated the law when they arrested a man who was watering his neighbors’ garden.

This is a super interesting case. After the 11th cir ruled police could be sued for arresting a Black pastor for refusing to show ID, the trial court certified the q of whether state law has a show your papers req to the AL Sup Ct. Here’s how the argument went. statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

Fascinating report (and thread) by @douglaskeith.bsky.social about $$ in state supreme court elections. The last election cycle was the most expensive EVER for judicial races.

State Supreme Court Races to Watch in 2026 More than thirty states will hold elections for supreme court seats this year, including Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Montana where court decisions have been political flashpoints.

And @statecourtreport.org these are the state supreme court elections I'm watching most closely this year

The Politics of Judicial Elections 2023-24 Spending hit new highs, fueled largely by interest groups and battles over abortion rights.

You can read our new analysis on these races and others here:

Voters would elect Kansas Supreme Court justices under proposed change • Kansas Reflector Kansas Senators advanced a constitutional amendment Wednesday that would change how state supreme court justices are selected.

Despite all this money, Kansas legislators are asking voters this August to axe their less politicized judicial selection system and move to judicial elections, basically asking voters to throw open the door to the multi-million dollar campaigns that come with those elections today

One trend I'm watching is retention elections may no longer be reliably quiet affairs. In Oklahoma, a justice lost a retention election for the first time ever after millions in attack ads. In Arizona, out-of-state donors spent $1m to defend justices from even a potential anti-retention campaign.

The campaign messaging in judicial races is also completely different since Dobbs – in 2020 only 3 percent of campaign ad spots mentioned abortion (and almost all were anti-), but in the 2024 cycle 30 percent of ad spots mentioned abortion and *all* were pro repro rights.

Also for the first time ever, groups on the left spent more than groups on the right.

This is a big change in the story of judicial elections – conservatives have long been more organized around state judicial races, but Dobbs and redistricting fights have led liberal groups to catch up and more.

Graph showing the share of state supreme court election spending by interest groups in every electoral cycle since 2001. In 2001, outside spending accounted for 7.1% of all spending in judicial races, but in 2024 it accounted for 54.2%.

For the first time ever, interest groups spent more money in state supreme court elections than the candidates themselves – a trend that really picked up as a result of Citizens United

We @brennancenter.org have been tracking spending in these races for 25 years, and many of today’s supreme court elections look nothing like those of even a couple years ago.

The Politics of Judicial Elections 2023-24 Spending hit new highs, fueled largely by interest groups and battles over abortion rights.

Just published my analysis of spending in the 2024 state supreme court election cycle. At $157 million, this was the most expensive cycle ever for judicial races…by a lot. Including in states where judicial elections probably weren’t on your radar.

What We're Watching in the 2026 Elections State Court Report's new Election 2026 hub provides coverage of major legal and judicial developments shaping this election cycle.

NEW: Most election cases in 2022 and 2024 were decided in state court. I previewed some of what the @statecourtreport.org team will be watching this election year -- and explain why Trump's call to nationalize elections is unconstitutional. statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

Opinion | Trump Can’t Cancel Elections. He Could Undermine Them.

In today's @nytimes.com, I explain why we should take Trump's recent threat to "take over" elections seriously and how we can fight back against his attempts to undermine democracy.

The Most Important Elections in Your State Could Be for These Judges Thirty-two states will hold elections for 65 seats on their highest courts this year.

32 states have supreme court elections this year, and two have crucial ballot measures that could change how the states pick their judges.

Read more @slate.com about about the judicial races I'm watching closely this year:

slate.com/news-and-pol...

Justice Jackson, responding to the unpopularity of Citizens United: “What I’m heartened by is the engagement of the American people with our legal system. That’s what’s important for maintaining the rule of law.”

Conservatives Play Musical Chairs to “Cement” Majority on Arkansas High Court - Bolts How seat-switching, plus a new state law, is helping gubernatorial appointees reap the benefits of incumbency before they’ve earned it from voters.

One set of races I didn't get to include are in Arkansas, as always I'm grateful to @boltsmag.org for taking the time to break down the complicated situation on that high court

boltsmag.org/arkansas-sup...

State Supreme Court Races to Watch in 2026 More than thirty states will hold elections for supreme court seats this year, including Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Montana where court decisions have been political flashpoints.

30+ states have state supreme court elections this year, including key races in Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Montana, and a crucial ballot measure in Kansas.

More here @statecourtreport.org about the races I'm watching most closely this year:

statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

State Supreme Court Races to Watch in 2026 More than thirty states will hold elections for supreme court seats this year, including Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Montana where court decisions have been political flashpoints.

NEW: Thirty-two states will hold elections for supreme court seats this year, during a period of new intensity in state judicial politics. @douglaskeith.bsky.social spotlights the high-stakes state supreme court elections we're watching closely:

“I Have Been Here Too Long”: Read Letters from the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end...

www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

Court-Packing and the Next Wave of Legislative Assaults on State Courts Utah’s rush to add seats to its supreme court signals a major escalation in legislative tactics to curb judicial independence.

NEW: Last month, Utah lawmakers rushed to add two seats to the state's supreme court in a brazen (but not unique) escalation in legislative tactics to curb judicial independence. @milov-cordobam.bsky.social examines major trends in legislative attacks on state courts.

What’s Next for the Next Generation of Environmental Rights Cases? Young people are building on lessons learned in recent litigation, using state constitutions and laws to develop and enforce environmental protections.

Something we're trying to do more of in @statecourtreport.org is publish pieces that tell the stories behind the development of state con law. This piece by @johnsurico.bsky.social is a fascinating account of the next generation of environmental rights cases. statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

Utah voter roll review finds no evidence of noncitizens casting a ballot, Lt. Gov. says An ongoing Utah review of 2.1 million voter registration records has found one noncitizen who registered to vote and zero examples of any noncitizens actually voting.

Utah's chief election officer, Lt Gov Deidre Henderson, has conducted a review of the state's voter rolls to identify any ineligible voters, including by running her rolls through the DHS SAVE Program. Guess how many non-citizens voted in Utah according to the review? Zero.

Legislative Assaults on State Courts in 2025 State legislatures retaliated against state courts that had struck down partisan gerrymanders, safeguarded direct democracy, and exerted independence from state political branches.

NEW: Excited to share this report by @milov-cordobam.bsky.social, detailing how legislatures in 2025 targeted judicial independence and sought to inject politics into state courts - at a moment when we are relying on them more than ever to protect our rights. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

States have more power than many people realize to prosecute federal law enforcement for violations of state criminal law. I wrote about the legal framework governing these prosecutions in @statecourtreport.org. statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

In case you're wondering, yes, states can prosecute federal officials if they act beyond the scope of their duties, violate federal law, or behave in an egregious or unwarranted manner. More info here: statedemocracy.law.wisc.edu/featured/202...