State Constitutional Recession: The New York Court of Appeals Retrenches

State Constitutional Recession: The New York Court of Appeals Retrenches

This article discusses the retrenchment of the New York Court of Appeals from liberal state constitutionalism used to protect its citizens civil liberties towards a more conservative and divided court. The New York Court of Appeals has been a paragon on state constitutionalism since its creation in 1846, recognized by Supreme Court Justices as one of the revolutionary courts in the country. The Court of Appeals often went above and beyond Supreme Court rulings, providing the citizens of New York with even more protections than the federal judicial system. In the late 1980’s however, the court began to shift away from this staunch protection and began to strip away civilian rights. This article discusses those decisions and their outcome.

Emerging Issues in State Constitutional Law

1991

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English

Vincent Martin Bonventre, State Constitutional Recession: The New York Court of Appeals Retrenches, 4 EMERGING ISSUES STATE CONST. L. 1 (1991).