State courts hear the majority of court cases in the United States, with 95% of all lawsuits being filed in state courts. With the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to uphold important protections for abortion, voting rights, and other core democratic freedoms, state supreme courts are becoming an even more important buttress for justice.
Our new report reviews all of 2022’s 30 state supreme court elections and the impact they had on the landscape of these courts. It also previews the important races happening this year in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and in another 32 states in 2024.
At least 76 seats across the country will hang in the balance as voters go to the polls, and it is essential to be just as informed about these state courts races as you are about the presidential and congressional ones.
“It is more crucial than ever that people across the country understand how their state courts work and how their judges and justices are selected. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, many states elect their jurists, handing voters direct control over the rule of law in their state.”
– Jake Faleschini, AFJ Action Legal Director, State Courts
The report builds on the State Courts Justice Project that was launched last year by our sister organization, Alliance for Justice. The State Courts Justice Project serves as a hub of information about the highest courts in all 50 states.
Click here to read the full State of the State Supreme Courts Report 2023.