{"id":18950,"date":"2022-12-05T08:35:32","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T14:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/?p=18950"},"modified":"2022-12-05T08:46:03","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T14:46:03","slug":"mitchell-hamline-professors-forthcoming-article-cited-in-briefs-in-crucial-supreme-court-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/05\/mitchell-hamline-professors-forthcoming-article-cited-in-briefs-in-crucial-supreme-court-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitchell Hamline professor\u2019s forthcoming article cited in briefs in crucial Supreme Court case"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Associate Professor Jason Marisam<\/p><\/div>\n

The authors of three briefs in an important election-related Supreme Court case have cited a forthcoming law review article by Mitchell Hamline Associate Professor Jason Marisam.<\/p>\n

Oral arguments in the case, Moore v. Harper<\/em><\/a>, will be heard this week, on December 7. Marisam\u2019s forthcoming article<\/a> focuses on the crux of the case \u2013 a theory called the independent state legislature theory. The case is over redistricting maps in North Carolina. Legal experts contend if the conservative-leaning Supreme Court backs the theory, it will have important ramifications on elections throughout the country. Marisam\u2019s article, entitled \u201cThe Dangerous Independent State Legislature Theory,\u201d explains and exposes its \u201cflaws and dangers.\u201d It will be published by the Michigan State Law Review.<\/p>\n

Mariam\u2019s piece is cited in three briefs filed in the case. One was filed by a bipartisan group<\/a> of former public officials, former judges, and election experts from Pennsylvania; another was filed by the Lawyers\u2019 Committee<\/a> for Civil Rights under Law, along with fourteen additional organizations; and the third was filed by former Republican<\/a> elected and executive branch officials. In all three cases, the briefs support the respondents, meaning they oppose the idea of the independent state legislature theory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m heartened these organizations have looked to this article for inspiration in their work on this case,\u201d said Marisam. \u201cThis case is incredibly important to elections and voting, and I hope the justices take the time to fully understand the implications of the independent state legislature theory.\u201d<\/p>\n

In short, the independent state legislature theory contends that the U.S. Constitution delegates authority to regulate federal elections in a state to only the state\u2019s elected lawmakers in the legislative branch, and that no checks and balances exist from state judges. The ramifications are far-reaching beyond federal elections, as states usually regulate elections at all levels of government in the same or similar ways.<\/p>\n

If a legislature were to change a law over how to regulate elections, the theory implies that a judge could not strike it down for violating the state constitution \u2013 as can currently happen. For example, if the Supreme Court were to adopt the strongest version of the theory, judges could not strike down gerrymandered congressional districts drawn by state legislatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe independent state legislature theory would effectively eliminate state-level constitutional protections for voting rights,\u201d Marisam writes, in the article. \u201cHowever, the justifications for the theory are undertheorized, flawed, and unsupported.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe theory cannot do the work that should be required before gutting a civil right as important and fundamental as voting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marisam joined the Mitchell Hamline faculty earlier this year<\/a> from the Minnesota Attorney General\u2019s office, where he was an assistant attorney general in the solicitor general\u2019s division. In 2020, he represented Minnesota\u2019s secretary of state in several court cases over how the election was administered during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Marisam is doing important work in the area of election law and scholarship around elections,\u201d said Mitchell Hamline President and Dean Anthony Niedwiecki. \u201cOur students are already benefiting from his expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Supreme Court justices will hear the case on December 7, they have until the end of their term next summer to issue their final opinion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The authors of three briefs in an important election-related Supreme Court case have cited a forthcoming law review article by Mitchell Hamline Associate Professor Jason Marisam. Oral arguments in the case, Moore v. Harper, will be heard this week, on December 7. Marisam\u2019s forthcoming article focuses on the crux of the case \u2013 a theory … <\/p>\n

Mitchell Hamline professor\u2019s forthcoming article cited in briefs in crucial Supreme Court case<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5668,"featured_media":18953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[53,359,35,540,358,541,542,57,538],"class_list":{"0":"post-18950","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features","8":"category-news","9":"tag-anthony-niedwiecki","10":"tag-election-law","11":"tag-faculty","12":"tag-independent-state-legislature-theory","13":"tag-jason-marisam","14":"tag-moore-v-harper","15":"tag-redistricting","16":"tag-scotus","17":"tag-supreme-court","18":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5668"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}