Touro Law Review
Abstract
The Supreme Court is set to hear a case that threatens the bedrock of America’s democracy, and it is not clear how it will shake out. The cumbersomely named “Independent State Legislature Theory” is at the heart of the case Moore v. Harper, which is before the Supreme Court this term. The theory holds that state legislatures should be free from the ordinary bounds of state judicial review when engaged in matters that concern federal elections. Despite being defeated a myriad of times at the Supreme Court, the latest challenge stems from a legal battle over North Carolina’s redistricting maps. If the Court rules in favor of the theory—as some recent scholars urge them to do—then historically undemocratic state legislatures would be free to engage in all manner of devious disenfranchisement tactics, with little to no redress in state courts.
Recommended Citation
Maggio, Nicholas and Buschi, Foreword by Brendan
(2024)
"The Mad Hatter’s Quip: Looking for Logic in the Independent State Legislature Theory,"
Touro Law Review: Vol. 39:
No.
1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/lawreview/vol39/iss1/6
Included in
Constitutional Law Commons, Election Law Commons, Supreme Court of the United States Commons