Escaping State Constitutional Duty

Abstract

Focusing on state constitutional cases presenting challenges based on affirmative state constitutional duties, this Article examines the role of judicial escape devices, concluding that judicial escape significantly impacts the enforcement of such duties. Building upon this critique, the Article then moves to evaluate the use of escape devices under the fiduciary norms that undergird the judicial role, along with state government in general. The Article ultimately illustrates that the use of escape devices in state constitutional cases is broadly inconsistent with not only the fiduciary duties that apply to the judiciary, but also those that apply to the other branches.