Behind The Bench Newsletter

Issue 38: The Lazy “Shortcut” Erasing Civil Rights in Colorado

Plus: Michigan Supreme Court holds that sex offender registration is "punishment"

Dec 22, 2025 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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Issue 37: Right-wing Justices Behaving Badly

Plus: The Michigan Court of Appeals bars de facto life terms for youth

Dec 8, 2025 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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Issue 36: New Jersey High Court Bans 'Shaken Baby' Evidence -- Will Other Junk Science Follow?

Plus: Key oral arguments on lifetime sex offense registration and racial profiling

Dec 1, 2025 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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September 2025

August 2025

Special Edition: The Little-Known State Constitutional Prohibition Against 'Unnecessary' Criminal Punishments

Prof. Kristen Bell's guest essay on her groundbreaking new article about 'unnecessary rigor' clauses & what they mean for excessive sentence claims

Aug 15, 2025 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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June 2025

Issue 33: The Colorado Supreme Court Is Full Of Prosecutors And It Shows

The Court has been a menace to personal liberty and equality while granting more power to police and prosecutors

Jun 10, 2025 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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April 2025

Special Edition: Michigan Supreme Court Bans Mandatory LWOP For People Under 21

The ruling extends a prior case that applied to 18-year-olds and further expands state constitutional rights beyond federal precedent

Apr 10, 2025 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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March 2025

Issue 31: Some good news for civil rights and racial justice in state supreme courts

Plus: Michigan remains the epicenter of developing state antipunishment jurisprudence

Mar 18, 2025 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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October 2024

Issue 30: Colorado Supreme Court Makes Complete Mess Of Excessive Sentencing Case

Plus: Driving from Des Moines to Chicago isn't a crime, it turns out

Oct 8, 2024 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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August 2024

Special Edition: Will The Michigan Supreme Court Ban Death By Incarceration?

Plus: The South Carolina Supreme Court's chilling order approving the firing squad & electric chair

Aug 5, 2024 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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July 2024

Issue 28: “In criminal matters, judicial economy must give way to the demand for the truth”

Plus: Will the Michigan Supreme Court break up with the 'reasonable person'?

Jul 29, 2024 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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Issue 27: Two California Justices Fight Extreme Punishments

Plus: The Surprising Progressive Histories of State Antipunishment Rights

Jul 11, 2024 • Kyle Barry (SLRI)

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