Document Type
Honors Project
Publication Date
12-2018
Abstract
It would be logical to assume state supreme courts, when reviewing state constitutional challenges, interpret their state constitutions in unique and independent ways. This is not true in same-sex marriage cases. Counterintuitively, state supreme courts use a non-independent standard of review created by the federal government. My research shows that state courts are shaped by federal scrutiny standards in same-sex marriage cases. I will show how Washington, Connecticut, and California all adopted federal scrutiny. I will also show how Vermont did not adopt the federal scrutiny, yet was still shaped by the standard.
Level of Honors
magna cum laude
Department
Government
Advisor
Steven Wulf
Recommended Citation
Farrell, Shane, "The Adoption of Federal Scrutiny by State Supreme Courts in Same-Sex Marriage Jurisprudence" (2018). Lawrence University Honors Projects. 129.
https://lux.lawrence.edu/luhp/129