Carlos Chévere Lugo (St. Mary’s University – School of Law) has posted Human Dignity Beyond Due Process: State Constitutions as Laboratories of Human Worth on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Human dignity, though absent from the text of the United States Constitution, has become a recurring theme in the jurisprudence of state constitutions. While the federal Supreme Court has invoked the concept of dignity rhetorically, offering little doctrinal grounding, state constitutions have increasingly incorporated dignity provisions as explicit or implicit sources of substantive rights. This article examines dignity as a distinctive foundation for state constitutional law, exploring both its philosophical roots and its comparative dimensions within the framework of global constitutionalism. It surveys explicit dignity provisions in jurisdictions such as Montana and Puerto Rico, dignity clauses tied to reproductive autonomy in Vermont, indirect references in Illinois and Louisiana, and symbolic dignity protections in victims’ rights amendments.
Beyond mapping state constitutional text, the article examines how dignity serves as a generative principle for expanding rights. It analyzes the role of dignity in shaping protections for privacy and autonomy, particularly in the digital age, and considers its impact on equality, antidiscrimination, health, housing, and criminal punishment. In these contexts, dignity emerges as a substantive complement to due process and equal protection guarantees, offering state courts a framework for holistic constitutional interpretation.
More broadly, the article argues that dignity clauses in state constitutions offer a unique opportunity for the development of new constitutional rights that address contemporary challenges. From social rights, such as housing and health, to emerging protections in technology and criminal justice, the recognition of dignity as an inviolable principle opens the door for innovative rights creation that reflects the lived realities of citizens at the state level. This underscores the importance of state constitutional law not merely as a secondary forum of adjudication, but as a primary site of doctrinal innovation and democratic experimentation in the protection of fundamental rights.
Recommended!
To receive new posts from Legal Theory Blog by email, get a free subscription to Legal Theory Stack.
Lawrence Solum