The UMKC Law Review is pleased to announce a call for submission relating to state constitutional-law issues. In 1977, as the Burger Court was moving federal constitutional law in a more moderate direction, Justice William Brennan Jr. urged lawyers to explore the rights provided in state constitutions. More recently, state courts have relied on state constitutions to address abortion, climate change, implied rights of action, jury-trial rights, and other issues. We seek articles on both the standards courts should apply when deciding whether state and federal constitutional rights differ and the potential application of state constitutional law in specific areas. 

This Symposia will be the third issue of UMKC Law Review’s 93rd Volume and will explore these and related topics to help advance awareness of emerging legal issues stemming from state constitutions. Articles and essays of all lengths and papers by single or multiple authors are invited. Preference will be given to works between 5,000 and 20,000 words. To be accepted for publication, the article must have not been previously published. 

The Call for Papers opens today with abstracts due on Thursday, November 30, 2023. Selected proposals will be notified by Sunday, December 31, 2023. The finished article will be due Monday, July 1, 2024. Our editors will work with you over the Summer and Fall to prepare your work for publication. The symposium volume will be published and released in the Winter of 2024. 

Proposals and questions should be submitted to both: 

            Prof. Steve Leben, faculty advisor, at sleben@umkc.edu

            Parker Rahman, Symposia editor, at pr896@mail.missouri.edu

Proposals must contain the following information:

 Name

 Contact information

 CV

Proposed title of paper

Anticipated word count as either an article or essay 

Abstract or brief description of the topic