By Caleb Taylor
What are the differences between state and federal constitutional law? How do lawyers use state constitutions to protect their clients? How do state laws differ from those at the federal level in protecting individual rights?
Come learn the answers to these questions and more from Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Justin Pearson in a virtual event “Our State is Freer Than Yours: How State Constitutions Protect Individual Rights on March 4th at 4 p.m. sponsored by the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics, Economics Arkansas and the Institute for Justice.
Pearson was the lead attorney in a successful 2016 case that challenged a Little Rock city ordinance that required taxi cab permit applicants to “prove they would not take customers away from Little Rock’s only existing taxi company.” Pulaski County Circuit Court ruled in favor of Pearson’s client, Ken Leininger, saying that Little Rock’s city code violated the Arkansas Constitution, which prohibits the government from creating a private monopoly.
The Little Rock Board of Directors later granted Leininger’s request for seven new taxi cab permits.
During the event, Pearson will discuss how he was able to rely on a provision in the Arkansas Constitution that does not exist in most states.
Concepts from this session can be tied to Arkansas learning standards for teaching Civics, U.S. Government, Business, Entrepreneurship, and other courses in the social studies content area. The event is open to all, and educators attending this session will receive 1 hour of professional development credit and free resources to take back to their classrooms.
You can register for the event here.