Clayton Palmer v. Richard L. Dugger, Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Respondents

I think that a state’s duty, pursuant to the federal constitution’s equal protection clause,1 to treat its prisoners uniformly concerning their periods of incarceration is limited to incarcerations during which the prisoner is subject to the authority of that same state. To me, the key concept in this case is federalism, by which I mean, among other things, the separation of powers and of obligations among the various states in respect to their own territories.

This seems to be a case of first impression in the federal appellate courts. None of the cases relied upon by today’s court is…