In 1954, the United States Supreme Court rendered the decision on Brown v. Board of Education, thereby signaling a trend towards liberalism. This trend was present until the late 1970's. A sign of the change towards conservatism is that traditionally liberal litigators, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, now turn more often to State courts in search of favorable rulings. This new judicial federalism refers to the willingness of State courts to exercise their long dormant authority to base the protection of individual rights on independent interpretations of State constitutional rights rather than United States constitutional rights. Questions are being raised by the new federalism on voter acceptance of judicial activism, intergovernmental and interstate conflicts over differing rights afforded individuals, and public education on State constitutional rights and their effects. References. (Author abstract modified)