State Case Database
Search State Court Report's database of significant state supreme court decisions and pending cases. Download decisions and briefs for cases that develop state constitutional law. This is a selected database and does not include every state supreme court case. See methodology and "How to Use the State Case Database" for more information.
This database is updated monthly, although individual cases may be updated more frequently. Last updated comprehensively with cases decided through March 2025.
Featured Cases
Republican National Committee v. Eternal Vigilance Action, Inc; Georgia v. Eternal Vigilance Action
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled invalid under state nondelegation principles four of seven rules passed by the Georgia State Election board, while upholding one rule. The court did not decide the validity of two other rules, holding that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the provisions.
Planned Parenthood of Montana v. State (Planned Parenthood 1)
Montana Supreme Court held that a 20-week abortion ban; restrictions on medication abortions, including a telehealth ban and 24-hour waiting period; and requirement that providers give patients an opportunity to view an ultrasound and listen to a fetal heartbeat violate the express right to privacy in the state constitution.
Care and Prevention of Eve
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that department of children and families violated the state constitution's free exercise of religion protection when it vaccinated a child temporarily in its custody over the religious objections of her parents. Parents who have temporarily lost custody of their children retain a residual right to direct their religious upbringing, and the state must demonstrate that allowing the child to remain unvaccinated would substantially hinder the department’s compelling interest in the vaccination.
State v. James Ellis
Will consider whether restitution imposed as part of a criminal sentence is punishment subject to the limits on excessive fines in the federal and state constitutions and, if so, whether those clauses require sentencing courts to analyze the defendant’s ability to pay in setting the amount.
State v. Sabra Danielson, State v. Simone Nelson
Will consider the defendants' argument that it violates equal protection to refund fines or fees paid in cash when a conviction is vacated, but not to reimburse defendants who performed community service at the equivalent of minimum wages to satisfy financial obligations they were unable to pay.
Grube v. Trader; State v. Rogan
Will consider whether a state law requiring courts to make a diligent effort to seal all court records when requested by a defendant who receives an expungement order violates the public’s right to access under the First Amendment and the state constitutional equivalent. Will also consider whether the law interferes with the state judiciary’s inherent authority over its own files and procedures.
Schwartz v. Washington County
Will consider whether statutes that establish state tobacco retail licenses and that authorize licensees to sell tobacco products and vaping devices preempt a county ordinance that prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products and vapes. An intermediate court found the statutes did not preempt the county ordinance.
Paxton v. Annunciation House
Texas Supreme Court held that a clause empowering the state attorney general to seek judicial forfeiture of corporate charters permits him to bring a quo warranto action to shut down a Catholic charity based on allegations it violated a state law against harboring undocumented immigrants. The state's religious freedom restoration act does not bar the claim from being filed, and the law is neither unconstitutionally vague nor precluded by federal immigration law. Remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings on the merits.
Stephens v. State
Georgia Supreme Court upheld, under the state’s right to bear arms clause, a law banning individuals younger than 21 from carrying handguns in public, unless they have military training. Declined to import federal Second Amendment standards into Georgia’s clause, noting it distinctly and expressly grants the legislature power to regulate the manner in which firearms may be carried.
State of North Carolina v. Chambers
North Carolina Supreme Court upheld a law that allows a juror to be excused and substituted by an alternate after criminal trial deliberations have begun. Because the law requires the trial court to instruct the jury to begin deliberations anew, the majority said, a verdict will still be reached by the 12 people the state constitutional jury right guarantees, not 13.
Norfolk Southern Railway v. State Corporation Commission
Virginia Supreme Court held that a law permitting broadband service providers to install fiber optic cables across railroad property violates a state constitutional amendment providing robust "public use" requirements for eminent domain, as applied to a private company seeking to expand its network for financial gain.
