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 June 2025.
Featured Cases
Hoke County Board of Education v. State of North Carolina
The North Carolina Supreme Court overturned its own precedent and put an end to more than 30 years of litigation involving the funding of public education in the state.
Commonwealth v. Lee
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that mandating a life sentence, without the possibility of parole, for “felony murder” — a legal doctrine that allows someone to be prosecuted for murder for any death that occurs during the commission of a separate felony, even if the defendant never meant to kill anyone — violates the Pennsylvania Constitution’s ban on “cruel” punishments
Luther v. Hoskins
The Missouri Supreme Court rejected voters' challenge to Missouri's new congressional district map, which the plaintiffs said ran afoul of state constitutional prohibitions on mid-decade redistricting. The court said the state constitution contained no express prohibition on mid-decade redistricting and that the map was a "valid exercise" of the "plenary legislative power to establish congressional districts."
In re Childers-Gray
Ruled that adjudication of sex-change petitions is within the judicial power, and does not violate the constitution's separation of powers clause or present a nonjusticiable political question
Protect the Adirondacks! Inc. v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Ruled that state's plan to construct community connector trails designed for snowmobile use in the state's forest violated constitution's "forever wild" clause
State v. Patel
Ruled statute’s limitation on victim’s restitution award violates right to receive restitution in the full amount of economic loss or injury caused by a defendant's criminal conduct
Tillman v. Goodpasture
Ruled that statute abolishing wrongful birth tort did not violate rights to jury trial and legal remedy, as both rights apply only to common-law claims existing at the time of their adoption
Commonwealth v. Eid
Ruled that absence of a maximum term rendered sentencing provision in statute related to driving under a suspended license unconstitutionally vague
Commonwealth v. Hairston
Ruled that death penalty does not violate prohibition on cruel punishment, and right to effective assistance of counsel was not violated by failure to object to jury verdict that did not track relevant statutory language
State v. Vega-Larregui
Ruled that court's order authorizing virtual grand jury presentations, in response to the pandemic, did not violate separation of powers or the right to indictment by grand jury
People v. Pagano
Concurrence wrote that court should depart from federal Fourth Amendment precedent to retain the requirement that an anonymous tip be reliable both in its assertion of illegality and in its tendency to identify a determinant person
State v. Lamoureux
Ruled that statute criminalizing intimidating, harassing or offensive communications is not facially overbroad and does not constitute a content-based restriction in violation of free speech protections
City of Crestwood v. Affton Fire Protection District
Upheld statutory scheme governing a city's annexation of an unincorporated area served by a fire protection district as not a constitutionally invalid special law, local tax, or unfunded mandate
