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."
Gonzalez v. Miller
Unanimously affirmed the denial of a district attorney’s effort to dismiss a state Open Records Act request relating to her office’s “failure . . . to effectively prosecute criminal cases, and an open disregard for the laws of the State of Georgia"
Paschall v. Thurston
Ruled that votes for a proposed marijuana-related amendment will not be counted because the name and ballot description for the measure are misleading
Genser v. Butler County Board of Elections
Held citizens whose mail-in ballots were disqualified for a failure to return them in the required secrecy envelope have a right to cast a provisional ballot and have it count.
Commonwealth v. Yard
Held that the evidentiary limitation that requires that "proof is evident or presumption great," which calls for a burden of proof between probable cause and beyond a reasonable doubt, does not apply to the life-offense exception to the right to bail under the state constitution
State ex rel. Collar v. Evnen
Held that referendum seeking to repeal act providing scholarships to eligible students to cover costs of schooling did not make an "appropriation" within the meaning of constitutional exception to referendum power
State ex rel. Elizabeth Constance v. Evnen
Held that voter ballot initiative, which proposed to amend the state constitution to limit abortion in the second and third trimesters, did not violate the single subject rule
Richard v. Governor
Ruled that the state constitutional provision governing choice of governor, council, and senators did not mandate that votes must be counted by hand
Ex parte Charette
Held that the exhaustion of administrative remedies in the Texas Ethics Commission is a prerequisite to bringing criminal charges against a political candidate for campaign-law violations
People v. Jennings
Will consider what standard Michigan courts should adopt to determine whether prosecutorial misconduct bars retrial under the state’s double jeopardy clause. The defendant argues that the federal constitutional standard--which requires proof that a prosecutor specifically intended to cause a mistrial--inadequately protects the principles of double jeopardy and insufficiently deters egregious conduct, so an objective standard should apply under the Michigan Constitution.
People v. Lewis
Held that the county court is not required to grant appeal bond to a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor and found to pose a danger to the community, but is, upon request, required to stay the execution of defendant's sentence pending appeal to the district court
