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."
Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. State
Held that determination that corporate subentities of Roman Catholic diocese's social ministry arm were not operated primarily for religious purposes did not constitute as-applied violation of Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses
Thompson v. Fhuere
Held that defendant's challenge to constitutionality of death sentence, together with challenge to postconviction court's modification of sentence rather than remand for resentencing, were not cognizable on postconviction review after Governor commuted death sentence
Syed v. Lee
Maryland Supreme Court held that victim's representatives had a right to participate in person a hearing on a motion to vacate defendant's conviction under state constitution's requirement that crime victims be treated with dignity and sensitivity
Jane Doe v. Manchester School District
Plaintiff claims that school district's policy that staff generally should not inform parents when a student identifies as gender nonconforming, absent student consent, violates parents' rights
State v. McKelvey
Held that a state trooper's use of telephoto lens to enhance photographs of defendant's greenhouse from aerial surveillance was a "search" under the state's search and seizure clause
Smith v. Ohio State University
Held that discretionary immunity serves as a jurisdictional bar, not an affirmative defense, to suits against the state in the Court of Claims
Davis v. Bissen
Held that unabandoned possessions of houseless persons constitute property and were protected by Hawaii's due process clause
State Chamber of Oklahoma v. Cobbs
Dissent would have struck down Initiative Petition 446 as a facially unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority to federal officials in direct contravention of the Court's precedent
Aztec Municipal Schools v. Cardenas
Affirmed a lower court decision that a workers’ compensation limit on the duration of disability benefits for a mental illness violated the equal protection clause of the state constitution.
Vazquez v. State
Held that the statute generally defining state residency governs Alaska Constitution's three-year state residency requirement for Alaska legislators
