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
LeMieux v. Evers
The Wisconsin Supreme Court held, in a divided decision, that the governor did not exceed his partial veto authority under the state constitution when he altered digits, words, and punctuation in a budget bill to extend a school funding increase from 2 to 402 years.
Griffin v. State Board of Elections
A candidate for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court, who lost by over 700 votes, claims that the state board of elections followed an incorrect process for registering voters and seeks in invalidate more than 60,000 votes.
People v. Taylor; People v. Czarnecki
Michigan Supreme Court held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences violate the state constitution’s protection against “cruel or unusual” punishment for anyone under age 21 at the time of the offense. The decision extends the court’s 2022 ruling in People v. Parks that such sentences are unconstitutional for those 18 or under.
Planned Parenthood Great Northwest v. State
Held that the state constitution does not implicitly provide a fundamental right to an abortion because such a right is not “deeply rooted” in the state’s traditions and history
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. State
Held that abortion ban violated the constitution’s right to privacy in part because six weeks is not sufficient time for women to determine they are pregnant
State v. Staudenmayer
Ruled that admission into evidence of court clerk’s minute entries relaying defendant’s absence from an omnibus hearing did not violate confrontation clause
Kligler v. Attorney General
Ruled that there is no fundamental right to physician-assisted suicide
Mallard v. Warden, New Hampshire State Prison
Ruled that defense counsel’s deficient performance by appealing to racial bias during a jury trial violated defendant’s rights to effective assistance of counsel and a fair trial
Brandt v. Pompa
Ruled that the compensatory damages caps for noneconomic loss is unconstitutional as applied to child victims of intentional criminal conduct
State v. Higgin
Held that Vote-by-Mail and Same-Day Registration statutes violate the constitution's voting provisions
McClain v. State
Ruled no state constitutional right to a jury trial in civil suit for wrongful imprisonment because claim did not exist in common law
Stivers v. Beshear
Ruled legislature has legislative immunity from declaratory action brought by executive branch challenging constitutionality of certain laws related to pandemic
Mack v. Williams
Held that there is a private right of action for monetary relief under state search and seizure clause, and state has no qualified immunity defense in the absence of legislation
