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 February 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.
Under the Rainbow Early Education Center v. County of Goodhue
Ruled early childhood education center is a tax-exempt seminary of learning under the constitution
Spiegel v. Board of Education of Howard County
Held rules for qualification and selection of student member to county board of education do not violate Maryland Constitution’s election requirements and Declaration of Rights
Prickett v. State
Ruled defendant's constitutional right to be present at trial was not violated when counsel conferred with court during bench conferences out of defendant’s presence
State v. Pizzuto
Ruled statute allowing governor to reject Idaho Commission of Pardon and Parole clemency recommendations is constitutional expression of legislature’s authority over Commission
People v. Boykin
Held that trial courts must consider a juvenile defendant's youth to be a mitigating factor when sentencing them to term-of-years sentence
People v. Parks
Held that mandatory sentences of life without parole for people who are 18 at the time of the crime are unconstitutional under the state constitution
North Carolina NAACP v. Moore
Ruled principles of popular sovereignty and democratic self-rule impose limits on authority of legislators elected from unconstitutionally racially gerrymandered districts to initiate process of amending constitution
Brown v. State
Dissent would have denied indigent defendant's petition as meritless without limiting future filings in forma pauperis, as violating constitutional right to access to courts
Willis v. Bernini
Ruled state’s failure to present clearly exculpatory evidence to the grand jury relevant to 3rd-party defense justification violated defendant’s constitutional due process rights
State v. The Alaska Legislative Council
Ruled legislature’s education appropriation from a future fiscal year’s budget violates constitution’s budgetary clauses’ implied requirement that funds be appropriated annually
