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
League of Women Voters of Missouri v. State
The Missouri Supreme Court permanently enjoined criminal penalties for third-party voter registration and voter-engagement activities, upholding a lower court decision that the restrictions were unconstitutionally vague and violated free speech and association rights
State ex rel. Sanduskians for Sandusky v. The City of Sandusky
Mandated city commission submit proposed city charter amendment to a special election, but commission is not constitutionally required to place proposal on general election ballot
Eddie Armstrong & Lance Huey v. Thurston
Ruled statute permitting State Board of Election Commissioners discretion to certify ballot initiative to Secretary of State conflicted with constitution’s initiative clause
Ritter v. State
Ruled statutes requiring governor to declare a state of emergency before school districts may make decisions regarding local health matters were an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority
Leibsohn v. Hobbs
Ruled statutory registration requirements for petition circulators for ballot initiatives unreasonably hinder or restrict the initiative power
Department of Corrections v. Stefano
Held that a person released from prison on electronic monitoring has due process rights implicated when they are removed from electronic monitoring and returned to prison
State v. Verrill
Held that neither double jeopardy clause nor due process clause barred retrial of defendant whose mistrial was due to the state's discovery violations
In re 2022 Legislative Districting of the State
Held that state legislative districts did not violate requirement that districts be compact, continguous, and regard natural boundaries
Reproductive Freedom for All v. Board of State Canvassers
Dissent wrote that word spacing in ballot petition’s proposed amendment to the constitution did not meet constitutional mandate of placing full text of amendment on the petition
State v. Obrero
Ruled 1982 constitutional amendment did not repeal by implication statute requiring grand jury for felony prosecutions, thus prosecution based on complaint and probable cause hearing was unlawful
Promote The Vote 2022 v. Board of State Canvassers
Ruled ballot petition’s proposed amendments did not abrogate existing provisions to trigger constitutional requirement to republish those provisions
