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 September 2025.
Featured Cases
McDougle v. Scott
Virginia Supreme Court, in a split decision, nullified a constitutional amendment approved by voters that would have allowed the state's congressional districts to be redrawn, finding the legislative process used for the amendment violated the state constitution
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
IntegrateNYC, Inc. v. State
New York Court of Appeals dismissed the plaintiffs' state constitutional claim that the NYC public education system discriminates against Black and Latino students, finding the allegations vague and conclusory
Ball v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester
New Hampshire Supreme Court held that retroactive application of a law eliminating the statute of limitations for personal actions based on sexual assault would violate Part I, Article 23 of the New Hampshire Constitution
In re Schoenhals
Washington Supreme Court held that Washington's constitutional prohibition on mandatory life-without-parole sentences for 18-to-20-year-old offenders is a substantive constitutional rule that applies retroactively on collateral review
Maunalua Bay Beach Ohana 28 v. State
Hawaii Supreme Court held that Hawaii's Takings Clause does not waive sovereign immunity for awards of attorneys' fees in inverse condemnation cases against the State
State v. Spies
Hawaii Supreme Court held that officers engaging in consensual interrogation after a traffic stop must clearly inform the person that they are free to go prior to commencing the interrogation, absent independent reasonable suspicion justifying continued detention
In re A.K.M.
Montana Supreme Court held that Montana's Equal Protection Clause requires extending the right to court-appointed counsel that indigent parents have in abuse-and-neglect cases to indigent parents in private termination-of-parental-rights proceedings
Roebuck v. Mayo Clinic
Arizona Supreme Court held that eliminating a patient's right to recover damages for ordinary negligence violates the Arizona Constitution's anti-abrogation clause
People v. Kopp
California Supreme Court held that excessive fines clause is proper vehicle for challenging imposition of a fine; and equal protection requires courts before assessing certain fees to consider a criminal defendant's inability to pay, as laws imposing similar fees in civil cases contain a waiver option for indigent litigants
Thigpen v. Best Home Care
Minnesota Supreme Court held that penalty for unemployment benefit misrepresentation did not violate excessive fines clause and declined to decide whether ability to pay should be part of the proportionality analysis
People v. Ormsbee
Michigan Supreme Court will consider whether a law permitting trial courts to assess fees on convicted defendants to fund court operations violates due process by creating potential for bias, separation of powers, or a clause requiring a distinct statement for any tax
