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 April 2025.
Featured Cases
Access Independent Health Services v. Wrigley
North Dakota Supreme Court upheld state's abortion ban despite three of five justices concluding a health-risk exception was unconstitutionally vague, because the state constitution requires four justices to declare legislation unconstitutional
Clarke v. Town of Newburgh
New York Court of Appeals held local government could not assert state or federal equal protection challenge to the vote dilution provision of the state's Voting Rights Act
League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature (LWV 1)
Utah Supreme Court sent partisan gerrymandering case back to lower court to consider whether the legislature violated voters' fundamental right to "reform or alter" their government when it overturned redistricting reforms passed by initiative. Lower court found legislators violated that right and struck the current congressional map, adopting an alternative proposed by the plaintiffs
State v. Patel
Ruled statute’s limitation on victim’s restitution award violates right to receive restitution in the full amount of economic loss or injury caused by a defendant's criminal conduct
Tillman v. Goodpasture
Ruled that statute abolishing wrongful birth tort did not violate rights to jury trial and legal remedy, as both rights apply only to common-law claims existing at the time of their adoption
Commonwealth v. Eid
Ruled that absence of a maximum term rendered sentencing provision in statute related to driving under a suspended license unconstitutionally vague
Commonwealth v. Hairston
Ruled that death penalty does not violate prohibition on cruel punishment, and right to effective assistance of counsel was not violated by failure to object to jury verdict that did not track relevant statutory language
State v. Vega-Larregui
Ruled that court's order authorizing virtual grand jury presentations, in response to the pandemic, did not violate separation of powers or the right to indictment by grand jury
People v. Pagano
Concurrence wrote that court should depart from federal Fourth Amendment precedent to retain the requirement that an anonymous tip be reliable both in its assertion of illegality and in its tendency to identify a determinant person
State v. Lamoureux
Ruled that statute criminalizing intimidating, harassing or offensive communications is not facially overbroad and does not constitute a content-based restriction in violation of free speech protections
City of Crestwood v. Affton Fire Protection District
Upheld statutory scheme governing a city's annexation of an unincorporated area served by a fire protection district as not a constitutionally invalid special law, local tax, or unfunded mandate
In re Monschke
Ruled that mandatory LWOP sentence under aggravated murder statute is unconstitutional as applied to 19- and 20-year old defendants
Texas State University v. Villarreal
Ruled that student's dismissal from state university does not implicate a protected liberty interest, and notification of the reason and ability to respond are adequate to satisfy due course of law clause
