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
Luther v. Hoskins
The Missouri Supreme Court rejected voters' challenge to Missouri's new congressional district map, which the plaintiffs said ran afoul of state constitutional prohibitions on mid-decade redistricting. The court said the state constitution contained no express prohibition on mid-decade redistricting and that the map was a "valid exercise" of the "plenary legislative power to establish congressional districts."
Dulin v. State
Dissent would have held that when the total court costs imposed on a defendant do not plainly exceed the cost to the state of litigating the case, there is no violation of separation of powers
State v. Lopez-Carrera
Dissent wrote that State's sovereign power and victims' rights require that statute limiting pretrial detention permit detention of a defendant noncitizen when removal is certain and imminent
Z.W.E. v. L.B. (Ex parte Z.W.E.)
Concurrence would have ruled that parentage statute’s definition of “child” should be interpreted to include unborn children as constitution specifically protects their rights
In re Humphrey
Ruled equal protection and substantive due process require court to consider financial ability to post bail and whether less restrictive alternatives to detention could satisfy government’s interests
Reagan v. Idaho Transportation Department
Ruled that statute authorizing warrantless arrest for driving under the influence, even if the officer did not witness the offense, violates protection against unreasonable searches and seizures
Ortiz v. State
Concurrence wrote that prosecution's summation argument that the defendant tailored his testimony after listening to the evidence at trial violates the defendant's right to be present at trial
Gomersall v. St. Luke's Regional Medican Center, Ltd.
Ruled that statute governing time limitation for minor children to bring professional malpractice actions did not violate due process, equal protection, or right to access courts
Hamen v. Hamlin County
Ruled that damage caused by law enforcement during an arrest is not a taking under the state constitution
Markwell v. Cooke
Ruled unintelligible sounds generated by computers to read simultaneously portions of a bill on Senate floor violated constitution’s reading requirement
Siebert v. Okun
Ruled that cap on damages in medical malpractice statute did not violate right to trial by jury because the damages cap did not invade the fact-finding province of the jury
