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 October 2024.
Featured Cases
Genser v. Butler County Board of Elections
Held citizens whose mail-in ballots were disqualified for a failure to return them in the required secrecy envelope have a right to cast a provisional ballot and have it count.
Cincinnati Enquirer v. Bloom
Found the blanket sealing of a juvenile’s delinquency records when the juvenile is found not delinquent — the juvenile equivalent of not guilty — unconstitutional because there was no determination that the harm to the juvenile outweighed the public’s right to access court records
Gonzalez v. Miller
Unanimously affirmed the denial of a district attorney’s effort to dismiss a state Open Records Act request relating to her office’s “failure . . . to effectively prosecute criminal cases, and an open disregard for the laws of the State of Georgia"
Albence v. Mennella
The Delaware Supreme Court dismissed for lack of standing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2019 law permitting early in-person voting “at least 10 days before an election," and a 2010 statute allowing some voters who are already eligible to vote absentee to apply for permanent absentee status.
Snell v. Walz
Held that the Emergency Management Act, which authorized the Governor to declare a peacetime emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic, did not provide for an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority
Alaska Trappers Association v. City of Valdez
Held that a local ordinance regulating animal trappings within city limits was enacted pursuant to the city’s authority to regulate land use and public safety and not substantially irreconcilable with state law
Brown v. Kotek
Held that the terms of the conditional commutation limited the Governor's authority to revoke the commutation to the period before the commutee's sentence had expired
Cosme v. Clark
Ruled that under Indiana's constitutional right to a jury trial, courts cannot weigh conflicting evidence or assess witness credibility at the directed-verdict stage
Usachenok v. Department of the Treasury
Held that the confidentiality directive in regulation applicable to harassment and discrimination investigations in state workplaces was constitutionally overbroad under New Jersey's affirmative right to speak freely, which is broader than federal First Amendment Protections
State v. Penna
Dissent would have held that the criminal suspect was required to be reminded of his Miranda rights to validly waive a prior invocation, reading Florida's constitutional right against self-incrimination more expansively than its federal counterpart
Walter v. State
Dissent would have held that the imposition of monetary sanctions against the indigent defendant and the denial of his right to file further applications in forma pauperis violated equal access
O’Halloran v. Sec. of State
The Michigan Supreme Court will decide the legality of certain instructions for election challengers and poll watchers issued by the secretary of state in 2022 in response to reports of widespread disruption by challengers in 2020.
Lucas v. Ashcroft
Ruled that the fiscal note summary printed on every ballot cast for a constitutional amendment authorizing increase in minimum funding of city police force was inaccurate and misleading
