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 August 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"
Cobb County v. Floam
Held that the claims of two citizens who sought a declaratory judgment that their local board of commissioners acted unconstitutionally when it changed the commission district boundaries lines must be dismissed because the plaintiffs did not show any uncertainty as to their future conduct that warranted declaratory relief.
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc. v. Hilgers
Held that a bill containing restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming for minors care did not violate the state constitution's prohibition on bills that contain more than one subject because both issues relate to regulating healthcare.
Castellanos v. State of California et al.
Upheld a ballot measure approved by voters in 2022 that classifies app-based drivers as independent contractors. Plaintiffs claimed the measure infringed on the state legislature's constitutional authority to create a workers' compensation system.
People v. Flores
Ruled that trying to avoid contact with or being seen by police is not enough to allow police to detain a person or hold them for questioning.
Brown v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will decide if mobile voting sites are legal under state law.
Joshua M. v. State
Three siblings who spent years of their childhood in the foster care system, where they suffered sexual and physical abuse, were barred by sovereign immunity from bringing claims against the state relating to that abuse.
Texas v. Loe
The Texas Supreme Court refused to block a ban on certain medical treatments for transgender minors, saying the state legislature had a rational basis for passing the law and that it does not improperly infringe on the rights of parents to make medical decisions for the children or on physicians’ abilities to treat patients. The court also said the law does not constitute sex discrimination and declined to treat transgender people as a protected class.
Fleischmann v. Aguilar
The Nevada Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision denying a request for declaratory judgment brought by opponents of a Republican-backed ballot initiative that would require voters to present photo identification
In re Covid-related Restrictions on Religious Services
Members of the Christian clergy claim Delaware’s restrictions on communal religious worship in churches during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic violated their constitutionally protected religious freedoms. On appeal, the state supreme court will consider whether the governor is entitled to sovereign immunity for exercising his powers under the state’s emergency act.
Barrett v. Montana
Ruled that three 2021 laws regulating universities were unconstitutional, including the “Save Women’s Sports Act” that banned transgender athletes from playing on women’s college teams.
