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 2024.
Featured Cases
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.
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc, et al. v. Kim Reynolds, et al.
The Iowa Supreme Court held that abortion is not a fundamental right under the state constitution and is only subject to rational basis review. The court reversed a lower court injunction halting the state's "fetal heartbeat" law.
Drummond v. Statewide Virtual Charter Schoolboard
Ruled that the state education board’s approval of a Catholic school's application to be a public charter school violated the Oklahoma Constitution, the federal Establishment Clause, and the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act
Harris v. State
Ruled that right to a jury trial applies to "habitual offender" trials, but that there is no right to present evidence to a jury that does not prove or disprove prior convictions
Falls v. Goins
Ruled that requiring persons with out of state felony convictions to comply with two separate statutes to regain suffrage rights was within the legislature’s constitutional authority to disenfranchise persons with felony convictions
Facebook, Inc. v. State
Ruled that the contemporaneous acquisition of electronic communications is the equivalent of wiretap surveillance and is therefore entitled to greater constitutional protection
Wisconsin Property Taxpayers, Inc. v. Town of Buchanan
Concurrence would have held that the fee structure implemented by the Town of Buchanan's Transportation Utility Fee violated the Uniformity Clause of the Wisconsin Constitution
State v. Cohen
Held that automobile exception to warrant requirement does not allow for search of the trunk or engine compartment based only on the smell of marijuana from inside the car
Ex parte Sheffield
Ruled that defendant’s speedy trial claims were not cognizable in pretrial habeas corpus litigation, which would effectively undermine rather than vindicate the constitutional right before trial
People v. Smith
Ruled that a court may not treat an offense as a 'capital offense' for the purposes of setting bail if the general assembly has abolished the death penalty for that offense
Aurora Public Schools. v. A.S.
Ruled that statute creating a new cause of action for victims of child sexual abuse pre-dating the statute and for which claims were time-barred was unconstitutional as applied under constitution’s prohibition on retrospective legislation
Planned Parenthood of Heartland, Inc. v. Reynolds
Issued a split opinion as to the constitutionality of abortion ban, leaving in place lower court decision
State ex rel. One Person One Vote v. LaRose
Ruled that legislature was constitutionally authorized to prescribe a special election on a specific date by joint resolution on a proposed constitutional amendment, overriding election statute prohibiting otherwise