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."
Commonwealth v. Dilworth
Held that the court will apply a less rigorous standard when evaluating equal protection claims in the context of alleged discriminatory policing during the investigatory phase of a case
State v. Miller
Held that the Iowa Constitution’s cruel and unusual punishment clause does not prohibit sentencing juvenile offenders to a minimum prison term before they are eligible for parole and rejected the defendant’s argument that the same clause bars such a sentence unless there is expert testimony concerning defendants’ “youthful characteristics"
Hild, Administration of the Estate of Boldman v. Samaritan Health Partners
Held that when jurors are presented with interrogatories that require them to separately decide the elements of a negligence claim, the same-juror rule applies, requiring the same three-fourths of jurors to agree on all questions comprising the verdict slip
State ex rel. Spung v. Evnen
Ordered election officials to implement immediately a 2024 law that reinstated voting rights to those convicted of a felony upon completion of their sentence, meaning affected people can now register to vote for November’s election. The secretary of state, based on an advisory opinion from the state attorney general calling the law unconstitutional, had directed election officials to stop registering people with a felony conviction who had not received a pardon.
Republican National Committee v. Aguilar
Nevada Supreme Court affirmed denial of a preliminary injunction sought by the Republican National Committee to stop the practice of counting mail-in ballots that lack a postmark date but arrive by the statutory deadline. State law provides that ballots for which the “date of the postmark cannot be determined” must arrive by 5:00 p.m. on the third day after the election. The court found the statutory language ambiguous but said both legislative history and public policy support counting the un-postmarked ballots.
League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature (LWV 2)
Utah Supreme Court voided Amendment D, a legislatively referred proposed state constitutional amendment that would have allowed lawmakers to repeal citizen-initiated and approved ballot measures. The amendment would have overturned a prior Utah high court ruling. The high court found the legislature failed to follow the proper procedure for placing an amendment on the ballot.
Planned Parenthood of Montana v. State (Planned Parenthood 3)
Upheld preliminary injunction against 2023 laws and an agency rule that limit Medicaid coverage for abortion, finding that they likely violate the right to a pre-viability abortion the Montana Supreme Court has recognized as protected by the state constitution's right to privacy, as well as the state's equal protection clause.
Planned Parenthood of Montana v. State (Planned Parenthood 4)
Upheld preliminary injunction against 2023 laws that prohibit dilation and evacuation abortions—the only outpatient procedure available in the second trimester in Montana—and require an ultrasound pre-abortion, effectively preventing telehealth mediation abortions. A majority of the court found that these laws likely violate the right to a pre-viability abortion the Montana Supreme Court has recognized as protected by the state constitution's right to privacy.
Natalie R. v. State of Utah
Plaintiffs claim that state's policy of promoting fossil-fuel development violates their substantive due process rights to life and to be free from government conduct that endangers health and safety
Krasner v. Ward
Held that articles of impeachment brought by the Pennsylvania legislature against District Attorney of Philadelphia County Larry Krasner became null and void upon the expiration in November 2022 of that legislative session.
