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
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.
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.
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
Leibsohn v. Hobbs
Ruled statutory registration requirements for petition circulators for ballot initiatives unreasonably hinder or restrict the initiative power
State v. Verrill
Held that neither double jeopardy clause nor due process clause barred retrial of defendant whose mistrial was due to the state's discovery violations
Promote The Vote 2022 v. Board of State Canvassers
Ruled ballot petition’s proposed amendments did not abrogate existing provisions to trigger constitutional requirement to republish those provisions
Reproductive Freedom for All v. Board of State Canvassers
Dissent wrote that word spacing in ballot petition’s proposed amendment to the constitution did not meet constitutional mandate of placing full text of amendment on the petition
State v. Obrero
Ruled 1982 constitutional amendment did not repeal by implication statute requiring grand jury for felony prosecutions, thus prosecution based on complaint and probable cause hearing was unlawful
State v. Anderson
Ruled defendant’s de facto life sentence of 61 years without parole for juvenile offender crimes does not violate Washington Constitution’s prohibition against cruel punishment
Reed v. State
Ruled defense counsel’s participation in unrecorded bench conferences outside of defendant’s presence did not violate defendant’s right to be present at critical stages of the criminal proceeding
Lord v. Salt Lake County Clerk
Rejected request for declaratory relief that school district property tax increase was subject to constitution’s voter referendum rights provision
Anderson v. Board of State Canvassers
Concurrence wrote that constitutional amendments proposed by initiative rather than by the legislature may be constitutionally limited to a single purpose
Hendrix v. Jaeger
Ruled Secretary of State’s invalidation of all petition signatures on the basis of notary fraud imputed from inference of fraud in other petitions was a misapplication of the law