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 February 2025.
Featured Cases
LeMieux v. Evers
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will address the scope of Gov. Tony Evers’s state constitutional authority to approve spending bills passed by the legislature only “in part,” by line-item vetoing other parts.
People v. Taylor; People v. Czarnecki
Michigan Supreme Court held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences violate the state constitution’s protection against “cruel or unusual” punishment for anyone under age 21 at the time of the offense. The decision extends the court’s 2022 ruling in People v. Parks that such sentences are unconstitutional for those 18 or under.
N'Da v. Hybl
Nebraska Supreme Court held that statutory requirement that applicant seeking certificate to provide nonemergency medical transport must show the proposed service is required by "public convenience and necessity" does not facially violate state constitutional due process or bans on "special laws" or laws granting "special privileges and immunities." Also held that that the Nebraska Constitution's due process and equal protection clauses are coextensive with their federal equivalents, so federal rational basis review applies to substantive due process challenges to economic regulations, not the heightened standard the court had applied in a line of cases from the early 20th century.
State v. Abu Youm
Dissent argued that majority fails to meaningfully apply Iowa’s two-part test concerning community caretaking exception to rule against unreasonable searches
State v. Lafoga
Dissent argued multiple constitutional missteps by trial court, including deprivation of right to be presumed not guilty, effective assistance of counsel, and impartial judge
State v. Purcell
Held that when an individual’s “substantial rights” are affected by a postconviction order, the order is appealable per constitutional right to appeal criminal convictions
Vitale v. Bellows Falls Union High School
Held that Education clause does not require the state to pay for children to attend the school of their parents' choice, and the state may select any appropriate, substantially equal, means for providing education
City of Houston v. Houston Proffesional Fire Fighters Association
Ruled that provision of public employee law did not violate constitutional separation of powers because it established "reasonable standards" for judicial enforcement
Winchester v. State
Held that Maine courts must apply a “flexible balancing test” weighing all relevant circumstances in assessing speedy trial violations
Johnson v. State
Ruled that defendants do not have a constitutional right to hybrid representation, but that there is also no constitutional prohibition against it
In re Petition for Emergency Remedy By Maryland State Board of Elections
Ruled that election law delegating task of protecting electoral integrity to courts did not violate constitution’s separation of powers clause as the task was a judicial function
In re Smart
Ruled that state constitution does not bestow a legally protected interest in obtaining a commutation hearing that would implicate procedural due process rights
Commonwealth v. Privette
Ruled that investigating officers’ knowledge giving rise to reasonable suspicion can be imputed to an acting officer so long as there was awareness of some critical facts and communication with those officers
