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 January 2025.
Featured Cases
Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs
Washington Supreme Court held requirement that election workers verify voter signatures on mail ballots, when coupled with the state’s recently expanded process for notifying voters and providing an opportunity to cure when a signature mismatch is identified, does not facially violate the state constitution’s free and equal elections, privileges and immunities, or due process clause.
SisterSong v. Georgia
Plaintiffs claim that abortion ban violates the state constitution’s right to liberty and privacy and guarantee of equal protection
Texas v. Margaret Daley Carpenter
Texas’s attorney general sued a New York doctor for mailing abortion-including drugs to a woman in Texas, claiming she practiced medicine in Texas without a Texas license and improperly aided an abortion. After the doctor did not respond to the complaint, a Texas trial court issued a default judgment enjoining her from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs to state residents and imposing $100,000 in civil penalties, as sought by the attorney general.
State v. Comer
Held that juvenile defendants subject to mandatory lengthy sentences for homicide convictions are entitled to petition for a review of their sentence after serving 20 years in prison
Citizens for Fair Rates & the Environment v. New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
Rejected claims that law allowing public utilities to recover the costs of transitioning to renewable energy violates due process, prohibitions on impairing contract rights, and other constitutional provisions
Arizona School Boards Association, Inc. v. State
Held budget reconciliation bills violated constitution’s title requirement by not providing notice and senate bill violated single subject rule for containing discordant subjects
DuBose v. McGuffey
Dissent would have limited appellate court review of lower court bail determinations
In re Mohammad
Ruled regulation excluding inmates convicted of a felony from early parole was a reasonable interpretation of constitutional amendment providing for nonviolent offender parole reviews
Whitehead v. Fagan
Ruled qualified voters under the constitution’s initiative provision do not include voters with inactive registration and thus whose signatures may not count on initiative petitions
State v. McCarthy
Overruled per se exigency exception to constitution’s warrant requirements, held state must prove exigent circumstances actually existed at the time of the seizure or search of defendant’s vehicle
State v. Sargent
Ruled police questioning about conditions of defendant’s pretrial release exceeded the permissible scope of a traffic stop and was an unlawful seizure
Commonwealth v. Barr
Ruled that odor of marijuana alone does not amount to probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle under the state constitution
State v. Smith
Ruled defendant’s failure to stop for a minor traffic violation did not create an exigency for a warrantless search after defendant invoked his right to privacy in his driveway
