Every year, each of the 50 United States

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by #Terminology, other names in some states) is the supreme court, highest court in the State court (United States), state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of State law (United States), st ...

s decides hundreds of cases. Of those cases dealing with

state law State law refers to the law of a federated state, as distinguished from the law of the federation of which it is a part. It is used when the constituent components of a federation are themselves called states. Federations made up of provinces, cant ...

, a few significantly shape or re-shape the law of their state or are so influential that they later become models for decisions of other states or the federal government, or are noted for being rejected by other jurisdictions. The same is true of those cases involving a

federal question In United States law, federal question jurisdiction is a type of subject-matter jurisdiction that gives United States federal court The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the Unit ...

, except that these may be appealed to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. This list contains notable final decisions of these courts – those that were not subject to appeal, or from which no appeal was taken, or from which an appeal was taken but

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

was denied. Appealed decisions that are notable primarily because of later actions of the U.S. Supreme Court covered in the listings of U.S. Supreme Court cases. The decisions are listed in chronological order.

1900–1949

*'' Wood v. Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon'', 222 N.Y. 88, 118 N.E. 214 ( N.Y. 1917): A contract for exclusive representation implied

consideration Consideration is a concept of English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. The court in ''Currie v Misa'' declared ...

. *'' Dodge v. Ford Motor Company'', 204 Mich. 459, 170 N.W. 668 ( Mich. 1919): Owners of a company with investors have a duty to operate the business for profitable purposes as opposed to

charitable The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion. Etymology The word ''charity'' ori ...

purposes. *''

Meinhard v. Salmon ''Meinhard v. Salmon'', 164 N.E. 545 (N.Y. 1928), is a widely cited case in which the New York Court of Appeals held that partners in a business owe fiduciary duties to one another where a business opportunity arises during the course of the pa ...

'', 249 N.Y. 458, 164 N.E. 545 (N.Y. 1928): A

fiduciary duty A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, for exampl ...

exists between

business partners A business partner is a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties. Alternatively, it may be ...

. *'' Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co.'', 162 N.E. 99 (N.Y. 1928): Liability for injuries caused by negligence extends only to those within a zone of danger within which the injury was foreseeable. *''

Hawkins v. McGee ''Hawkins v. McGee'', 84 N.H. 114, 146 Atlantic Reporter, A. 641 (New Hampshire Supreme Court, N.H. 1929), is a leading case on damages in contracts handed down by the New Hampshire Supreme Court. It has come to be known as the "Hairy Hand" case f ...

'', 84 N.H. 114, 146 A. 641 ( N.H. 1929): Expectation

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

in contracts.

1950–Present

* ''

Lucy v. Zehmer ''Lucy v. Zehmer'', 196 Va. 493; 84 S.E.2d 516 (1954) was a court case in the Supreme Court of Virginia about the enforceability of a contract based on outward appearance of the agreement. It is commonly taught in first-year contract law classe ...

'', 196 Va. 493; 84 S.E.2d 516 (1954): Validity of a contract based on reasonable inferences drawn from other party's behavior *''

Garratt v. Dailey ''Garratt v. Dailey'', 46 Wash. 2d 197, 279 P.2d 1091 ( Wash. 1955) is an American tort law case that illustrates the principle of "intent" for intentional torts. Background Brian Dailey, boy aged 5 years, 9 months, moved a lawn chair on whic ...

'', 279 P.2d 1091 ( Wash. 1955): Tortious intent of a child *''

Katko v. Briney ''Katko v. Briney'', 183 N.W.2d 657 (Iowa 1971), was a court case decided by the Iowa Supreme Court, in which two homeowners (Edward and Bertha Briney) were held liable for battery for injuries caused to a trespasser (Marvin Katko) who set off ...

'', 183 N.W.2d 657 (

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

1971): Landowners have no right to set deadly traps against trespassers on their property. *''

Baker v. Nelson ''Richard John Baker v. Gerald R. Nelson'', 291 Minn. 310, 191 N.W.2d 185 (1971), was a case in which the Minnesota Supreme Court decided that construing a marriage statute to restrict marriage licenses to persons of the opposite sex "does not ...

'', 291 Minn. 310 ( Minn. 1971): Same-sex marriage prohibited in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. *'' The People v. Robert Page Anderson'', 64 Cal.2d 633, 414 P.2d 366 ( Cal. 1972): Capital punishment unconstitutional in California *''

Li v. Yellow Cab Co. ''Li v. Yellow Cab Co.'', 13 Cal.3d 804, 532 P.2d 1226 (1975), commonly referred to simply as ''Li'', is a Supreme Court of California, California Supreme Court case that judicially embraced comparative negligence in California tort law and rejec ...

'', 13 Cal.3d 804 (1975):

comparative negligence Comparative negligence, called non-absolute contributory negligence outside the United States, is a partial legal defense that reduces the amount of damages that a plaintiff can recover in a negligence-based claim, based upon the degree to which t ...

*''

Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California ''Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California'', 17 Cal. 3d 425, 551 P.2d 334, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 ( Cal. 1976), was a case in which the Supreme Court of California held that mental health professionals have a duty to protect individuals w ...

'', 17 Cal. 3d 425, 551 P.2d 334, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (Cal. 1976): Mental health professionals have a duty to protect specific persons who were threatened by their patients. *''

Goodridge v. Department of Public Health ''Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health'', 798 N.E.2d 941 ( Mass. 2003), is a landmark Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case in which the Court held that the Massachusetts Constitution requires the state to legally recognize same-sex marriage ...

'', 798 N.E.2d 941 ( Mass. 2003): Right of same-sex couples to marry in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. *'' Bush v. Schiavo'', 885 So.2d 321 ( Fla. 2004): A law enacted to permit the governor to retroactively stay court-ordered removal of a feeding tube was an unconstitutional invasion of the separation of powers. *''

People v. LaValle ''People v. LaValle'', 3 N.Y.3d 88 (2004), was a landmark decision by the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the U.S. state of New York, in which the court ruled that the state's death penalty statute was unconstitutional because of ...

'', 3 N.Y.3d 88 (2004): Death penalty statute declared unconstitutional in New York. *'' Lewis v. Harris'', 908 A.2d 196 (N.J. 2006): Holding that same-sex couples deserve equal rights under the law, but stopping short of creating same-sex marriage. *''

Varnum v. Brien ''Varnum v. Brien'', 763 N.W.2d 862 (Iowa 2009), was an Iowa Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously held that the state's limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution. The ...

'', WL 874044 (Iowa 2009): Holding that Iowa's defense of marriage act violated the equal protection clause of the

Iowa Constitution Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

External links

* {{US Judiciaries *

United States courts of appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fr ...

Supreme court case law

1900–1949

1950–Present

See also

External links