Cameron Miranda
Case law, also known as precedent or common law, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges deciding on issues before them. There are several ways to find case law, including using online databases such as Google Scholar, CourtListener, Caselaw Access Project, FindLaw, Justia, and PACER. These databases offer free access to case law, court opinions, and other legal resources. Additionally, individuals can visit the Clerk's Office of the courthouse where the case was filed or access electronic court records through PACER, a fee-based service that provides access to federal court case information.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Websites | FindLaw.com, Caselaw Access Project, Justia, Google Scholar, CourtListener, Bloomberg Law, Lexis, Westlaw, PACER |
| Databases | US Patents, European Patent Office, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Patents |
| Court Types | Federal, State, Supreme, Appeals, District, Bankruptcy, International Trade, Claims |
| Jurisdiction | US, State, Federal |
| Case Law Definition | Precedent or common law |
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Free case law online
There are several online resources that provide free access to case law. These include:
Google Scholar
Google Scholar offers an extensive database of state and federal cases, including U.S. Supreme Court opinions, federal district, appellate, tax, and bankruptcy court opinions, and state appellate and supreme court opinions. It also provides access to scholarly articles, papers, and reports, as well as patent information. To find case law on Google Scholar, select the "case law" radio button and choose your search terms. You can also use the advanced search feature to search for specific phrases or exclude certain terms. The "How Cited" feature on Google Scholar also allows you to see other cases that cite or are related to your case, providing an overview of how it has been treated by other courts.
CourtListener
CourtListener is a website that has been collecting case law since 2009 through the Free Law Project, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing easy access to high-quality legal data. Their database combines data from various sources, including court websites, information donations, Public.Resource.org, and the Supreme Court Database. CourtListener offers advanced search features, such as fielded searches and query operators, and allows users to set up custom RSS feeds for specific search queries.
FindLaw
FindLaw provides a free collection of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. It offers resources for both state and federal courts, including decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals, as well as case summaries. FindLaw also features thousands of informational articles to help users understand their legal options.
Justia
Justia is a website that provides access to U.S. case law, court opinions, and decisions at both the federal and state levels. It covers various legal areas, such as family law and probate, and offers information on the structure of the court system.
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US case law
There are several online resources that can be used to find US case law. These include:
- FindLaw: This website offers a database of case law from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and several state supreme courts. It includes U.S. Supreme Court opinions, U.S. Federal Appellate Court opinions, and U.S. State Supreme, Appellate, and Trial Court opinions.
- Justia: This website provides a free database of U.S. case law, court opinions, and decisions, including U.S. Federal and State Law.
- Google Scholar: This website allows users to search for case law by selecting the "case law" radio button and choosing their search terms. It also provides a feature that lists other cases that cite or are related to your case, which can be a good starting point for research.
- Westlaw: Westlaw is a legal research service that provides access to case law, statutes, and other legal information. It offers a "Descriptive-Word Index" to find authorities using words that describe the legal concept of interest. It also has a citator called Keycite, which allows users to see the history of a case, including earlier and subsequent rulings.
- LexisNexis: This legal research platform provides access to case law, statutes, and other legal resources. It offers a citator called Shepards, which provides the prior and subsequent history of a case, as well as citing decisions and secondary sources.
When conducting case law research, it is important to verify the status of the case and ensure that it is still considered good law. This can be done through a process known as "Shepardizing" a case, using citators like Shepards or Keycite to check the subsequent history and treatment of the case. Additionally, case citations are the easiest way to retrieve a case, as they are structured by volume number, reporter abbreviation, and the first page of the case.
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State case law
To find state case law, there are several online resources available:
- FindLaw: FindLaw offers a free database of case law from several state supreme courts, including state supreme, appellate, and trial court opinions.
- PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records): PACER provides access to federal case files and allows anyone with an account to search and locate appellate, district, and bankruptcy court cases and docket information. While PACER has a fee of 10 cents per page, with a maximum charge of $3.00 per document, court opinions are available for free.
- LexisNexis: LexisNexis provides access to jurisdictional content for state courts, including briefs, pleadings, motions, and other documents.
- Williams College Libraries: The library's website provides guidance on finding U.S. federal and state district, appellate, and supreme court cases. It suggests using the "Select a specific content type" drop-down menu to select "Cases" and then entering keywords and other information.
- U.S. Courts Opinions: This is a project of the Government Printing Office and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, offering access to U.S. federal court opinions.
- Federal Court Cases Integrated Database (IDB): Provided free of charge by the Federal Judicial Center, IDB contains case data (not documents) for criminal, civil, appellate, and bankruptcy cases, helping researchers refine their requests.
It is important to note that case law may be binding or merely persuasive, depending on the relationship between the deciding court and the precedent. For example, decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court are binding on all federal and state courts, while a decision by a district court in one state may not be binding on another state's district court.
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Federal case law
The United States Supreme Court is the highest court in the country, with decisions that are binding on all federal and state courts. Lower federal courts include the U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Claims, and the U.S. Court of International Trade and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts.
Federal case files are maintained electronically and are available through the internet-based Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. Anyone can access PACER to view federal court records, but registration for an account is required. Case information is available 24 hours a day, and each court maintains its own case information. If the specific court where the case was filed is unknown, the PACER Case Locator can be used to search a nationwide index of federal court cases. This information is updated daily.
Additionally, access to court opinions from many appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts are available for no fee in a text-searchable format through a partnership with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). Most cases created before 1999 are maintained in paper format only and can be accessed by contacting the court where the case was filed or at one of the Federal Records Centers (FRCs).
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Case law databases
There are several online case law databases that can be accessed for free. Google Scholar, CourtListener, Caselaw Access Project, FindLaw, and Justia are some of the online resources that can be used to find case law. The Library of Congress also provides access to digitized bound volumes of the U.S. Reports from 1754 to 2012, and has created freely-available legal research guides to help researchers locate online case law sources. The Library of Congress also provides on-site access to Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Library Express), Westlaw Patron Access, and Bloomberg Law Patron Access.
The Law Library of Congress guide highlights freely-available options for tracking down electronic case law, including a bibliography of links to state-related online resources. Georgetown Law Library also provides a guide to free and low-cost legal research, which includes free sources of case law, statutes and codes, legislative history, administrative regulations, and secondary sources.
In addition to the free resources, there are subscription databases that provide access to case law. These include Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg Law.
It is important to note that while there is an abundance of free case law available online, many of the editorial enhancements and finding aids that legal researchers are accustomed to may not be available through these free sources. For example, these sources may not provide digests or headnotes, which organize cases by points of law. Instead, they may rely on browsing and keyword searching as the principal means of finding relevant cases.
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Frequently asked questions
There are several online resources that can be used to find case law in the US. Google Scholar, CourtListener, Caselaw Access Project, FindLaw, and Justia are some examples of websites that offer free access to case law. Additionally, Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) provides access to federal court cases for anyone with an account.
When searching for specific case law, it is helpful to use a citation to a case. You can also use search terms related to your case and narrow your results by jurisdiction.
The Library of Congress website provides a list of resources for finding case law, including Google Scholar, which offers access to US Supreme Court cases. Additionally, FindLaw provides free access to state and federal court opinions, including decisions from the US Supreme Court.
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