Gavin Howe
Case law, also known as precedent or common law, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges in their rulings. There are several ways to find case law on the internet. One way is to use a website such as FindLaw, which offers a database of case law from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and state supreme courts. CourtListener is another free legal research website that contains millions of legal opinions from federal and state courts. Alternatively, individuals can use Google Scholar, which provides a database of case law and allows users to narrow their results by jurisdiction. Lastly, individuals can use the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service, which allows users to search for and locate federal court cases online.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Websites | FindLaw, CourtListener, Google Scholar, PACER, Justia |
| Databases | FindLaw, Google Scholar, PACER |
| Court Opinions | U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, U.S. Federal Appellate Court, U.S. State Supreme Court, U.S. District Courts, U.S. Court of Claims, U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, Federal Records Centres (FRCs) |
| Case Law | Precedent or common law, prior judicial decisions |
| Jurisdiction | U.S., European, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) |
| Tools | Advanced search, How Cited, Federal Court Cases Integrated Database (IDB) |
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What You'll Learn
Using databases like Westlaw, Lexis+ and Bloomberg Law
Westlaw Edge allows users to search for cases involving a particular party. This can be done by using the global search bar at the top of the page and typing in the name you are looking for. Alternatively, you can click on the "Advanced" search option and scroll down to the "Name / Title" section to enter the name of the party.
Lexis+ UK Legal Research provides full-text access to legal, tax, and accountancy information. This includes many UK reported and unreported cases, legislation, and a number of UK legal journals. To find case law, you can use the main search box on the homepage or the main "Cases" search screen. Lexis+ also includes a ''Case Overview'' document that helps you check whether a case can still be relied on as good law. This can be found in the search results, from the case record, by selecting the 'Case Overview' link.
Bloomberg Law provides access to federal and state tax-related cases, as well as non-tax cases from the Bloomberg Law database through the BCITE citation tool. Bloomberg Tax Classification Outlines are created and indexed by Bloomberg Tax's subject-matter specialists, who organize areas of law by topic. Users can search or browse classification outlines to find relevant headnotes and their related cases by topic, keyword, or classification number. To find a particular case docket on Bloomberg Law, first select the court where the case was filed by choosing the "Browse Full List" option or typing the name of the court in the "Courts" box. Once you've selected your court, you can enter identifying information in fields such as Keywords or One or more parties to the case.
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Searching with relevant keywords and synonyms
When searching for case law online, using relevant keywords and synonyms is a good way to start. This method is similar to how one searches on Google, where a string of keywords is entered, and the search engine's algorithm predicts the relationship between the terms. However, when using a legal database, searching by terms and connectors yields more specific results. For example, you can specify that you want the terms to appear in the same sentence or paragraph.
It is important to keep your search simple and broad at first, using just a few legal terms. You can then narrow your results by using filters. For example, you can filter by jurisdiction by selecting the court(s) of interest in the "Search:" dropdown box. You can also use "Boolean Searching", which involves using terms such as AND, OR, and NOT to combine search terms. For instance, searching for (Cat AND Dog) NOT Tiger will find articles that contain the words "cat" and "dog" but not the word "tiger".
Different databases use slightly different operators, so it is worth checking the specifics of the database you are using. For example, Bloomberg Law treats a space between words as AND, and will look for documents that contain both words, but not necessarily next to each other. On the other hand, Westlaw/Lexis Advance/Bloomberg use order of operations to process connectors if your search term contains multiple connectors.
It is recommended to avoid using a lot of generic terms, as these will likely appear very frequently in court opinions and will make it difficult to find relevant results. Instead, use specific legal phrases, which can be put in quotes to search for that exact phrase. You can also use proximity connectors, such as /s (within the same sentence), /p (within the same paragraph), or /n (within a specified number of words).
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Using secondary sources like legal encyclopaedias
When conducting legal research, secondary sources such as legal encyclopaedias can be a great place to start. They are about the law, rather than being the law itself, and can provide helpful context and citations to primary law relevant to your topic. They can also help you get a sense of the vocabulary and terminology used in the field.
Legal encyclopaedias are a comprehensive collection of brief articles on legal topics. They collect, examine, and summarise the broad principles of law, providing direct leads to supporting cases, related annotations, forms, proofs, and trial techniques. They are especially helpful when you want to know how different jurisdictions have treated a legal issue.
Many states have legal encyclopaedias focused on that state's law. For example, Illinois has two legal encyclopaedias available via Lexis Advance and Westlaw. For other states, you can check the secondary sources available within Westlaw or Lexis Advance. Zimmerman's Research Guide (LexisNexis) is another online encyclopedia with a collection of research guides. Cornell LII's Wex is a free, collaboratively authored legal encyclopedia.
In addition to encyclopaedias, other secondary sources include American Law Reports, Treatises, academic journal articles, law reports, and even newspaper articles. Treatises are scholarly legal publications that provide an in-depth discussion of an area of law with references to primary sources. The D'Angelo Law Library maintains a list of core treatises for each legal subject.
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Accessing free online resources
There are several free online resources that can be used to find case law.
The Library of Congress provides a guide to law online, with links to resources on U.S., foreign, and international law. The Library of Congress also offers FindLaw, a database of case law from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and several state supreme courts. FindLaw includes U.S. Supreme Court opinions, U.S. Federal Appellate Court opinions, and U.S. State Supreme, Appellate, and Trial Court opinions. It also features thousands of informational articles to help users understand their options and find an attorney if needed.
Another option is CourtListener, a free legal research website sponsored by the Non-Profit Free Law Project. CourtListener contains millions of legal opinions from federal and state courts, allowing lawyers, journalists, academics, and the public to research and analyze cases.
Google Scholar is another useful tool for finding case law online. It allows users to narrow their searches by jurisdiction and provides a "How Cited" feature that lists other related cases in the Google Scholar database and shows how these cases have dealt with your case.
Other free legal research sites include Justia, which includes case law, statutes, regulations, articles, and opinion summaries; Law Guru, a free legal advice forum with a network of specialized attorneys; and Legal Information Institute (LII), which provides primary legal materials, a legal encyclopedia, and the Supreme Court Bulletin.
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Understanding headnotes and digests
Headnotes are summaries of a point of law that appear at the beginning of a case. They are written by editors at Westlaw and Lexis (sometimes the language is verbatim from the text of the opinion). Headnotes are assigned a topic and key number. Each combination of a topic and key number represents a unique point of law.
Headnotes are excellent research tools to assist in finding other cases that address similar legal issues. However, they should not be cited in work products. When citing a case, one should cite the actual text of the opinion written by the judge or justice.
Lexis headnotes are organised by broad topics and then progressively subdivided by narrower subjects. Lexis headnotes do not editorialize; instead, they lift language straight from the text of the case. Westlaw headnotes, on the other hand, are written by West editors who give each one a headline (broad topic) selected from a list of about 450 possibilities. Some examples include "Landlord and Tenant" and "Intoxicating Liquors". The editor will then assign the headnote a specific subtopic, such as "Injury to Tenant or Occupant".
Digests are a collection of case headnotes arranged by topic. They are a major means of accessing case law by topic. Originally in book form, digests allow users to find cases on a particular point of law in a particular jurisdiction. Online services provide digests in real-time as users search for particular topics.
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Frequently asked questions
You can find case law for free on Google Scholar, where you can search by entering a citation or use the advanced search feature to search by phrase or exclude certain terms. You can also access case law for free via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service, which allows anyone with an account to search and locate appellate, district, and bankruptcy court case and docket information.
Federal courts hear cases involving matters related to the United States Constitution, other federal laws and regulations, and certain matters that involve parties from different states or countries and large sums of money in dispute. Each state has its own judicial system, which includes trial and appellate courts. State courts generally hear cases involving state constitutional matters, state law and regulations, although they may also hear cases involving federal laws.
The United States Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. Lower federal courts include the U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Claims, the U.S. Court of International Trade, and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts.
Case law may be binding or merely persuasive depending on the relationship between the deciding court and the precedent. For example, a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is binding on all federal district courts within the Fifth Circuit, but a court sitting in California is not strictly bound to follow this decision. Decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court are binding on all federal and state courts.
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