Research Guides: Case Law and Citators: Undergraduate Resources

Introduction

The United States is a common law nation, which means in addition to federal and local statutes/rules, judges also create and shape the law through cases. Typically you can search for cases by either the case name/citation or by issue. There are many free resources available to search for cases, as well as databases that can be accessed through Woodruff Library's Databases.

Resources Available

Resources available through Woodruff Library's databases:

Federal and State cases and documents

Westlaw Campus Research
Contains primary and secondary law material, news sources, and trade journal content. Also includes Westlaw research tools, such as KeyCite. Can be used to search for federal cases (U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, etc.) as well as state-level cases, providing access to decisions with case coverage back to 1790.
Nexis Uni
Formerly LexisNexis Academic, Nexis Uni provides full-text access to news, business, medical, educational and legal sources. Nexis Uni features not only the Shepard's citator but also a Guided Search tool in which users can search for cases based on jurisdiction and issue. Can be used to search for federal cases as well as state-level cases, providing access to decisions with case coverage back to 1790.

U.S. Supreme Court cases and documents

Hein Online
Includes Supreme Court case opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court Library. This library includes the U.S. Reports (1754-2015) and U.S. Reports slip opinions (2002-date).
Supreme Court Yearbook
Provides in-depth coverage and analysis of every decision from the U.S. Supreme Court since 1989, including case summaries, essays on the most significant cases from each year, and biographies of justices.

Free resources available to the general public:

Federal and State cases and documents

Google Scholar
Google Scholar provides an extensive database of state cases (1950-present; not all cases) and federal cases.
Justia
Justia provides cases from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and U.S. District Courts, as well as many state supreme court and intermediate court of appeal cases.
FindLaw
FindLaw's Cases and Codes section contains resources and links for both state and federal law. The database provides case law from the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal, as well as several state supreme courts.

U.S. Supreme Court cases and documents

U.S. Supreme Court website
The U.S. Supreme Court website (1991-present) includes recent decisions in addition to dockets, calendars, oral argument transcripts, court rules, and briefs.
SCOTUS Blog
Includes case opinions for cases dating back to the October 2007 term (linking to Bloomberg Law) and is a source for commentary on the activities of the Court, and court briefs.
Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII)
Includes Supreme Court cases from 1990 - present.
Oyez
Oyez provides Supreme Court cases since 1792, along with a short breakdown of the facts of the case, the main question the case seeks to the answer, and the conclusion. Additionally, users can view cases by the Court term or by Issue.
The Supreme Court Database
From Washington University in St. Louis, this database includes Supreme Court decisions from 1791 - 2021, as well as analysis of those cases.

Federal cases and documents

United States Courts website
Using the United States Courts website, you can find links to the individual courts to search for cases by jurisdiction.
GovInfo
From 2004-present, however not all courts are included.
Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII)
Dates will vary by court.

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