Case Law and Citators

There are several important points with State Court reporting of case opinions.  First, trial court decisions are generally not published.  Secondly, like with the federal court system, not all appellate court decisions are published either.  Finally, not all jurisdictions have an official reporter as most rely on the unofficial (West) reporters for case opinions.  

As mentioned above, West is the primary publisher for unofficial state court case opinions.  These opinions can be found in the Regional Reporters.  West created the National Reporter System in the 1880s by grouping adjacent states together for compiling of case opinions from the state's highest court and intermediate appellate courts.  The Regional Reporters are as follows:

• Atlantic (A.):  Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
• North Eastern (N.E.):  Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio
• North Western (N.W.):  Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
• Pacific (P.):  Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
• South Eastern (S.E.):  Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
• South Western (S.W.):  Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas
• Southern (S.):  Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi

Westlaw, Lexis and Bloomberg Law all provide access to State Court Case Opinions.  Additionally, there are freely available alternatives, including:

• Google Scholar (1950-present; not all states included)

Using Georgia as an example, there are often state specific options available:

• Georgia Supreme Court (2011-present; also includes dockets, court rules and calendars
• Georgia Court of Appeals (2007-present found in the Docket system; also includes court rules and calendars)
• Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts (provides links to the courts of Georgia)
• Dekalb County Online Judicial System (trial court case management system)
• Superior Court of Fulton County
• Gwinnett Courts (trial court case managment system)
• Fulton County Daily Report (password required - legal news publication with weekly review of court opinions)

MacMillan Library Hybrid Research Services:

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MacMillan Library Building Hours (August 19 - November 15, 2024):

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Reference Desk:
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Wednesday: 10am - 12pm; 2pm - 4pm
Thursday: 10am - 4pm
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IT Help Desk:
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Emory Law Archives:
Physical archives: By appointment only.
Digital archives: More information available here. 
Limited remote services are available on a case-by-case basis. 
Questions?  Email Anna Sturgill, Law Librarian for Archives and Assessment Services