What Is a Case?
A case is a written decision issued by a court, often referred to as a judicial opinion or decision. Federal courts and state courts use a similar hierarchical organization (lowest to highest): trial court, appellate court, highest court. The highest federal court is the United States Supreme Court, and the federal appellate courts are called the United States Courts of Appeal. The U.S. Courts of Appeal are divided into thirteen circuits: the 1st through 11th Circuits, the District of Columbia Circuit, and the Federal Circuit. Federal trial courts are called the United States District Courts. While the U.S. Supreme Court publishes all its decisions, the Courts of Appeal and the District Courts publish only selected decisions.
Not all cases are freely available online, but many can be found using the resources listed below. Where and how cases are published depends on the court.
Where to Look for Cases
- Supreme Court opinions on the LII websiteMany U.S. Supreme Court opinions are available through the Legal Information Institute. Scroll down to the gray box for recent opinions, archived opinions arranged by topic, and links to other relevant web resources.
- Federal court opinions on govinfo.govThis site includes a collection of cases from selected United States appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. Browse the opinions on the page linked here, or use the orange search button on the top right. To search case law only, select the Advanced tab above the search bar and check the box for "United States Court Opinions".
- State courtsUse this tool from the Legal Information Institute to find primary law sources for each state. After selecting a state, look for a link labeled "Opinions" in the Judiciary section. Note that online accessibility of case law varies greatly by state and court.
- Search cases on Google ScholarGoogle Scholar can search through a vast but incomplete collection of case law from all jurisdictions. To search, begin by selecting the "Case Law" radio button under the search bar. Then, select your jurisdiction and enter search terms.
How to Find a Specific Case
Understanding case citations
A standard three-part citation is used to identify cases:
| Volume Number | Reporter | Page Number |
| 238 | F.3d | 68 |
A reporter is a series of physical volumes where case law is printed. Even cases accessed online are cited to reporters. The reporter titles are always abbreviated in citations. If the reporter has gone through volumes 1 – 999, a second series is issued beginning with volume 1 again. In the above example the notation “3d” indicates that the Federal Reporter (F) is now in its third series. Be sure to note which numbered series your citation points to.
To find citations to relevant cases
- The easiest way is to find a discussion of your topic in a secondary source.
- Once you've found one good case, check the other cases it cites to.
- Search the cases themselves with keywords. This is the most difficult way to research cases. Many of the resources for case law listed above allow for text searches. Try many combinations of keywords, including synonyms, and use advanced search features where available.
- If you have a citation to a statute, find the statute in an annotated code listing cases that have interpreted your section. You will probably have to visit a law library to use an annotated code for your research.