Law Research Guide: Case Law

About Citations

Law cases are not cataloged individually in the Library's catalog. They are traditionally published together in sets of paper volumes called law reporters, and now, in online databases as well. The traditional legal citation is used in both print and electronic collections to identify individual cases but is based on the print reporter system. In addition, to locate an individual case in a print law reporter, you need to know the case's citation. While legal citation is no longer essential for finding case law online, it is the most precise and efficient identifer for a specific case.

How To Read A Citation

Example citations using Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed.:
Entry in bibliography:
  Wallace v. Jaffree. 472 U.S. 38 (1985).
Footnote or endnote:
  13. Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38, 41-42 (1985).

In the examples above, Wallace v. Jaffree is the name of the case, 472 is the volume number, U.S. is the abbreviation for the law reporter (United States Reports), 38 is the page number on which the opinion begins, and 1985 is the year of the decision. In the note, the page numbers being referred to in the note are also provided, in this example, pages 41-42.

A court opinion may also be published in a commercial reporter. In the partial citation "86 L. Ed. 2d 29", 86 is the volume, L. Ed. 2d is the abbreviation for the law reporter (United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition 2nd Series) and 29 is the page number within Vol. 86 on which the decision begins. If you use a commercial reporter, it is advised that you cite both that commercial reporter and the official reporter; the official reporter comes first in the citation:

Entry in bibliography:
  Wallace v. Jaffree. 472 U.S. 38, 86 L. Ed. 2d 29 (1985).

Go to Federal Court Citation Examples for a more detailed discussion.

Find Cases By Citation

Online: Use either Westlaw or Nexis Uni and type the partial citation, e.g. 472 U.S. 38, into the appropriate search box.

Print: Using the legal citation, identify the appropriate print law reporter series. Using the list of Print Law Reporters, find the reporter series in our collection. Then find the case using the volume number and page number from the citation.

Find Cases by Litigant Name

Although much case law is referred to by citation, sometimes you may only have the names of the litigants in the case.

1. Go online to Westlaw or Nexis Uni and type the names of the litigants into the appropriate search boxes.
2. Fulltext of the case appears on the screen.

Find Cases by Keyword or Subject

• Search by keyword in Westlaw or Nexis Uni. This strategy often results in a zillion hits and frustration.
• Use the Key Number system in Westlaw. Either start with a known relevant case or use Browse > Tools.

Note: It is usually much easier to use secondary sources (such as encyclopedias on the law or law review articles) to find cases on a particular topic.

Find Related Cases

• In Westlaw, begin with a case of interest. Choose a headnote of interest from within that case. Click on the hotlinked text after the image of a key.

Find Cases Citing a Case

• In Westlaw, find the case to which you would like to find citations. Click on "Citing References".
• In Westlaw, find the case to which you would like to find citations. Choose a headnote of interest. Click on "Cases that cite this headnote".
• In Nexis Uni, find the case to which you would like to find citations. Next to "Next steps", choose "Shepardize".

Find Cases Citing a Statute

• In Westlaw, choose Federal Materials/United States Code Annotated (USCA). Search on a U.S. Code Annotated section (e.g., 8 U.S.C.A. § 1158). Look for a red or yellow flag above the statute that indicates the statute's status. Choose the "Citing References" tab to limit to citing cases in a particular jurisdiction. Alternatively, click on the "Notes of decisions" tab to see cases that construe or apply the statute; this option may be less current or less exhaustive than the "Citing References" option.  Or,
• In Nexis Uni, choose: Advanced Search > Legal > Statutes and Legislation > US Statutory Codes. Search on the citation in the Citation field (drop down), e.g. "8 USCS 1158".
• Use United States Supreme Court Digest (Main Library Ref. KF101.1.A5D5), vol. 16 Index to Decisions, Annotations, and Digest. Look up your act by popular name, e.g., Sherman Act. Under the heading will be listed subtopics of the act with corresponding citations for related Supreme Court cases. Use the L. Ed citation to locate the case in the United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer's Edition volumes in
  Govt. Doc KF101.A5 U5.

Transcripts

Argument Transcripts, Supreme Court, 1968-present

The Complete oral arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States
Govt Micro, 1982-ca. 2019

Audio

Oyez Project
"the most complete and authoritative source for all of the Court’s audio since the installation of a recording system in October 1955".

Argument Audio, Supreme Court, 2010-present.

Court Listener, Free Law Project.
"We collect oral argument audio from the Supreme Court and all of the Federal Circuit courts that provide it." Includes Supreme Court recordings, 2013-.

Sound Recordings of Oral Arguments - Red Series, December 1972–June 27, 2005, National Archives and Records Administration.

Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States

The Federal court system consists of the Supreme Court; 11 regional circuit Courts of Appeals and 1 federal circuit Court of Appeals; and 94 District Courts.

Please note: the sources below vary in the amount of interpretive annotation they provide, with more being provided by the commercial sources. Even within a single source, earlier volumes may include fewer or briefer annotations. Consult more than one source for a case for the full range of interpretive annotations.

Federal Court Website Links

Geographic Boundaries of United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts, Wikipedia

State Court Web sites

How To Find Free Case Law Online, Library of Congress

Case Law Reporters are sets of print volumes in which case law decisions for a level of court (Supreme Court, Appeals Court, state courts, etc.) are compiled. Typically, the cases are entered in chronological order.

Supreme Court reporters

At Bowdoin we have two print case law reporters for Supreme Court cases: United States Reports and United States Supreme Court Reports: Lawyer's Edition. The law reporters are housed in the Government Documents Collection, located on the lower level of H-L Library.

Maine reporters

Other sources for Maine cases

Consult the website of the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library

Reporters for other states

Massachusetts reports
Govt Doc KFM 2445 .A5
We hold v.1 (1804/1805)-v. 17 (1820/1822)

Otherwise, please use one of the sources of online state cases.

For more information:

• Where to Find Briefs, Supreme Court
• U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, Library of Congress
• Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration