A case is a written decision issued by a court, often referred to as a judicial opinion or decision. Where and how cases are published depends on the court. (e.g. the U.S. Supreme Court publishes all its decisions, the Courts of Appeal and the District Courts publish only selected decisions.)
Image Source: United States Supreme Court by Thomas Hawk. Used under CC BY-NC 2.0.
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.
Homepage Search: You can simply enter a case name or citation (if known ) or keyword(s) based on the case topic. Be sure to select the correct jurisdiction (State or Federal). Please note: Citations should be provided exactly as they are written. (e.g. The citation for Roe v. Wade is 410 U.S. 113. Therefore, when entering this citation type "410 U.S. 113"
Browse: You can search for cases using the Browse Cases option. Simply select "Cases" from within the All Content Area. You will then have the option to search within Cases.
Or browse by relevant jurisdiction or by topic.
If you look for cases by keyword or topic, you will retrieve a variety of results. Using the features on the left side of the page will allow you to narrow your search as well as see related content based upon your topic: