How to Find Court Cases
- To find a case on a particular topic, search by subject in the Library's Westlaw database, or search for law review articles on the topic.
- To find a specific court case, search by party name in the Library's Westlaw database.
- To find cases of public interest, browse websites or search news articles.
Federal and State Court Cases - Search by Topic
- Westlaw This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Westlaw is a legal database that includes secondary and primary legal sources. It contains statutes, codes, and case law. Westlaw also includes the legal encyclopedias, journals, treatises, and law reviews, as well as public and private business information and coverage of news sources.
Search by Topic when you need to find a court case on a specific subject or legal issue.
In the Library's Westlaw database, go to:
- Cases > Cases by Topic
- Select a topic and search by keyword or view recent cases
Federal and State Court Cases - Search by Party Name
Use Advanced Search to search by Party Name when you know the case you are looking for.
Websites for Court Cases
- Cornell Legal Information InstituteIncludes Supreme Court opinions and an archive of decisions. Browsable by topic.
- GovInfoIncludes United States Courts opinions back to 2004.
- JustiaProvides links to federal and state courts. Includes a Cases in the News section.
- OyezA multimedia archive of the U.S. Supreme Court. Includes oral arguments, how the justices voted, and audio recordings.
- Public Library of LawIncludes links to federal and state cases. Searchable by jurisdiction.
- Supreme Court of the United StatesThe official website of the United States Supreme Court. Includes opinions and oral arguments.
- Unified Judicial System of PennsylvaniaThe website for the Pennsylvania State courts. Includes a Cases of Public Interest page.
News Databases for Court Cases
To find notable court cases, try searching news articles.
Hints:
- Add (case OR court) or (federal court OR supreme court) to your Boolean search.
- Try adding v. as a search term in either the title or abstract, in addition to other keywords, to find articles that reference specific court cases.
- Legal Collection This link opens in a new window
- Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window