Research Guides
Law: Court Opinions
This page offers the top recommended databases and indexes for legal research generally and for U.S. (federal) and Washington State law specifically.
About Court Opinions
The written decision from a judge (or panel of judges) is referred to as a case, decision, or opinion.
Generally cases only from appellate courts are available (typically, courts of appeals and supreme courts). While selected trial court decisions are reported in the news; they are not available in traditional print or online sources because they have no binding precedential value on anyone other than the immediate parties to the case.
The more information you have about a case, the more successful your search will be.
Do you know:
- names of the parties (Roe and Wade)
- the court that decided the case (U.S. Supreme Court, Washington Court of Appeals)
- date or date range (2008 or last ten years)
- the docket number, assigned to cases when they are filed with a court?
- the reporter citation--official citation consisting of a volume number, the name of the reporter, and a page number (e.g., 100 U.S. 201)
Contact the Gallagher Law Library reference desk for help with identifying and locating court opinions.
Sources for Court Opinions
- Westlaw Campus Research This link opens in a new window
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Full range of U.S. federal and state appellate and supreme court opinions, as well as KeyCite + Headnotes (explaining the main holdings in each case and linking the case to related primary and secondary law).
- Washington State Judicial Opinions Public Access WebsiteThis free website provides complete coverage of cases from the Washington Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.
- U.S. Supreme Court Library [HeinOnline]
- This link opens in a new window
Contains opinions in slip opinions, preliminary prints (advance sheets), and bound volumes of the U.S. Reports. Covers 1754 to present. - Google ScholarThis database allows you to search for full-text legal opinions from U.S. federal and state district, appellate, and supreme courts. Results can be sorted by date and/or jurisdiction and delimited by a specific time range or court. There is also a graphical indicator noting depth of treatment of a particular case. To get started, click on the "Legal Documents" radio button.
Guides & Tutorials on Researching Court Opinions and Briefs
- Guide on Reporters & DigestsCourt opinions are published in sets called reporters. Digests are tools that help researchers locate cases on specific legal topics or issues. This is a guide to the major reports and digests available at the Gallagher Law Library.
- Guide to Judicial PublicationsExplains about judicial opinions, case law, and other materials produced by the judicial branch.