Sources for Federal Case Law Research
Initial tip:
Before you begin, identify your jurisdiction. A description of the federal
court system and a link to a map of the federal circuits appears in the
TMLL Guide to Legal Research, "Federal
Court System."
United States Supreme Court
Digest:
- United States Supreme Court Digest;
- Federal Practice Digest, 2d - 4th series (Federal Digest, 1st series
- older cases)
Reporters:
- United States Reports (U.S.)
- United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition (L. Ed., L. Ed.
2d)
- Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.)
Citator:
- Shepard's United States Citations: Cases
Electronic sources:
- Westlaw: SCT (for U.S. Supreme Court opinions only); FEDn-ALL
(for Supreme Court, circuit and district court cases by circuit of origin)
- Lexis: Supreme Court cases only: From the Source Directory, select
"Federal Legal-U.S.- Supreme Court Cases and Materials - U.S. Supreme
Court Lawyers' Edition Cases." You may also want to update your research
in the "Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases," United
States Law Week, or "Web Buzz" (contains coverage of cases argued
before the Supreme Court in the current month).
- Internet: Extensive Supreme Court opinions are available on the
Web.
- Since 1990 - The Legal
Information Institute's site contains most opinions of the court issued
since May 1990.
- Before 1990 - Several sites offering collections of older decisions
are available, including:
Circuit Courts of Appeals
Digest:
- Federal Practice Digest, 2d - 4th series (Federal Digest, 1st series
- older cases)
Reporter:
- Federal Reporter, 1st - 3d series (F., F.2d, F.3d)
Citator:
- Shepard's Federal Citations: Federal Reporter
Electronic sources:
- Westlaw: CTAn (for individual Courts of Appeals, e.g., CTA1
for First Circuit); CTA (Courts of Appeals, all circuits)
- Lexis: From the Source Directory select "Federal Legal-U.S."
There are many case law files to choose from, including files for each
individual Circuit Court of Appeals and combined files covering Supreme
Court, Court of Appeals, and District Court decisions.
- Internet: A number of Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal web sites
contain opinions dating back through the early 1990's. Check the the U.S.
Courts home page or the Villanova
Law School Federal Court Locator.
District Courts
Digest:
- Federal Practice Digest, 2d - 4th series (Federal Digest, 1st series
- older cases)
Reporters:
- Federal Supplement, Federal Supplement 2d (F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d)
- Federal Rules Decisions (F.R.D.) (cases involving federal procedural
matters only)
Citator:
- Shepard's Federal Citations: Federal Supplement
Electronic databases:
- Westlaw: DCT (for all district court cases); FEDn-ALL (for Supreme
Court, Court of Appeals, and district court cases by circuit of origin)
- Lexis: From the Source Directory, select "Federal Legal."
There are many case law files to choose from, including files for the
district courts of each circuit, for the district courts from each state,
and combined files covering Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District
Court decisions.
- Internet: At the present time few District Court opinions appear
on the Web. Check the U.S. Courts
home page or Villanova
Law School Federal Court Locator.
For help with federal case research in print sources, consult the TMLL
Guide to Legal Research "Using
the Federal Practice Digest" and "Updating
and Validating Federal Cases in Print."