Use the links below to navigate this page.
Finding State Cases - Massachusetts and Beyond
Best Bets
- Westlaw Campus Research - Cases (Opens in new window)To search for Cases, select the Case category from the Westlaw Campus Research menu. Once that category is selected, a variety of options is available: cases by jurisdiction (federal or state), cases by topic, or cases by individual court (Supreme, district, appellate, etc.).
- Westlaw Campus Research - Law Review Articles (Opens in new window)From the Westlaw main menu, select Secondary Sources, then Law Reviews and Journals. Law review articles generally include case citations. Searching these sources may help you identify cases relevant to your research. Filter by jurisdiction, including federal, state, and international, or by broad topic (environmental law, intellectual property, etc.).
Finding Federal Cases
Use Westlaw Campus Research (Opens in new window) to locate materials from a wide range of federal court jurisdictions: District Courts, Circuit Courts, the Supreme Court, and other special courts (bankruptcy, tax, etc.). This database may also be used to search for materials from the states (see text boxes below).
You may enter your search terms on this main screen, then limit results to the material type desired later (cases, for example).
Alternatively, you may select the Cases category from the main menu and search cases only.
The basic search box in Westlaw Campus does "smart searching" and often provides results suitable for the research project in hand. There's also an advanced search feature which is extremely useful when tailored results are needed, for example, dissents written by a particular Supreme Court justice. As illustrated below, the advanced search provides many case-specific search fields like synopses, holdings, dissents, concurrences, docket numbers, etc.
For additional materials, consider the following options.
- United States Reports (from the Library of Congress)From the 18th century to present. Many different filters are available to streamline results lists, including major case topic, authoring justice, date, etc.
- United States Reports (HeinOnline Supreme Court Library) (Opens in new window)Direct link to the official version of Supreme Court decisions, United States Reports. The official volumes are available through 2015.
- United States Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court site provides audio recordings of oral arguments as well as access to case documents.
- HeinOnline's Supreme Court Library (Opens in new window)This collection includes large numbers of secondary sources on the Court and its work. Official opinions are available here as well as at the preceding link.
- SCOTUSblogIncludes detailed case analyses, petitions, and statistics in addition to podcasts and videos.
- OyezOyez offers clear descriptions and analyses of issues under consideration; recordings or oral arguments and opinion announcements are included (recordings aren't available immediately).
Finding State Cases - Massachusetts and Beyond
Westlaw Campus Research includes a large collection of cases by state. The numbers and levels of court coverage provided varies by state.
Federal and state court cases may be searched together (limit of three jurisdictions per search).
Massachusetts Courts and Cases
- Massachusetts Court Cases - Supreme Judicial and Appeals CourtsHistorical and contemporary cases.
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial CourtSJC makes a variety of resources available to the public, including selected opinions, slip opinions, and advance opinions.
- Massachusetts Trial CourtsIncludes links to the Boston Municipal Court Department and the Housing, Juvenile, Land, District, Probate/Family, and Superior Court Departments.
Cases from Other States
- States and Territories (Library of Congress)In addition to linking to state judicial sites, this resource provides access to administrative codes, state constitutions, and legislative materials.
- State Legal Materials CollectionFrom the Cornell University Legal Information Institute (LII)
- National Center for State Courts (NCSC)Provides links to reports, case studies, guides, and data on state courts.
- Westlaw Campus Research - State Cases (Opens in new window)FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS: To search for Cases, select the Case category from the Westlaw Campus Research menu. Once that category is selected, a variety of options is available: cases by jurisdiction (federal or state), cases by topic, or cases by individual court (Supreme, district, appellate, etc.).
Need more help?
Please e-mail Roxanne Palmatier, Legal Studies Librarian.