in case law research

FindLaw's Cases and Codes section contains resources and links for both state and federal laws. This includes resources pertaining to constitutions, statutes, cases and more. Run a search for case summaries or select a jurisdiction to browse applicable laws. For additional primary sources and articles on legal practice visit our Professional ...

Case law, also known as precedent or common law, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges deciding issues before them. Depending on the relationship between the deciding court and the precedent, case law may be binding or merely persuasive. For example, a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is binding on ...

Introduction. Each branch of government produces a different type of law. Case law is the body of law developed from judicial opinions or decisions over time (whereas statutory law comes from legislative bodies and administrative law comes from executive bodies). This guide introduces beginner legal researchers to resources for finding judicial ...

Step 1: Record the Facts of Your Case and Create a Research Plan. Handling a legal task with authority requires confidence in the process. This is true in any practice, jurisdictional setting, or level of legal expertise. A good process should start by taking time to identify and understand the facts of your case.

Introduction. Every law student and practicing attorney must be able to find, read, analyze, and interpret case law. Under the common law principles of stare decisis, a court must follow the decisions in previous cases on the same legal topic. Therefore, finding cases is essential to finding out what the law is on a particular issue.

Legal research is the process of uncovering and understanding all of the legal precedents, laws, regulations, and other legal authorities that apply in a case and inform an attorney’s course of action. Legal research often involves case law research, which is the practice of identifying and interpreting the most relevant cases concerning the ...

Court Listener is a free and publicly accessible online platform that provides a collection of legal resources and court documents, including court opinions and case law from various jurisdictions in the United States. It includes PACER data (the RECAP Archive), opinions, or oral argument recordings. FindLaw Caselaw Summaries Archive.

Introduction. One of the defining features of the common law system is the emphasis placed on the precedential value of case law. Until recently, case law has not been widely available on the Internet, leaving researchers with no choice but to seek out print reporters and commercial electronic databases to locate cases of interest.

The Law Library of Congress has also created freely-available legal research guides that can help researchers locate online case law sources. Subscription Databases for Case Law Research The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress.

This guide provides links to a variety of databases, several of which are limited to NYU Law faculty and students. Information for NYU Law students and faculty on obtaining passwords for WestlawNext, Lexis Advance and Bloomberg is available here. Last Updated: Aug 30, 2023 11:28 AM.