How to Find State Court Decisions

Occasionally you'll be curious when a court case is mentioned or your teenager will need to find a famous case for a history class. Thanks to the Internet, finding the texts of court cases is easy today and no one has to settle for a textbook--or newspaper--summary.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Most trial (municipal, county, circuit courts--the first level of state courts) court case decisions are not published. You may be able to find judgments on the court system's public access or computerized access site. Search using the name of your state and "court access", "public access", "court cases," or just "courts." Frequently, the state bar association will provide links on its website to the court access site.
2. Appellate court decisions are generally easier to find since these are the cases that are appealed from lower courts on the basis of constitutional questions. They will set precedent (or provide a model) for future decisions in all courts. Appellate decisions are on file in state law libraries, where you can ask a librarian for help. If you are not near a state law library, many states have digitized their law libraries online. Librarian help is still available. Search for the name of your state and "law library" or "appellate court decisions." Again, many state bar associations provide links to these cases on their websites.
3. State supreme court decisions are easiest to find because every case that a supreme court decides determines law. Supreme courts decide cases that concern questions of (state) constitutional interpretation that have never been examined before. Again, your best bet is to consult your state law library. Supreme court decisions are generally published in volumes that you may even find in your public library. Online, check your law library or state court system for links to supreme court cases.
4. Case citation can be puzzling and its use can be a course of study in itself. Add to the basic confusion the fact that citation format has changed over time. Suffice to say that legal citation is a shorthand form of the title of a case, used to find the case after its been published with the tens or hundreds of other cases decided in the period of time a given court is in session. The citation always includes the name of the parties in the case (such as Johnson v. Smith) in italics. It includes the branch (or state) of the court, the page on which the written decision begins and the year of its issuance. Other information included in a citation may include the organization that reported the findings, abbreviated in capital letters (N.W.,N.W., P., S.E., S.W., N.Y.S.) and volume number (2d, 3d). Since legal citation can be confusing, most search engines in court systems, law libraries and other collections have made it possible to search using one or both of the parties' names (Johnson and/or Smith), or the title (Johnson v. Smith) that leads the citation. Many circuit court access programs require only the name of one of the parties.

Tips & Warnings

• State bar associations often provide a newsletter to follow appellate law. Check your state bar association's website to see what services they offer.
• Findlaw and Lectric Law Library are two websites that are chock full of useful links. Findlaw has extensive links to state courts and Lectric Law Library has a section explaining legal terms and case citations. Both are clear, concise guides.
• Never be afraid to use a state law library or call for information. Librarians generally love to share their passion for the law with citizens.
• Be sure you have the right name of the court before searching for specific cases. In New York, for example, trial courts are called "Supreme Courts," appellate courts are called "Supreme Court Appellate Division" and the supreme court is called the "Court of Appeals." Names may vary from state to state for these three levels but all states have three levels that provide trial-appeal-final appeal functions. When looking for a case, it's probably wise to check on the state's court system web page for help first.