United States Federal & State CourtsIntroductionThe availability of judicial opinions on-line has increased substantially over the years. Most federal courts, including all circuit courts, and many state courts have Internet home pages sponsored by various educational and commercial entities; however, the databases of these judicial opinions tend only to cover the last few years, negating the possibility of conducting comprehensive research. The exception to the problem of limited availability of caselaw is the U. S. Supreme Court, which has decisions on-line dating back to 1760.Private SectorThe most extensive Internet databases of judicial opinions at the federal and state levels are available through private fee-based providers such as LexisNexis®, WestLaw®, and VersusLaw. However, in its continuing mission to organize the world's information, Google, through its excellent law-focussed product, Google Scholar (free to use), is well on its way to changing the jurisprudence research landscape. Scholar offers the ability to search state and federal court opinions, hosted on Google's infrastructure and presented in a clear, uniform manner. Public SectorThe most substantial coordinated government service of judicial opinions is PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records), which allows anyone with an account to access official electronic case information and court dockets. United States Supreme CourtFreely Accessible Online ArchivesSupreme Court Primary Materials United States Constitution, Article III28 U.S.C. Chapter 81, Supreme Court 28 U.S.C. § 1251. Original jurisdiction.28 U.S.C. § 1252. Repealed.28 U.S.C. § 1253. Direct appeals from decisions of three-judge courts.28 U.S.C. § 1254. Courts of appeals; certiorari; certified questions.28 U.S.C. § 1255, 1256. Repealed.28 U.S.C. § 1257. State courts; certiorari.28 U.S.C. § 1258. Supreme Court of Puerto Rico; certiorari.28 U.S.C. § 1259. Court of Military Appeals; certiorari.United States Supreme Court: Summary of Online ResourcesLegal researchers interested in the U. S. Supreme Court have a plethora of on-line options available to them.FindLaw, Inc., offers a searchable database of Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1890 (U. S. Supreme Court Decisions: 1760-present). This free service from FindLaw allows research by year, U. S. Reports volume number and citation, case title, and full text. FindLaw's Supreme Court database represents the best option for Internet researchers due to its comprehensiveness, powerful search options. Cornell University's Legal Information Institute has placed the Rules of the U. S. Supreme Court on the Internet. Supreme Court of the United States Telephone: (202) 479-3011 U. S. Federal Circuit Courts: Contact & AccessStaff Note: For each circuit court below, more than one web site is available to the public at which opinions may be accessed for download or text searches. The hypertext link located above the physical address for each circuit court represents the more (or most) comprehensive database currently freely accessible via the Internet.United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Telephone: (202) 273-0310 United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Telephone: (617) 223-9057 (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Puerto Rico) United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Telephone: (212) 791-0103 (Connecticut, New York, Vermont) United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Telephone: (215) 597-2905 (Delaware, New Jersey, Virgin Islands, Pennsylvania) United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Telephone: (804) 771-2213 (Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia) United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Telephone: (504) 589-6514 (Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas) United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Telephone: (513) 584-2953 (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee) United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Telephone: (312) 435-5850 (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin) United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit Telephone: (314) 539-3609 (Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North & South Dakota) United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Telephone: (415) 744-6150 (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai`i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, North Mariana Island, Guam) United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Telephone: (303) 844-3157 (Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming) United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Telephone: (404) 331-6187 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia) United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Telephone: (202) 633-6550 American State CourtsState Supreme CourtsSupreme Court of AlabamaSupreme Court of AlaskaSupreme Court of ArizonaSupreme Court of ArkansasSupreme Court of CaliforniaSupreme Court of ColoradoSupreme Court of ConnecticutSupreme Court of DelawareSupreme Court of FloridaSupreme Court of GeorgiaSupreme Court of GuamSupreme Court of Hawai`iSupreme Court of IdahoSupreme Court of IllinoisSupreme Court of IndianaSupreme Court of IowaSupreme Court of KansasSupreme Court of KentuckySupreme Court of LouisianaSupreme Court of MaineSupreme Court of MarylandSupreme Court of MassachusettsSupreme Court of MichiganSupreme Court of MinnesotaSupreme Court of MississippiSupreme Court of MissouriSupreme Court of NebraskaSupreme Court of NevadaSupreme Court of New HampshireSupreme Court of New JerseySupreme Court of New MexicoSupreme Court of New YorkSupreme Court of North CarolinaSupreme Court of North DakotaSupreme Court of OhioSupreme Court of OklahomaSupreme Court of OregonSupreme Court of PennsylvaniaSupreme Court of Puerto RicoSupreme Court of Rhode IslandSupreme Court of South CarolinaSupreme Court of South DakotaSupreme Court of TennesseeSupreme Court of TexasSupreme Court of U.S. Virgin IslandsSupreme Court of UtahSupreme Court of VermontSupreme Court of VirginiaSupreme Court of WashingtonSupreme Court of West VirginiaSupreme Court of WisconsinSupreme Court of WyomingState Appellate CourtsAlabama Court of AppealsAlaska Court of AppealsArizona Court of Appeals, Division IArizona Court of Appeals, Division II Arkansas Court of AppealsCalifornia Courts of AppealsColorado Court of AppealsConnecticut Court of AppealsDelaware Court of AppealsFlorida Court of AppealsGeorgia Court of AppealsHawai`i Intermediate Court of AppealsIdaho Court of AppealsIllinois Court of AppealsIndiana Court of AppealsIowa Court of AppealsKansas Court of AppealsKentucky Court of AppealsLouisiana First Circuit Court of AppealLouisiana Second Circuit Court of AppealLouisiana Third Circuit Court of AppealLouisiana Fourth Circuit Court of AppealLouisiana Fifth Circuit Court of AppealMaryland Court of AppealsMassachusetts Court of AppealsMichigan Court of AppealsMinnesota Court of AppealsMississippi Court of AppealsMissouri Court of AppealsMontana Court of AppealsNebraska Court of AppealsNevada Court of AppealsNew Jersey Superior Court, Appellate DivisionNew Mexico Court of AppealsNew York Court of AppealsNorth Carolina Court of AppealsOhio Court of AppealsOklahoma Court of AppealsOregon Court of AppealsPennsylvania Commonwealth CourtPennsylvania Superior CourtSouth Carolina Court of AppealsTennessee Court of AppealsTexas Courts of AppealsUtah Court of AppealsVirginia Court of AppealsWashington Court of AppealsWest Virginia Court of AppealsWisconsin Court of AppealsWyoming Court of Appeals |