Sources of Free Legal Research: Case Law

There is an abundance of free case law available online. Unfortunately, many of the editorial enhancements and finding aids that legal researchers are accustomed to are not available through these free sources. For example, these sources do not provide digests or headnotes, which organize cases by points of law. Instead, these sources utilize browsing and keyword searching as the principal means of finding relevant cases. Researchers should be aware of these limitations and understand that keyword searching and browsing are not necessarily the best methods to find cases.

Federal Court Opinions

• Google Scholar - Uses the Google search algorithm to find and rank cases. Click "Case law" and then "Select courts" to choose the jurisdiction(s) you want to search.  Includes published opinions of U.S. federal district, appellate, tax and bankruptcy courts since 1923, and U.S. Supreme Court cases since 1791.
• Caselaw Access Project - Includes all official, book-published federal U.S. case law through 2020 - every volume or case designated as an official report of decisions by a court within the U.S.  Keyword search or browse by reporter volume.
• Govinfo - Contains selected opinions from selected appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts from 2004 to the present.  Browseable by circuit then by year.
• Supreme Court - Contains electronic versions of all U.S. Supreme Court opinions that are compiled and printed in the United States Reports, the Court's official publication. Searchable by citation and keyword. Search can be limited by jurisdiction and date.
• Library of Congress - Contains the official opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court covering the years 1754 to 2013. This collection will continue to grow as the Supreme Court digitizes more volumes of the U.S. Reports. Browseable by year, justice, and major case topics. Searchable by case title.
• U.S. Courts - links to the websites of each federal court (appellate, district, and courts of limited jurisdiction).  Court websites provide opinions, court filings, oral arguments, and more.
• Justia - U.S. Supreme Court opinions from 1791 to present. U.S.Court of Appeals opinions from 1924 to present.  Browseable by year and reporter volume number.

New York State Court Opinions

• Google Scholar - Court of Appeals and Appellate Court opinions from 1950 to present.  Click "Case law" and then "New York Courts."
• Caselaw Access Project - opinions from New York's official, book-published reporters through 2018.
• Court of Appeals Slip Opinions - opinions available the day of their release.
• New York Law Reporting Bureau - Court of Appeals, Appellate Departments, and lower court opinions from 1956 to present.
• New York State Unified Court System - selected opinions from the Court of Appeals, Appellate Divisions, and lower courts.
• Justia - Court of Appeals, Appellate Court, and selected lower court opinions (browse by year).
• New York Law Journal - lower court opinions (this is a mixed free and fee site).