Legal Research Tutorial

Module 2: Finding Case Law

Searching for State Cases

You may want to look up information on state case law. Follow the same basic steps to reach Case Law.

Now let us try a sample state court search using the following steps:

In the Enter Search Terms box, enter "presidential elections" and choose the Natural Language option
In the Select Sources section, choose "FL Federal and State Cases, Combined" from the drop down menu
Now click the button

Selecting Florida

Your search should yield a list of results sorted by date, with the most recent first.

Results list

Click on the link for the case title you want to view. Let's click Gore v. Harris

This is an example of a typical state case record.

Names of the parties involved in the suit [Albert Gore, Jr. and Joseph Lieberman versus Katherine Harris et al.]
A listing of various ways the case is cited by such services as LexisNexis and state law publications. Example:773 So. 2d 524; 2000 Fla. LEXIS 2474; 26 Fla. L. Weekly S 1
The date the case was decided [December 22, 2000]

Listing of ways case is cited and date of decision

The decision or disposition, ex. Appellants afforded no relief (i.e. Gore's appeal denied).
List of counsel

Judges (listing which justices agreed and which dissented from the majority opinion, or issued a separate opinion from that of the court)
Opinion (here delivered Per Curiam, i.e. "by the whole court,")

A little further down the screen you will see the opinion or decision reached by the Court:

If there are dissenting opinions, they are given further down below in the case record.