I'm looking for court cases on a particular topic. Where do I start?
The Law Library of Congresshas published two online research guidesto help researchers start their case law research. Legal Research: A Guide to Case Law provides resources for locating and identifying judicial decisions from the U.S. courts using primary and secondary sources of case law. How to Find Free Case Law Online helps researchers locate free case law on the internet using Google Scholar, CourtListener, FindLaw, Justia, and Public Library of Law (PLoL).
Additionally, the Law Library of Congress offers a webinar, U.S. Case Law Research, in which librarians provide an overview of U.S. case law research, including information about the U.S. federal court system, the publication of court opinions, methods for researching case law, and information about locating records and briefs. To register for this and other upcoming US law webinars offered by the Law Library, visit our Legal Research Institute page for US Law Webinars. To view a recording of past presentation of the class, visit the page for Past Presentations.
Established by Congress in 1832, the Law Library has a collection of over 2.65 million volumes spanning the ages and covering virtually every jurisdiction in the world.
We cannot provide legal advice, interpretation, or analysis which could be interpreted as the practice of law; extensive bibliographies or legislative histories; or answers for student homework assignments.