Overview
This guide catalogs the authoritative sources for federal and state judicial decisions — where to find opinions, how to verify their authority, and the hierarchy of courts whose decisions bind lower courts and agencies.
Federal Court Hierarchy and Reporters
Supreme Court of the United States
| Reporter |
Abbreviation |
Publisher |
Authority |
| United States Reports |
U.S. |
Government Printing Office (official) |
Official reporter — cite this when available |
| Supreme Court Reporter |
S. Ct. |
Thomson Reuters (West) |
Unofficial — includes headnotes, Key Numbers, synopses |
| Lawyers’ Edition |
L. Ed. 2d |
LexisNexis |
Unofficial — includes annotations, research references |
| Supreme Court website |
supremecourt.gov |
U.S. Supreme Court |
Slip opinions (same-day), bound volumes delayed |
Where to find: supremecourt.gov (free), Westlaw, Lexis+, Bloomberg Law, Google Scholar, CourtListener, Justia
United States Courts of Appeals (Circuit Courts)
| Reporter |
Abbreviation |
Series |
Coverage |
| Federal Reporter |
F., F.2d, F.3d, F.4th |
West |
Published opinions from all 13 circuits |
| Federal Appendix |
F. App’x |
West |
Unpublished opinions (limited precedential value in most circuits) |
13 Circuits: 1st (Boston), 2nd (New York), 3rd (Philadelphia), 4th (Richmond), 5th (New Orleans), 6th (Cincinnati), 7th (Chicago), 8th (St. Louis), 9th (San Francisco), 10th (Denver), 11th (Atlanta), D.C. Circuit (Washington), Federal Circuit (Washington — patent, trade, government contracts)
Where to find: Westlaw, Lexis+, Bloomberg Law, Google Scholar, CourtListener, individual circuit websites, PACER
United States District Courts
| Reporter |
Abbreviation |
Coverage |
| Federal Supplement |
F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d |
Selected district court opinions |
| Federal Rules Decisions |
F.R.D. |
Procedural and discovery opinions |
Where to find: Westlaw, Lexis+, Bloomberg Law, PACER, CourtListener
Specialized Federal Courts
| Court |
Reporter |
Focus |
| Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) |
I&N Dec. (Administrative Decisions under Immigration & Nationality Laws) |
Immigration precedent decisions |
| Tax Court |
T.C. |
Tax cases |
| Court of Federal Claims |
Fed. Cl. |
Claims against the federal government |
| Court of International Trade |
Ct. Int’l Trade |
International trade cases |
| Bankruptcy Courts |
B.R. |
Bankruptcy cases |
Immigration-Specific Case Law Sources
Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
| Resource |
Coverage |
Where |
| Administrative Decisions (I&N Dec.) |
BIA precedent decisions — binding on immigration judges and DHS |
justice.gov/eoir, HeinOnline, Westlaw, Lexis |
| Attorney General decisions |
AG-designated decisions — supersede BIA precedent |
justice.gov, Federal Register, Westlaw, Lexis |
| Unpublished BIA decisions |
Individual case outcomes — not precedential but informative |
Westlaw, Lexis (limited coverage), FOIA requests |
Federal Courts — Immigration
| Court Level |
Key Circuits for Immigration Law |
| 9th Circuit (San Francisco) |
Largest immigration docket; many foundational immigration decisions |
| 2nd Circuit (New York) |
Major immigration docket, particularly asylum |
| 5th Circuit (New Orleans) |
Immigration enforcement, border issues |
| 11th Circuit (Atlanta) |
Growing immigration docket |
| D.C. Circuit (Washington) |
Agency challenges, FOIA, administrative law |
Constitutional Law — Key Case Law Sources
By Subject Area
| Subject |
Leading Sources |
Key Reporters |
| First Amendment |
Supreme Court, all circuits |
U.S., F.3d/F.4th |
| Fourth Amendment (search and seizure) |
Supreme Court, circuits with active enforcement dockets |
U.S., F.3d/F.4th |
| Fifth Amendment (due process) |
Supreme Court, circuits with immigration and administrative law dockets |
U.S., F.3d/F.4th, I&N Dec. |
| Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection, birthright citizenship) |
Supreme Court, D.C. Circuit, circuits where challenges are filed |
U.S., F.3d/F.4th |
| Separation of powers |
Supreme Court, D.C. Circuit (primary venue for challenges to federal agency action) |
U.S., F.3d/F.4th |
Online Collections of Constitutional Decisions
| Resource |
URL |
Coverage |
| Cornell LII — Supreme Court Collection |
law.cornell.edu/supct |
All Supreme Court opinions, searchable |
| Oyez Project |
oyez.org |
Supreme Court opinions with oral argument audio and case summaries |
| SCOTUSblog |
scotusblog.com |
Case tracking, analysis, opinion summaries for current and recent terms |
| Constitution Annotated (CRS/Congress.gov) |
constitution.congress.gov |
Clause-by-clause analysis of the Constitution with case citations |
| National Constitution Center |
constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution |
Clause-by-clause analysis by scholars from different perspectives |
Citator Services — Verifying Case Authority
Why Citators Matter
A citator tells you whether a case is still “good law” — whether it has been overruled, reversed, questioned, or distinguished by subsequent decisions. Never cite a case without checking a citator.
Citator Comparison
| Feature |
KeyCite (Westlaw) |
Shepard’s (Lexis+) |
BCITE (Bloomberg) |
Authority Check (vLex) |
| Negative treatment flags |
Red flag, yellow flag |
Red stop sign, orange Q, yellow triangle |
Status indicators |
Negative treatment alerts |
| Depth of treatment |
Stars (1-4) indicating how extensively a citing case discusses the cited case |
Analysis labels (followed, distinguished, criticized) |
Direct/indirect history distinction |
Basic treatment analysis |
| Headnote-level tracking |
Yes — tracks treatment of specific legal points |
Yes — Shepard’s analysis at headnote level |
Limited |
Limited |
| Table of Authorities |
Yes — reverse citator showing what a case cites |
Yes |
Yes |
Limited |
| Comprehensive scope |
Very comprehensive |
Very comprehensive |
Comprehensive |
Growing |
Free Alternatives (Limited)
| Resource |
Capabilities |
Limitations |
| Google Scholar “Cited by” |
Shows subsequent cases that cite the case |
No negative treatment analysis. Not comprehensive |
| CourtListener |
Free case law with some citation analysis |
No formal citator flags |
| Caselaw Access Project (Harvard) |
Digitized case law corpus |
Research-oriented, not a citator |
Best Practices for Case Law Research
- Start with the Supreme Court. For constitutional questions, identify the controlling Supreme Court authority first
- Map the circuit split. If circuits disagree, identify which circuits have ruled and how — the split often predicts Supreme Court action
- Check recency. Run every case through a citator before relying on it
- Read in context. Do not rely on headnotes alone — read the actual opinion, particularly the holding and reasoning
- Track dissents. In constitutional law, today’s dissent is often tomorrow’s majority opinion
- Monitor certiorari grants. If the Supreme Court grants cert on a related question, the legal landscape may shift
- Distinguish holdings from dicta. Courts are only bound by holdings — statements necessary to the decision. Everything else is dicta (persuasive but not binding)
