Case Law Sources Guide
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Case Law Sources Guide

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Case Law Sources Guide

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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| Federal Appendix | F. App’x | West | Unpublished opinions (limited precedential value in most circuits) |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

  1. Start with the Supreme Court. For constitutional questions, identify the controlling Supreme Court authority first
  2. Map the circuit split. If circuits disagree, identify which circuits have ruled and how — the split often predicts Supreme Court action
  3. Check recency. Run every case through a citator before relying on it
  4. Read in context. Do not rely on headnotes alone — read the actual opinion, particularly the holding and reasoning
  5. Track dissents. In constitutional law, today’s dissent is often tomorrow’s majority opinion
  6. Monitor certiorari grants. If the Supreme Court grants cert on a related question, the legal landscape may shift
  7. Distinguish holdings from dicta. Courts are only bound by holdings — statements necessary to the decision. Everything else is dicta (persuasive but not binding)
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