Understanding Laws and Cases
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How To Read A Legal CitationSource: BYU Law Library
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How to Read a Judicial Opinion: A Guide for New Law StudentsSource: Professor Orin S. Kerr, George Washington University Law School
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How to Read a U.S. Supreme Court OpinionSource: American Bar Association
Explains the elements of a legal opinion.
Using GoogleScholar for Legal Research
Pros
- United States Supreme Court (since 1791)
- U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District Courts (since 1923)
- supreme courts and intermediate appellate courts from all states (since 1950)
- better result relevancy than Westlaw
- citation service that allows you to find subsequent cases and legal articles
Cons
- not often updated so cases may have been withdrawn from court
- does not include unpublished cases, statutes, table opinions, or reference support
When using GoogleScholar for legal research, remember to click Case Law as a results limiter. You can then narrow down by a specific court, if you wish.
To see subsequent and related cases, click the Cited By link under the relevant case law.
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Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
A free research tool that searches across many disciplines and sources. Click more link to learn how to link the Library's resources into Google Scholar.