Finding Court Cases Online – A Listing of Valuable Links for Research Purposes

Using actual court cases for research gives you a better understanding of the judicial system. Often, those studying to be a paralegal, lawyer, forensic detective, or any other profession that has even tangential links to the process of law will find the need to look up court records every now and then. Fortunately, finding court cases has been made easier thanks to Internet.

There are several online services that provide resource information about a multitude of court cases (with most states providing public access to court records). Following is a list of links that will hopefully assist you and save you hours of further research.

For introductory materials:
• The Avalon Project at Yale Law School  

You can access court cases according to state. The following are websites you can get information from.
• FindLaw
• PublicDataCenter.com
• National Society of Collegiate Scholars

The sites below contain guides and tips on finding court cases:
• University of Richmond - School of Law
• American Digest System: Finding Court Cases
• VersusLaw

The websites listed below are but a few of the state-specific court records resources you can find online.

• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• North Carolina  
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Wisconsin

For the Supreme Court’s official website, click here.

Supreme Court cases:
• Famous Supreme Court Cases (1800 onwards)
• Supreme Court Hallmarks (1800 onwards)

These websites offer information about famous court cases and trials:
• CourtTV
• Famous Supreme Court Trials
• Famous Trials

You can also check out the Great Neck Public Schools Library for other court case references.

Below are suggested book titles you may also wish to consult.
• Basic Law
• Imagining the Law: Common Law and the Foundations of the American Legal System by Norman F. Cantor
• Famous Supreme Court Cases by Andrew David
• High Court Case Summaries by Dana L. Blatt and Alex Vinnitsky
• Law and Politics of the Supreme Court: Cases and Readings by Susan Lawrence
• Criminal Law: Case Studies and Controversies by Paul H. Robinson
• The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States by Kermit L. Hall

We hope that the above resources have helped you in your research project(s). If you feel you want to conduct a court records search online now, feel free to visit RecordsSiteReviews' court cases section for a listing of today’s top online records search service providers.