Structure of a Case
See the Newdow case, link below, for an example of a United States Court of Appeals case.
- Caption: the name of the case
- Docket Number: the number of the case file in the Court Clerk's office
- Headnote: short statements, at the top of the case, before the opinion itself, of issues of law decided in the case, written by editors (not the court)
- Syllabus: summary of the facts and issues of law and holding. In official reporters, written by persons designated by the court; in unofficial reporters, written by the editors
- Majority/Concurring/Dissenting Opinion
- Always in this order
- Majority opinion is the holding
- Concurring opinion: joins in the result but for different reasons than the majority
- Dissent: disagrees with the result
Case Law Research
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowGoogle Scholar allows you to search for opinions issued by state and federal courts for free.
- Nexis UniSelect the "US Legal" tab and then "Federal & State Cases" to search judicial opinions from all federal and state courts.
Federal Courts
- Understanding the Federal CourtsThis publication provides an introduction to the federal judicial system, its organization and administration, and its relationship to the legislative and executive branches of the government.
- Federal Court FinderAn interactive map which links to the official web sites of each of the Federal courts.
- Federal Court RulemakingThis web site from the federal judiciary includes the major federal court rules including the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
State Courts
- State Court WebsitesThe National Conference of State Courts (NCSC) provides judicial branch links for each state, focusing on the administrative office of the courts, the court of last resort, any intermediate appellate courts, and each trial court level.
- Illinois CourtsContains current and archived opinions of the Illinois Supreme and Appellate courts.
