Case Law
An Online Reference Guide
What is Case Law?
- Judges interpret statutes and regulations by ruling in court cases
- Higher court judges publish their rulings as judicial "opinions" or "decisions"
- These published opinions set precedents (binding or persuasive) for future decisions
- The area of law made up of these opinions is known as "Case Law" or "Common Law"
Some Facts and Statistics
- State court cases far outnumber federal court cases - over twice as many in Illinois alone as in all federal courts
- In both Illinois and the federal system, there are millions of trial court cases, thousands of appellate cases, and hundreds of Supreme Court cases
- Only a small fraction of all decisions are ever published in print or online
Researching Case Law: Factors to Consider
Some essential factors to consider when researching case law are jurisdiction, the type of court, how the law is published, and when the law was published.
Jurisdiction
Federal Courts have jurisdiction over:
- Cases involving federal laws such as:
Bankruptcy
Taxes
Patents, trademarks, and copyright
Civil rights- Cases where the U.S. Government is a party
- Cases where the parties are from different states
State Courts have jurisdiction over cases involving state laws such as:
Property
Criminal law
Contracts
Family law
Type of Courts
Federal and Illinois State Courts have a three-part
hierarchical arrangement consisting of:
Trial Courts
Intermediate Appellate Courts
Highest Appellate Court/Court of Last Resort
In addition, there are several special federal courts
Federal Courts
The three-part hierarchical arrangement in the Federal Court System consists of:
- Trial Court
94 District Courts - Skokie is in the Illinois Northern District Court of Illinois- Intermediate Appellate Court
12 Circuit Courts - Illinois is in the Seventh Circuit- Highest Appellate Court/Court of Last Resort
U.S. Supreme Court (9 justices appointed by the president and confirmed by Congress)There are also a number of Special Federal Courts that handle special legislation. These include:
- Bankruptcy Courts
One for every district - Skokie is in the Northern Bankruptcy Court of Illinois- Tax Court
- Court of Claims
- Court of International Trade
- Courts of Various Administrative Agencies
Illinois State Courts
The three-part hierarchical arrangement in the Illinois State Court System consists of:
- Trial Court
Twenty-two Circuit Courts - Skokie is in the Circuit Court of Cook County- Intermediate Appellate Court
Five Appellate Courts - Skokie is in the 1st District- Highest Appellate Court/Court of Last Resort
Illinois Supreme Court (seven justices elected from judicial districts for ten-year terms)
Finding Court Opinions
What Opinions Are Published?
- No state trial court (Illinois Circuit Court) opinions are published, either in print or online
- Very few federal trial court (U.S. District Court) opinions are published, either in print or online
- Only state and federal higher court opinions are generally published, usually both in print and online
How Are Opinions Published?
- U.S. Supreme Court and Illinois higher court opinions are published both officially by government agencies and unofficially by West Publishing
- U.S. Circuit Court opinions are published only unofficially by West
- Official publications are titled Reports and West publications are titled Reporters
- West's Federal Reporter covers U.S. Circuit Courts
- West's regional reporters cover higher courts for one or more states with Illinois in the North Eastern Reporter
- Lawyers use West publications for their helpful editorial material and summaries
How are Opinions Identified?
Opinions can be identified several ways:
- By party names
Example: Bush v. Gore - By Official and/or unofficial citations (published opinions)
Example: 306 Ill. App. 3d 1131, 716 N.E. 2d 323 - By Docket Number (unpublished opinions)
Example: Smith v. Jones. No. CH87-100(Ill. Cir.Ct. Cook County, Sept. 3, 1987)
How to Read a Citation
Example: People v. Jones, 188 ILL. 2d 352 (1999)
- People v. Jones = party names
- 188 = volume of reporter
- Ill. 2d = name and edition of reporter (Illinois Reports 2d)
- 352 = page number of opinion
- 1999 = year opinion was issued
U.S. Supreme Court Opinions
- Official print source: United States Reports (abbreviated as "U.S.")
- Unofficial print source: Supreme Court Reporter (abbreviated as "S.Ct.")
- Another unofficial print source: United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition (abbreviated as "L.Ed.")
Online
- U.S. Supreme Court (1999 to the present)
- FindLaw Supreme Court (1886 to the present)
U.S. Circuit Court Opinions
- Unofficial print source: Federal Reporter 3d (abbreviated as "F 3d")
Online
- Separate sites for each Court (1995 to the present)
See the Circuit Courts section of Northern Illinois University's College of Law site
Illinois Supreme Court Opinions
- Official print source: Illinois Reports 2d (abbreviated as "Ill. 2d")
- Unofficial print source: North Eastern Reporter 3d (abbreviated as "N.E. 2d")
- Another unofficial print source: West's Illinois Decisions (abbreviated as "Ill. Dec")
Online
- Recent Illinois Supreme Court Decisions (posted within the last 90 days)
- Illinois Supreme & Appellate Court Opinion Archives (back to 1996)
Illinois Appellate Court Opinions
- Official print source: Illinois Appellate Court Reports 3d (abbreviated as "Ill. App 3d")
- Unofficial Print Source: North Eastern Reporter 3d (abbreviated as "N.E. 2d")
- Another Unofficial Print Source: West's Illinois Decisions (abbreviated as "Ill. Dec")
Online
- Recent Illinois Appellate Court Decisions (posted within the last 90 days)
- Illinois Supreme & Appellate Court Opinion Archives (back to 1996)
Other Sources of Court Opinions
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records)
- Database of federal court records including opinions if available
- Available on the Internet, but users must register and pay $.07 for each page displayed
Where to Find Unpublished Opinions
- Unpublished opinions are available from the Clerk of the Court for a particular court
- Clerks of the Court must be contacted directly and will charge a fee
- Clerk of the Court for the Circuit Court of Cook County
How to Find Cases by Topic
- Lawyers use publications called "digests" to find cases relevant to a particular issue; Skokie Public Library doesn't have these
- Citations to important cases can be found in reference works such as legal encyclopedias or annotated codes
- Searching legal databases such as Westlaw by keywords is possible but difficult