Case Law Research: Finding Reading and Verifying Judicial Decisions

37 questions on case law research, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Are district court opinions ever binding precedent?
• Are unpublished opinions binding, and may I cite them?
• Can a court overrule its own prior decisions?
• Can a lower court refuse to follow a Supreme Court precedent it thinks is wrong?
• Can a non-lawyer do legal research?
• Can I rely on headnotes instead of reading the opinion?
• Can one panel of a court of appeals overrule another panel?
• Does a federal court's interpretation of state law bind the state's own courts?
• How are state court decisions published?
• How does the federal court hierarchy determine which decisions are binding?
• How do state court hierarchies work for precedent?
• How do you find cases interpreting a statute?
• How do you find cases on a topic when you don't have a citation?
• How do you identify the holding of a case?
• How do you read a case citation?
• How do you use a citator correctly?
• Is a statutory precedent harder to overturn than a constitutional one?
• What are the main federal case reporters?
• What are the main standards of appellate review?
• What are the parts of a judicial opinion?
• What citation manual should I follow?
• What do paid research platforms add over free tools?
• What free tools can I use for case law research?
• What happens if you cite a case that is no longer good law?
• What is a citator, and what does it mean to “Shepardize” a case?
• What is a docket, and where do you find court filings?
• What is a neutral or vendor-neutral citation?
• What is a quick checklist for evaluating any case you find?
• What is a standard of review, and why does it matter to a researcher?
• What is case law?
• What is stare decisis?
• What is the difference between a holding and dicta?
• What is the difference between a majority, plurality, concurrence, and dissent?
• What is the difference between a trial court and an appellate court?
• What is the difference between binding and persuasive authority?
• What should a case brief contain?
• Why should legal research often start with a secondary source?