Where do you research court cases?

[daylate]

I've noticed several of you cite references to court decisions-how/where do you find these? I've tried Google but haven't had too much luck-maybe I'm not using correct keywords? Any help appreciated. Thanks.

[drowning123]

www.pacer.gov. You need a credit or debit card to create an account. Be careful. The charges can run up pretty quickly at 8 cents per page.

[SunshineGal]

Our local court has a link for opinions where you can search for free. You can also try to Google your district + pacer, and see what comes up.

[LadyInTheRed]

I've noticed several of you cite references to court decisions-how/where do you find these? I've tried Google but haven't had too much luck-maybe I'm not using correct keywords? Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Googling key words is one way to find case law. If you know the name of the case, you can usually find it in a google search. If you aren't looking for a specific case and want to research an issue (which you can't do on PACER as far as I know), you need to do a key word search. It is helpful to include a reference to a specific Code Section if applicable. You can do an advanced search at http://caselaw.findlaw.com/summary/ and enter keywords. The problem with using free methods available on the internet is that before you rely on a case you need to make sure it is "good law", meaning it hasn't been questioned by other rulings or overturned by a higher court. The processs of making sure the case is good law is called "shepardizing". You may be able to get some info on conflicting case law by googling the case name, but that's not reliable. People in the legal profession who are not still shepardizing manually (which can be a long tedious process), use LexisNexis or WestLaw to shepardize a case. Another problem with doing case law reseasearch is knowing the correct terms to search.

Analyzing case law and applying a court's opionion to the facts of your own case is tricky. If you have an issue complicated enough to require caselaw research, you really should consult an attorney.

[SunshineGal]

I don't know know what district you're in, but in the Northern district, http://www.ohnb.uscourts.gov/ , on the right side there is a link for judges information. You can click on your judge and search his/her opinions. I would imagine the other districts are set up the same.

[daylate]

Thanks for the info-I'm not trying to be a lawyer just trying to learn more and see what the different courts are saying.

As a general rule if a court rules on an issue do trustees in other areas take notice or do they continue as usual until it is decided in their district or at a higher level court?

[SunshineGal]

Hi Daylate,

It's really hard to say. I'm in FL, and in my district opinions vary not only by courthouse, but which Judge you get. I would assume the trustees know what the judge will allow and will choose their battles wisely, then again, we all know what they say about "assume", lol.

SG

[tcreegan]

Hi daylate,

If it is in the BAP, Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, or the circuit court (Ohio is in the 6th Circuit), it applies to all the trustees in the district. (if, as LadyintheRed said, it hasn't been overturned or a more recent case was ruled differently)

You can go to your courts website and look to see if it has a section on 'opinions' that you can search. You can also restrict your google search to the .gov domain. The link LadyintheRed to caselaw.findlaw is another good source.

Happy hunting, it is always interesting to me what is out there..

Tom in Colo