Finding Cases by Party Name or Citation  

Often in legal research you need to find a case, but you may have only the names of the parties, such as Bellotti v. Baird.  Sometimes, you may only have the name of one party, such as Cumis.  This guide will show you how to look up a case by party name on Lexis and Westlaw, by using a search engine such as Google Scholar, or by using print resources.

You can use Google Scholar to find cases by party name.  From the Google Scholar Advanced Search page, enter the name or names that you know in the first search box labeled "with all of the words."  Under the "Legal Opinions and Journals" of the section of the Advanced Search menu, you can select your case's jurisdiction if you know it, or just "search all legal opinions and journals" if you're not sure of the jurisdiction.  Click on "Search Scholar" at the top of the Advanced Search page when you are finished entering in your information.

On Lexis, follow these steps to find a case by party name:

• Select the link "Get a Document" near the top of the Lexis research home page, then select "By Party Name."
  
  
• Enter one or two names in the boxes labeled "Party," then use the buttons and pull down menus to select the court that decided the case if you know it. There are choices for searching multiple courts with one search if you don't know the exact court.

• You can also select a date restriction if you know roughly when the opinion was issued.  Click on the "Search" button when you are finished.

• If you are a member of the USF community but are not a USF law student, faculty, or staff member, you can use LexisNexis Academic to look up a case by party name.  Under the "Look Up a Legal Case" section of the home page, enter a party name or names in the search box labeled "Or by Parties."  Click the "Go" button when you are finished.
  

On Westlaw:

• On the Law School home page, click on the link in the left-hand menu labeled "Find a Case by Party Name."

• Enter one or two names, then use the buttons and pull down menus to select the court that decided the case if you know it. There are choices for searching multiple courts with one search if you don't know the exact court.  Click on "Go" at the bottom of the screen when you are finished.

On WestlawNext:

• At the WestlawNext home page, type the name or names that you know in the search box. 

• You can use the pull-down menu to the right of the search box to select a jurisdiction if you know it.  There are choices for searching multiple courts with one search if you don't know the exact court.  Click on "Search" to the right of the search box when you are finished.

To use a digest's table of cases to find your case:

• Pick a digest that most closely matches the jurisdiction and date of your case. If you don't know the jurisdiction or date, or if your jurisdiction isn't covered by any other digest, use West's "decennial" digests and West's General Digest, which cover all jurisdictions and all dates.  A list of print digests available at USF appears below.

• Look for the table of cases volumes near the end of the digest. Cases are generally listed in alphabetical order by the party's name, regardless of whether the party is plaintiff or defendant. In older digests, if you only know the defendant's name, look for the "Defendant/Plaintiff Table."

To use advance sheets to find the most recent published cases:

• Locate the advance sheets for the reporter in which you think the case appears. They will be paper-bound pamphlets shelved immediately after the bound volumes.

• Look for a table of cases in the front of the advance sheet. Many advance sheets contain "cumulative" tables covering several months or multiple advance sheets.

Digests with Tables of Cases at USF Law Library