How California Cases Are Published
Cases are published in books called reporters. Although today cases are usually accessed online, case citations still refer to print reporters.
For example, Perez v. Sharp, 32 Cal. 2d 711, 198 P.2d 17 (1948) means the case begins on page 711, volume 32, of the second edition of the California Reports (Cal. 2d) and on page 17, volume 198, of the second edition of the Pacific Reporter (P.2d)
Almost all California cases are published in two competing sets of reporters:
- Westlaw publishes California cases in the unofficial California Reporter and Pacific Reporter.
- Lexis holds the contract to publish California's official reporters, the California Reports and California Appellate Reports, published as shown below:
California Case Law
Cases are decisions made by courts in lawsuits or criminal prosecutions. Cases interpret and apply statutes and regulations and may also create and refine "common law" (laws created solely by the courts.)
Sources of California cases include:
- California Official Reports Public Access WebsiteCollection of published California cases, provided by Lexis, California's official authorized publisher for cases. Includes California Supreme Court opinions from 1850, Appeals Court opinions from 1905, and Superior Court opinions from 1934. Updated quarterly.
- Unpublished California OpinionsUnpublished California Court of Appeals opinions from the last 60 days. Unpublished opinions do not have precedential value and are not binding on other courts but may still provide valuable analysis of the law.
- Google ScholarGoogle's unofficial collection of published California Supreme Court and Court of Appeals cases from the 1950s onwards. To use, select "Case law" and then "California courts" using the buttons underneath the search box. When reading a case, click the "How Cited" button at the top of the screen to find other cases that have cited the case.
- JustiaUnofficial collection of published California Supreme Court and Court of Appeals opinions dating back to 1934.
California Dockets and Court Documents
Dockets are lists of court documents filed by the parties in a case. Most California state court dockets are provided for free on the courts' websites but obtaining the underlying court documents usually requires purchasing the documents from the website or even visiting the courthouse in person. However, a few projects seek to make California court documents free online.
Sources of California dockets and court documents include:
- Case Information for California Supreme and Appeals CourtsDockets for California Supreme Court and Court of Appeals cases, available for free on the California courts' website. Searchable by docket number, party name, or attorney. Updated hourly during the business day.
- Supreme Court of California Resources (SCOCAL)Stanford Law Library project providing California Supreme Court materials dating back to 1934, including briefs, docket information, biographies of the justices, annotations written by Stanford law students, and links to media coverage of cases.
- California Appellate BriefsBriefs filed in California Court of Appeals cases, provided by the LA Law Library. Recent briefs are provided as free scanned PDFs. Earlier briefs are listed in the database but the full text must be retrieved from the paid LLMC Digital database or requested via e-delivery for a fee.