July 2009
SEARCHING FOR COURT OF APPEALS DECISIONS: EASIER THAN YOU THINK!
There are many ways to retrieve decisions of the U.S. courts of appeals—indispensable authority for all types of legal research.
When you need controlling authority, you're likely to get it from the U.S. courts of appeals—where the bulk of federal appellate decision-making occurs. "Because relatively few courts of appeals decisions are reviewed in the Supreme Court, with rare exception, the federal circuit courts provide the functional equivalent of that Court's proverbial 'last word.'" Maxwell L. Stearns, Appellate Courts Inside and Out, 101 Mich. L. Rev. 1764–65 (2003).
There are more than 900,000 reported and unreported U.S. courts of appeals decisions on Westlaw, beginning with 1891.
Which databases are available?
You can search the whole collection simultaneously, or you can search a U.S. courts of appeals case law database restricted to reported or unreported cases beginning with 1945, to cases decided prior to 1945, or to cases in a specific circuit or practice area. Representative databases include the following:
- U.S. Courts of Appeals Cases (CTA): Cases from the federal appellate courts. Coverage begins with 1891. For pre-1945 cases only, search the CTA-OLD database.
- U.S. Courts of Appeals Cases, Reported (CTAR): Reported cases from the federal appellate courts. Coverage begins with 1945.
- U.S. Courts of Appeals Cases, Unreported (CTAU): Unreported cases from the federal appellate courts. Coverage begins with 1945.
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Cases (CTA9): Cases from the federal appellate courts authoritative in the Ninth Circuit. Coverage begins with 1891.
- Federal Taxation–Courts of Appeals Cases (FTX-CTA): Cases from the federal appellate courts that relate to taxation by federal, state, or local governments. Coverage begins with 1891.
To see a complete list of courts of appeals databases, consult the Westlaw Directory.
How do I search for cases that discuss a specific legal issue?
You can search any of these databases using the Terms and Connectors or the Natural Language search method. If you use the Terms and Connectors search method, you can restrict your search by topic—and exclude irrelevant documents that mention your terms in passing—by searching the synopsis (sy) and digest (di) fields for terms central to your issue, e.g., sy,di("personal jurisdiction" /p internet e-mail web-site).
Are there other ways to retrieve case law dealing with my issue?
Westlaw offers a variety of "back door" methods for retrieving relevant U.S. courts of appeals decisions. In the right situation, one of these methods may be much quicker than searching a database.
Search for Key Numbers tool: This is an easy way to retrieve cases assigned to a relevant West topic and key number. Click Key Numbers at the top of any Westlaw page. In the Search for Key Numbers text box, type a short description of your issue in plain English, e.g., is asbestos contamination covered by cercla. If necessary, click Change Jurisdiction and use the check boxes provided to change the jurisdiction to U.S. courts of appeals. Click Search; a list of key numbers potentially relevant to your issue is displayed. Click a key number to retrieve jurisdiction-specific headnotes classified under that key number.
KeySearch®: With KeySearch, an expert-level query is supplied and run for you. Click Key Numbers at the top of any Westlaw page, then click KeySearch. To use KeySearch, simply click topics and subtopics in the intuitive display until the KeySearch search page is displayed, then select a jurisdiction, and click Search.
KeyCite citing references: If you need U.S. courts of appeals cases that cite a specific statute or regulation, start by retrieving the statute or regulation. Then click Citing References on the Links tab. A list of cases and other citing references is displayed.
To limit the display to U.S. courts of appeals cases, click Limit KeyCite Display at the bottom of the KeyCite citing references result. The KeyCite Limits page is displayed. Click Document Type in the left frame if it is not already selected, and then clear all check boxes in the right frame except the Other courts check box. Click Jurisdiction in the left frame, and then use the check boxes to select one or more U.S. courts of appeals (if available). Click Apply in the left frame.
Links in secondary sources: A law review article, legal newspaper, treatise, practice guide, or forms collection on your issue is likely to contain links to related cases, statutes, and other authorities. Click a link for a cited source to display its full text.