LAW Foreign Cases and Decisions
This guide is intended to help researchers locate the cases and decisions of foreign jurisdictions.
Accessing the law of the United States
Federal courts and 49 states use the legal system based on English common law which has diverged somewhat since the mid-nineteenth century in that they look to each other's cases for guidance on issues of first impression and rarely, if ever, look at contemporary cases on the same issue in the UK or the Commonwealth.
State law in the U.S. state of Louisiana is based upon French and Spanish civil law.
Here is a map of the U.S. Federal Circuit Court system from the United States Courts website. This can help you determine from which circuit court a case was decided.
For more information on the Unites States courts system see the US Courts website.
Electronic Sources for Cases
Some U.S. cases can be found for free, on open-access websites on the Internet.
- Court ListenerFrom the Free Law Project
- FindLawA part of Thomson Reuters, provides online legal information much as case law as well as online marketing services for law firms.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
- JustiaProvides free case law, codes, regulations, legal articles and legal blog and twitterer databases, as well as additional community resources.
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw This link opens in a new window
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowTo set up Google Scholar to detect UofC subscribed resources, refer to Google Scholar setup (in the Natural Sciences Programme LibGuide)
- Lexis+ Canada This link opens in a new window
- Available to Faculty of Law students only
- Password access only
- Westlaw Edge (UofC Law School only) This link opens in a new windowFaculty of Law students and faculty may obtain an individual password.
SCOTUS audio files
- OyezOyez (pronounced oh-yay) is a project of IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. It contains audio recordings from the Supreme Court of the United States since 1955.