How to Find a Case Using Easy Search
There are two places to find a case on LexisNexis Academic. The first is the "Easy Search" page. Go to the section called "Look Up a Legal Case".
- To look up a case by citation, type in the citation for the case in the "By Citation" box and click on "Go".
- If the know the names of the parties, you can type them in the "By Parties" box and click on "Go". It does not matter which order the parties are entered in. You can run the search if you only know one party and the name is unique.
- If you are looking up a Landmark Supreme Court Case, such as Roe v. Wade, you may want to use the link provided at the bottom of the "Look up a Legal Case" form to go to the Landmark Cases search form. This is a list of direct links to Landmark Supreme Court Cases sorted alphabetically by topic, then by year, then alphabetically by party name.
- It is recommended that if you want to find a case by subject or keywords that you follow the instructions below rather than using the "Topic" search on the "Easy Search" page.
Examples:
1) By Citation 834 N.E.2d 432
2) By Parties Brown v. board of education
3) By Topic free speech and campus or - free speech w/15 campus
4) US Federal & State Cases: free speech and campus
(Switch the field from "Everywhere" to "At least 5 occurrences)
5) Combined Search: If you wish to broaden your search results,
combine "fed. & state cases" and "Law reviews.
How to Find a Case Using U.S. Legal: Federal and State Cases
You can also look up a case by name, citation, or search terms (keywords) by clicking on "U.S. Legal" on the left sidebar and then click on "Federal and State Cases". This will bring you to the U.S. Federal and State Cases search form.
- If you know the citation, type it into the "Search For" box, then click on the drop down menu and choose "Citation". Click "Search". If you don't know the format for the citation, click on the valid citation link in the "Tip" section at the bottom of the search form.
- To search by party names from this menu, type in the party names, separated by a "v" in the "Search For" box. Click on the drop down menu and choose "Party Names" and then click "Search".
- You may want to search for cases on a particular subject. Use terms that relate to important issues and facts involved in your research. Do not use common words like "law". Think of unique terms or phrases that describe your subject.
- Once you have determined which term or phrase you are going to search, type the term in the "Search For" box. Then click on "Search". This search looks for the term or phrase everywhere in the case files..
- You can narrow your results by retrieving cases that mention your search term or phrase at least five times in the text of the case. To do this, type in your requested term or phrase and then in the drop down menu choose "at least 5 occurrences". Click "Search".
- You may only be interested in cases decided in the last several years. You can limit your search by going to "Specify Date" and clicking on the drop down menu and choosing which dates you want to retrieve.
- You can also limit your cases to a particular state or court, for example, Arizona or the U.S. District Court. To do this, go to "Jurisdiction" and click on the drop down menu and choose the court/s that you want to search.
How to Shepardize a Case
- On the sidebar to the left, click on Shepard's Citations.
- Enter the citation.
Or
- To Shepardize a case you are reading, click on the Shepardize link in the upper right hand portion of the screen.
How to View Results
- You can view the cases from your search in List format (default) or click on the dropdown menu under Show and then click on Expanded List, Full Document, Full with Indexing, Custom, or KWIC (keyword in context).
- Click on a case-name link to view that case in full.
How to Sort Results
- You can sort your results by Publication Date (default) or click on the dropdown menu under Sort and click on Relevance or Chronological.
How to Tag Results
- To select cases from a list for printing, emailing, downloading, or exporting, click on the box to the left of the number on the list
How to Print Cases
- Click on the Print Documents icon in the upper right corner of the document you want to print.
- Make sure that the Format, Document View, and Document Range are what you want, then click on the red Print button.
- On the next screen click on the Print button.
- On the Print Job Details Screen, you will be asked for an ASURITE ID. This is the name of your print job, which can be anything, as long as you will remember it.
- Click on the Print button.
- Go to the print station located along the east wall of the Reserve Reading Room.
- You will need either a Sun Card or a library copy card to print; there is a card dispenser next to the printer.
- After you swipe your card at the printer station a screen with all current print jobs will appear
- Look for the user name of your print job under the “Owner” column. Click to highlight your print order and then click on Print. If you have any problems with the printer, please ask a member of the Circulation staff for assistance. This printer station is available during all hours the library is open. Please note: The printer will only hold your print request for 2 hours.
How to Email Cases
- Click on the Email Documents icon in the upper right corner of the document you want to email.
- Make sure that the Format, Document View, Range, and other options are set to what you want.
- Enter your email address and then click on the red Send button.
How to Download Cases
- Click on the Download Documents icon in the upper right corner of the document you want to download.
- Make sure that the Format, Document View, and Document Range are what you want, then click on the red Download button.
- The download screen will give you an underlined link to the document. Right click on this link and choose Save Target As…
- Connect your Flash drive to the USB cable marked with a white label or the USB port on the front of the computer.
- In the File name box, type either E:\ or F:\ (depending on the computer) and press Enter. The Save in box at the top should read “Removable disk.”
- Enter a file name for the document you wish to save and click the Save button.
- To remove your flash drive, click once on the green arrow in the lower right corner of the screen, then click on Safely remove USB Mass Storage Device.