Finding Legal Information
LexisNexis
Legal
Search: Get A Case
Illustration of LexisNexis search format for finding a specific case
* This is not a link to a live search.
Finding Cases*
How to Find a Case by Party Name or Citation
- On the sidebar to the right, under Legal Searches, click on Federal and State Cases.
- If you know the party name(s), type that into the space provided for Case Name.
- If you know the citation, type that into the space provided for Citation Number.
- Click on the red Search button.
- On the sidebar to the right, under Legal Searches, click on Federal and State Cases
- Enter Search Terms: Choose to search by Terms and Connectors or
Natural Language.
- Use terms that relate to the important issues and facts involved in your research. Do not use common words like “law”. Think of unique terms or phrases that describe your topic.
- If you are using Terms and Connectors searching, click on “View Connectors” to choose the appropriate connectors between terms.
- If you are using Natural Language searching, enter a question, a sentence, or a few descriptive terms.
- Use quotation marks for an exact phrase.
- Select Sources: Search all Federal and State Cases or use the dropdown menu to select a smaller group of cases to search: Federal Cases, Supreme Court Cases, Arizona Cases, etc.
- Specify Date: Choose to search all available dates or limit your search by clicking on the dropdown menu and choosing a specific date or range of dates.
- Click on the red Search button.
How to Shepardize a Case
- On the sidebar to the right, under Legal Searches, click on Shepard’s Citations.
- Enter the citation.
Or
- To Shepardize a case you are reading, click on the dropdown menu under Next Steps, click on Shepardize and then click on GO.
How to Find an Article by Title, Author or Citation
- Law reviews are the default when you click on the red Legal tab.
- If you know the full or partial title of an article, type that into the space provided for Title of Article.
- If you know the author of an article, type that into the space provided for Author.
- If you know the citation of an article, type that into the space provided
for Article Citation.
- Click on Citation Help if you need formatting help.
- Click on the red Search button.
How to Find Articles on a Subject
- Law Reviews are the default when you click on the red Legal tab.
- Enter Search Terms: Choose to search by Terms and Connectors or
Natural Language.
- Use terms that relate to the important issues and facts involved in your research. Do not use common words like “law”. Think of unique terms or phrases that describe your topic.
- If you are using Terms and Connectors searching, click on “View Connectors” to choose the appropriate connectors between terms.
- If you are using Natural Language searching, enter a question, a sentence, or a few descriptive terms.
- Use quotation marks for an exact phrase.
- Select Sources: Search all U.S. and Canadian Law Reviews or use the
dropdown menu to select a smaller group of articles to search: UK Law Journals,
ADR, Banking, Environmental, etc.
- Click the Source Information icon to learn more about the contents of the currently selected source, including available document sections, information on updates, coverage/span, source overview, copyright, and publisher information.
- To search a specific journal title, enter the name of the journal into the space provided for Title of Journal.
- How to Search Within Document Sections: Click the Show or Hide link
to show or hide the document section search options. Document sections are
specific fields of a document in which you may target your search. Using them in
your search is a good way to narrow or limit your search when using common terms
or when there are many articles on a general topic. For example, you may wish to
search on the name of an author or the title of an article, or for specific
words only within the headline. You may construct a search entirely out of
document sections or combine a document section search with your other search
terms. Follow the steps below to search within a document section:
- Select whether to use the AND or OR connector when your document segment restriction is added to your search.
- Select a document section from the Section dropdown list.
- Enter search terms that are appropriate for the section you selected in the Terms text box.
- Click the “Add to search” link to add your segment search criteria to the Enter Search Terms field. The syntax of your segment search will be automatically formulated.
- Repeat these steps to add as many document section criteria as you wish.
- Here are some examples:
- title (important or benchmark or influential /5 decision or case! or opinion) and immigration
- title (wrongful life); name (theodore w/3 mcdowell or mc dowell)
- Click on the red Search button.
- Specify Date: Choose to search all available dates or limit your search by clicking on the dropdown menu and choosing a specific date or range of dates.
- Click on the red Search button.