Case Law Search by State: Search State Case Law and Federal Precedent
Precedent is local. The case that decides your issue in one state may be worth nothing across the border. Pick your jurisdiction, ask in plain English, and get the precedent that actually binds your court, with a citation you can check.
How courts have ruled
Sample results, illustrative only. Informational research, not legal advice. Verify every citation.
In short
Case law search by state means finding the published opinions of a particular state's courts that decide your issue, because a court is bound only by the courts above it in its own system. A California Court of Appeal decision controls a California superior court and means nothing in a Texas trial court, where the Supreme Court of Texas and that district's court of appeals govern instead. Effective state research therefore starts by identifying the right court hierarchy, then finding the highest on-point authority inside it, then confirming that case is published and still good law. With Cases you describe the issue in plain English, choose the jurisdiction, and get on-point precedents back as headnote cards with a plain-English summary, the holding, and a real citation you confirm in the official reporter. Cases covers U.S. federal and state case law and is informational research, not legal advice. You verify every citation before you rely on it.
Pick a jurisdiction
State case law search guides, with the court hierarchy that binds you
California case law search
California produces more published opinions than any other state, which is exactly why finding the on-point one is hard. Ask your question in plain English and get California precedent back with the holding and a citation you can check in the official reporter.
Open the CA guideTexas case law search
Texas splits its highest court in two, which means the court that binds you depends on whether your case is civil or criminal. Ask in plain English and get the on-point Texas authority back with the holding and a citation you can check.
Open the TX guideNew York case law search
In New York the Supreme Court is the trial court and the Court of Appeals is the top court, which is the first thing that confuses anyone researching here. Ask in plain English and get the on-point New York authority with the holding and a citation you can check.
Open the NY guideFlorida case law search
Florida added a sixth District Court of Appeal in 2023 and redrew the district map with it, so which DCA binds your trial court may not be the one you remember. Ask in plain English and get the on-point Florida authority with a citation you can check.
Open the FL guideIllinois case law search
Illinois threw out its printed official reports in 2011 and moved to a public-domain citation everyone can link to. Ask your question in plain English and get the on-point Illinois authority back with the holding and a citation you can check.
Open the IL guidePennsylvania case law search
Pennsylvania runs two intermediate appellate courts side by side, and picking the wrong one sends you to authority that does not govern your case. Ask in plain English and get the on-point PA precedent with the holding and a citation you can check.
Open the PA guideCases searches U.S. federal and state case law across all fifty states. The guides above go deeper on the court structure and citation rules of the four most heavily litigated states, and more are being written. If your question is federal rather than state, start at federal case law search, which covers the district and circuit hierarchy and what govinfo, CourtListener, and PACER each carry.
State case law or federal case law: which one governs your question
The first decision in any research project is which body of law applies, and getting it wrong wastes the whole afternoon. State case law interprets the state's own constitution, statutes, and common law. It governs most of what lawyers actually litigate: contracts, property, torts, landlord-tenant, family law, wills, and the bulk of criminal prosecution. Federal case law interprets the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, and federal common law, and it governs federal claims and, through the Supreme Court, the constitutional floor that every state has to respect.
The two systems cross in ways that catch people out. A federal court hearing a state-law claim in diversity has to apply that state's substantive law under the Erie doctrine, and the state's highest court is the final word on what that law means, so a federal judge in Dallas can be bound by the Supreme Court of Texas. Run it the other way and the answer flips: a state court deciding a federal constitutional question follows the U.S. Supreme Court, but decisions of the federal circuit court sitting over that state are only persuasive on it, not binding.
The practical rule is simple. Find the highest on-point authority inside the hierarchy that actually governs your court, then work outward to persuasive authority only if nothing on point exists. Our guide to binding versus persuasive precedent walks through how courts weigh authority from outside their own system, and how to research case law covers the full workflow from issue to verified citation.
Questions researchers ask
Searching case law by jurisdiction, answered
How do I search case law by state?
To search case law by state, start with the state whose law governs your dispute, then work down its court hierarchy from the highest court to the intermediate appellate courts. Describe the issue in plain English rather than guessing at keywords, confirm each case is published and still good law, and cite it from the official reporter. A case from another state is persuasive at best, never binding.
Is state case law binding on federal courts?
On questions of state law, yes. Under the Erie doctrine, a federal court sitting in diversity applies the substantive law of the state, including that state's case law, and the decisions of the state's highest court bind it. On questions of federal law the relationship reverses: federal precedent controls, and state court decisions on federal questions are not binding on federal courts.
What is the difference between state and federal case law?
State case law interprets that state's constitution, statutes, and common law, and it binds only within that state's court system. Federal case law interprets the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, and federal common law, and binds within the relevant circuit or nationwide when it comes from the Supreme Court. Most everyday disputes over contracts, property, torts, and family law are governed by state case law.
Can I use case law from another state?
You can cite it, but it is persuasive authority only. An out-of-state decision never binds your court. It carries the most weight when your state has no authority on the question, when the other state's statute is worded the same way, or when the reasoning is widely followed. Always tell the court plainly that the authority is persuasive, not controlling.
Where can I find state case law for free?
Most state court systems publish their appellate opinions free on the judiciary's own website, and those are the official source. Google Scholar and CourtListener both carry state appellate opinions and are free to search across jurisdictions. Free sources retrieve cases well but do not tell you whether a case is still good law, so a separate citator check is still required.
Find the case that binds your court
Ask your question in plain English, pick the jurisdiction, and get the on-point precedent with a summary, the holding, and a citation you can check. Informational research, not legal advice.