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Basic Legal Research: Cases

This guide is intended to support your legal research instruction as a part of Legal Methods. It does not replace any instructions from your professor.

Digests and Reporters

Print reporters are on the second floor. Regional reporters, containing state cases, are on the right side, while federal reporters, containing federal cases, are on the left. Not sure which reporter you need? Check the map to find out which states are included in which reporter.

The cases in the reporters are indexed by the West Key Number System, and the holdings in the cases are summarized in headnotes which are collected in digests that correspond to the reporter. (Northwestern Reporter has the Northwestern Digest, etc.) Digests are not published for the Southern or Northeastern Reporters. All federal reporters are indexed in the Federal Practice Digest. The Key Number System can also be used on Westlaw.

 

What are Cases?

Digests and Key Numbers