Attorney and author Kathy Biehl practiced law privately in Houston, Texas for 18½ years before relocating to New York City in 1998. She has taught legal research and writing at the University of Houston Law Center and business law at Rice University. A member of the State Bar of Texas, she earned a B.A. with highest honors from Southern Methodist University and a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law, where she was a member of Texas Law Review and Order of the Coif. She is co-author of The Lawyer’s Guide to Internet Research (Scarecrow Press, Nov. 2000), with Tara Calishain.
Each edition of Research Roundup will pull together related, practical online services that take outstanding advantage of the convenience and efficiency of the Internet.
RoundUp#1: Searchable IP Databases
RoundUp#2 : Slip Opinions Listservers
RoundUp#3 : Bill Tracking Resources
RoundUp#4 : Business Filings Databases
RoundUp#5 : Federal/State/Territory Sites with Election Resources
RoundUp#6 : Searchable IP Databases – Updated
RoundUp#7: Slip Opinion Listservers – Updated
RoundUp#8 : Bill Tracking Resources – Updated
RoundUp#9 : Business Filings Databases – Updated
RoundUp#10: Election Resources – Updated
RoundUp#11: Searchable Intellectual Property Databases – Updated
RoundUp#12 : Slip Opinions Listservers – Updated
RoundUp#13 : Federal, State and Commercial Bill Tracking Resources – Updated
RoundUp#14: Business Filings Databases – Updated
RoundUp#15: Federal and State Election Resources – Updated
RoundUp#16: Searchable IP Databases – Updated
There’s no need to wait for the advance sheets to arrive in the mail, if a slip opinion listserver or notification service is available for the jurisdictions you follow. Though traditional fee-based subscription services exist, a number of these list emanates directly from courts, at no cost. This list represents my most recent tally of both types of alert services and will be periodically updated. The fee-based listings include services that are available at no additional charge to paid subscribers of a publication or members of an organization. The RoundUp does not extend to slip opinion postings at Web sites. For slip opinions on the Web, a comprehensive starting point is Legal Dockets Online, which indexes official postings, by jurisdiction and court.
This update adds services for courts nationwide, the Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit, and appellate courts in six states (Alaska, Florida, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia). If I’ve missed an e-mail service (or a new one is launched), please let me know at [email protected].
This update adds services for courts nationwide, the Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit, and appellate courts in six states (Alaska, Florida, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia). If I’ve missed an e-mail service (or a new one is launched), please let me know at [email protected].
Free Slip Opinion Listservers
VersusLaw’s AdvanceLinks service sends weekly reports with links to new caselaw on any combination of seven topics (conflict of interests, death penalty, DWI, federal sentencing, immigration, legal malpractice, and sanctions). Although VersusLaw’s other products are on a subscription basis, AdvanceLinks is free and open to anyone.
To receive the Report of Decisions’ official syllabi of opinions the day they are issued, send a blank message to [email protected]. You can also sign up using the Web subscription form. This service is provided by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell School of Law. FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Supreme Court opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Williamette Law Online, a project of Willamette University College of Law, provides student-drafted summaries of recent decisions. Subscribe at http://www.willamette.edu/law/wlo/us-supreme/index.htm.
First Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of First Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Second Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Second Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Third Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Third Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Fourth Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sends out opinions by e-mail (in WordPerfect 8) as they are released; join the published opinions subscription list at the Court’s site here. FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Fifth Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Sixth Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Seventh Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Eighth Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Ninth Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions. Calvin House of the Pasadena firm Gutierrez, Preciado & House, LLP publishes a monthly Ninth Circuit newsletter called Appellate Decisions Noted; subscription information is at http://www.appellate-counsellor.com/newslett.htm.
Williamette Law Online, a project of Willamette University College of Law, provides student-drafted summaries of recent decisions. Subscribe at http://www.willamette.edu/law/wlo/9thcir/index.htm.
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Tenth Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Eleventh Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Federal Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions. For a summary and analysis of recent patent decisions, send the message “subscribe liibulletin-patent [your name]” to [email protected]. (Do not use brackets, and replace “[your name]” with the name for the subscription.) You can also subscribe using the Web-based subscription form. This is another service of Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of D.C. Circuit opinions with links to the full text of opinions.
Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt, L.L.C. sends out descriptions of the previous week’s Supreme Court opinions; subscribe at the firm’s Website.
Williamette Law Online, a project of Willamette University College of Law, provides student-drafted summaries of recent Supreme Court decisions. Subscribe at http://www.willamette.edu/law/wlo/alaska/index.htm.
FindLaw has three California newsletters, which send out daily summaries of Supreme Court and/or Appellate Court opinions with links to the full text of opinions. One newsletter covers only the Supreme Court, the second only the Appellate Courts, and the third both levels.
Williamette Law Online, project of Willamette University College of Law, provides student-drafted summaries of recent Supreme Court decisions. Subscribe at http://www.willamette.edu/law/wlo/calif/index.htm.
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Supreme Court decisions with links to the full text of opinions.
The Illinois Courts sends e-mail notice when new Supreme and Appellate Court opinions are posted at the official site. Subscribe by sending a message containing “subscribe Opinions [Your Name]” to [email protected]. Do not use brackets, and replace “[your name]” with the name for the subscription.)
Illinois Court Reports sends e-mail notification of new opinions.
The Social Law Library alerts mailing list members to state appellate decisions as they are issued. (Although membership is necessary to use the library, it is not to subscribe to this service.) Sign up here.
The Michigan Bar Association’s daily e-Journal includes summaries of state and federal court decisions (as well as other news of legal interest). Any person (not merely association members) may sign up. The subscription link appears near the bottom of the left frame.
The Supreme Court sends out notification of changes to its Website, such as posting new slip opinions. Sign up for the service at http://www.state.nh.us/courts/listserv.htm.
FindLaw sends out daily summaries of Court of Appeals opinions with links to the full text of opinions. For an analysis of recent Court of Appeals decisions (which may be two weeks old), send the message “subscribe liibulletin-ny [your name]” to [email protected]. You can also subscribe using the Web-based subscription form. This is another service of Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.
The Supreme Court sends out notices when new opinions have been issued and posted to the website.
The Court of Criminal Appeals has a mailing list for distributing decisions on the day of release. To sign up, send e-mail to [email protected].
Williamette Law Online, a project of Willamette University College of Law, provides student-drafted summaries of recent decisions by the Oregon Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Subscribe at http://www.willamette.edu/law/wlo/oregon/index.htm.
TBALink Opinion-Flash, a service of the Tennessee Bar Association, distributes the latest appellate decisions by e-mail to anyone (not merely bar members) who subscribes at http://tba.org/op-flash.html .
TexasGov.com sends notification as new opinions appear on the Supreme Court site. The notice includes the first paragraph of the opinion and a link to the full text. Although the service is free, TexasGov.com has a “paybox” for accepting contributions through the Amazon.com Honor System.
FindLaw sends our daily summaries of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions with links to the full text of opinions.
The Court of Appeals of the Fifth Judicial District will e-mail you your choice of civil, criminal, published or all opinions. Look for the vNotices! icon at the site.
The Utah State Courts offer an e-mail service that gives notice when new opinions are posted at the site. Any combination is available of Supreme Court opinions, Court of Appeals opinions, and Court of Appeals Memorandum and Per Curiam decisions. Subscribe at http://courtlink.utcourts.gov/opinions/subscribe/index.htm.
Williamette Law Online, a project of Willamette University College of Law, provides student-drafted summaries of recent Supreme Court decisions. Subscribe at http://www.willamette.edu/law/wlo/wash/index.htm.
The Clerk’s Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals sends out an e-mail bulletin containing summaries of recent opinions, with links to the full text. Subscribe at http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/subscribe.htm.
WisBar’s Caselaw Express starts each week with a list of the decisions handed down by the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in the previous week. The list includes links to the opinions’ full text.
Fee-Based Slip Opinion Services
One of BNA’s subscription services for the Federal Circuit offers e-mail notification of the day’s opinions, along with links to the full text (which is usually accessible within 24 hours).
JuriSearch subscribers receive opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the California Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal the day after their release. A 30-day trial is available.
A law.com/ca subscription includes daily opinions by e-mail. The covered courts are the California Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal, the Ninth Circuit court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. A 30-day trial is available.
The Colorado State Bar e-mails summaries of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions to bar members; sign up here.
The Connecticut State Bar offers a “case e-lert” to bar members who pay an annual subscription rate for the service (which begins at $200).
E-mail notification of newly issued Georgia appellate decisions comes with a paid subscription to law.com/ga. A 30-day trial is available
The Illinois State Bar Association e-mails digests of Supreme and Appellate Court decisions, with links to full text, to bar members.
Members of the Maryland State Bar Association may sign up for Electronic Bar Briefs, which are synopses of Court of Appeals and Court of Special Appeals decisions in selected practice areas.
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly‘s Daily E-Mail alert includes notice of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals slip opinions. A three-issue trial is available.
Michigan Lawyers Weekly subscribers may sign up to receive Supreme Court and Court of Appeals slip opinions by e-mail. A three-issue trial is available.
The Minnesota State Bar Association offers its members four free mailing lists, covering state or federal civil or criminal decisions. Sign up at http://www2.mnbar.org/sec/ctopsinst.htm .
Missouri Lawyers Weekly subscribers may sign up to receive Supreme Court and Court of Appeals slip opinions by e-mail. A three-issue trial is available
North Carolina Lawyers Weekly subscribers may sign up to receive Supreme Court and Court of Appeals slip opinions by e-mail. A three-issue trial is available.
Ohio Lawyers Weekly subscribers may sign up to receive Supreme Court slip opinions by e-mail. A three-issue trial is available.
A subscription to law.com/pa (formerly the Pennsylvania Intelligencer) includes a daily alert with links to the most recent state court opinions . A 30-day trial subscription is available.
Law.com/texas subscribers receive daily e-mail alerts of the latest opinions. A 30-day trial is available.
Virginia Lawyers Weekly subscribers may sign up to receive Supreme Court and Court of Appeals slip opinions by e-mail. A three-issue trial is available.
AspenLawDirect is an e-mail delivery service for a wide range of opinions. Its scope encompasses 120 areas of law and 165 issuing bodies (state courts as well as federal courts and agencies). Each notice includes decision summaries and links to the primary sources. An annual subscription costs $195; a free 30-day trial is available.
Instacase offers a daily e-mail service called iGest, which delivers summaries of recent decisions in user-specified areas. Nationwide coverage is not yet available; the site’s archive currently contains decisions from only 11 jurisdictions (nine states, the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court.) The cost is $99 a year, and a 60-day free trial is available.
The Daily Opinion Service allows visitors to retrieve summaries of slip opinions (from all state courts and federal district courts, the Circuit Courts of Appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court and some specialized courts) that have been issued within the previous two weeks – including the current day, if it is during the work week. There is no charge to run searches or view summaries of core terms in the opinions. To read an opinion, you must have a Web subscription to LEXIS-NEXIS or purchase the document by credit card.
The Electronic Advance Sheet Service, available through lexisONE, delivers opinions as they are issued by selected courts and/or on selected topics. The user may designate up to 10 courts and topics. The price is currently $ 1 9 8 a year . T his service has a free trial, consisting of the first to occur of 30 days or five results.
Loislaw.com subscribers may set up the LOIS LawWatch feature to e-mail new decisions (and other developments) that match saved search terms. (Alternatively, this feature saves the updates on the user’s personal Loislaw.com start page.)
©Kathy Biehl 200 1 . All Rights Reserved.