Getting Started
The Court Opinion and How to Find It
What is a court opinion?
Court opinions are statements prepared by a judge announcing the court's decision after a case is tried. Each court opinion will include important information for your paper, including a judgment and supporting rationale, summary of facts, and applicable law. U.S. Supreme Court opinions are very easy to locate. Most can be found in one of the following sources:
Findlaw
A searchable database of Supreme Court Decisions
Cornell University Legal Information Institute
Historic Supreme Court Decisions