California Practice Materials: Cases & Courts

Official case reports are published under contract by Lexis-Nexis starting July 1, 2003. Available online via free, open web resources:

• California Cases (1850- )
  • opinion text only, without official or unofficial headnotes or other enhancements
  • search by keywords or party names, or find by official citation
• Findlaw (registration required for full-text viewing) (1934- ) 
  • search by keywords or party names, or find by official citation; includes official pagination

In print:

• California Reports (Cal., Cal. 2d, 3d, 4th) - state Supreme Court cases, KFC45
• California Appellate Reports (Cal. App., Cal. App. 2d, 3d, 4th) - state Court of Appeal cases, KFC48 [vol. 1-245] and KFC48 [vol. 246- ]
• California Official Reports Advance Sheets - slip opinions from both state Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, KFC47 [current advance sheets only]
  • official headnotes available via Lexis (individual password required) for opinions issued starting July 1, 2003; via Westlaw (individual password required) up to June 30, 2003
  • Official Digest (see Digests, below) not available online
  • official headnotes and the official digest research system appear in the print version

In print (West's National Reporter System):

• West's California Reporter (Cal. Rptr., Cal. Rptr. 2d) - both Supreme and Court of Appeal cases, KFC47 .W4
• includes unofficial, West headnotes and West Digest system topics and Key Numbers
• includes pagination for official reports
• West's Pacific Reporter (P., P.2d, P.3d) - after 1960, Supreme Court cases only, KF135 .P2 [1st series] and KF135 .P2 [2d series- ]

Online via subscription resources:

• Westlaw/WestlawNext (individual password required)
• look up by National Reporter System or official citation; includes internal (pinpoint) pagination from both
• includes official and unofficial West headnotes and other enhancements, but not Lexis headnotes or other Lexis enhancements
• Lexis (individual password required) - 
• look up by National Reporter System citationor official citation; includes internal (pinpoint) pagination from both
• includes official and unofficial Lexis headnotes and other enhancements, but not West headnotes or other West enhancements
• LexisNexis Academic - 
• look up by National Reporter System or official citation; includes internal (pinpoint) pagination from both, but to find the case you must use citation with first page on which case starts (will not find by internal pagination)
• includes official and unofficial Lexis headnotes and other enhancements, but not West headnotes or other West enhancements

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