Legal Research in Nexis Uni: Case Law

Case law documents the decisions of legal cases.

When there is any action or decision on a case (i.e. ruling on a motion or petition in front of the court) there will be a separate record for that decision in Nexis Uni.

There are no records for cases settled out of court

Cases that have not been decided, including those that were settled out of court, will not have a record in the Case Law section of Nexis Uni. 

Try the News section to find information about lawsuits settled out of court.

• Don't use Guided Search or any pre-limits
• Enter the party names in the search field separated by "v.":  Johnson v. Monroe Street Plumbers
• Unless you're sure of the date of the case, change the date range to be "All available dates."

• On the the results screen, click the Cases limit on the left.

Note: Party name searches can lead to confusing results, with multiple entries for appeals, motions, etc.  Follow the subsequent and prior history to determine the final outcome of a case.

• Don't use Guided Search or any pre-limits
• Enter the citation in the search field.
• Unless you're sure of the date of the case, change the date range to be "All available dates."

When entering citations be careful with spacing and punctuation.  A few examples:

418 U.S. 683
121 S. Ct. 2381
118 L. Ed. 2d 381
1992 U.S. LEXIS 2322

• Don't use Guided Search or any pre-limits
• Enter the topic in the search field
• Change the date range to be "All available dates."

• On the the results screen, click the Cases limit on the left.

Use the narrow options on the left to limit by: timeline (date), court (location/jurisdiction), attorney & judges names, etc.

Shepard’s Citations help you find all references to a citation (including prior history, subsequent history and all citing references used to decide other cases).

Nexis Uni includes Shepard's Signal indicators to provide context about the case's point of legal authority. Legal standing and authority can change over time, and it is important to verify that the points of law within cases are still valid, or "good law."  Shepard's Reports provide a comprehensive review of cases, statutes, and secondary sources that cite the case's authority and validate the case's point of law. 

To get the Shepard's information:

• Find the case using one of the methods above.
• The Shepard's info is on the right side of the case's page.

Shepard's will alert you to subsequent history that affects the analysis of the case.

Shepard's Signal indicators tell you if the overall analysis of the case is positive, negative, cautionary, or neutral. See link to help file below.

Click Shepardize this document to retrieve:

• A list of cases where the judges cited this case in their decision
• A full appellate history of the case
• Other citing sources including Law Reviews, Statues, and similar court documents.