Legal resources at the library: Case law
Case law in Washington State
Case law: The law based on judicial opinions (including decisions that interpret statutes), as opposed to law based on statutes, regulations, or other sources. Also refers to the collection of reported judicial decisions within a particular jurisdiction dealing with a specific issue or topic. - Cornell Law School
The following are starting points for finding Washington State case law:
Print resources:
Washington digest, annotated: 1854 to dateCall Number: Reference KFW57.W37Note: This source leads from the legal topic (e.g., homicide) to case citations (e.g., 423 P.2d 72). Topics are arranged alphabetically.- Washington reporterCall Number: Reference KFW47.W2Note: This resource gives the text of the cases. Use the citations found in the Washington Digest to locate specific cases.
Online resources:
- Washington State Judicial Opinions Public Access Web siteThe Washington State Judicial Opinions Website provides free public access to the precedential, published appellate decisions from the Washington State Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
- Washington Supreme Court and Court of Appeals InformationFree searchable database of court decisions from Findlaw.
See also the Westlaw database tab above.
Help with using the Washington Reporter
The Washington Reporter is arranged by Pacific Reporter number.
Case law in the United States
- Supreme Court reporterCall Number: Library Storage KF101.W4Publication Date: 2019Note: Due to budget constraints, print copies of this source not available after January 2004.
See also the Westlaw database tab above.
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