Website: Staying Current: Cases

To Follow a Pending Case

How do you follow a case that you know is in the works?

Trial courts

Use docket alert in Bloomberg Law. First, find the docket (e.g., by searching for name or docket number). Then click Track Docket.

LexisNexis and Westlaw also have trial court dockets. The coverage seems to be better on Bloomberg Law.

Appellate courts

Use dockets in Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis, or Westlaw. Find the docket, then click Alert. This will let you know when briefs and motions are filed.
OR
Run a search in a caselaw database (Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis, or Westlaw) and set up an alert. E.g., in Westlaw, an alert for the search ti(smith & microsoft) will tell you when there's a new case with "smith" and "microsoft" in the title.

U.S. Supreme Court

You can use the same techniques you'd use for any appellate courts. In addition:

SCOTUSblog
The major blog reporting on the Court's activities, with commentary and links to petitions for writs of certiorari and briefs filed by the parties.
LII Supreme Court feeds
You can get the Legal Information Institute's LII Bulletin by email; you can also follow LII's RSS feeds.

To Watch for New Cases Filed on a Topic

In Bloomberg Law, choose Dockets. Then choose the court(s) you want to follow. Search, and then click on "Create Alert."

For example, to find new tax cases filed in Washington State courts, search for tax, limited to last seven days. After you see the results, click on "Create Alert."

Note that state docket information may seem skimpy. For example, you see "Case TypeTAX Revenue Tax Warrant"—but not the complaint.

In federal dockets you can search for words in the filings as well as the docket. For federal cases you can also take advantage of the "Nature of Suit" (NOS) codes used in PACER.

For example, you can select Taxes - United States as Plaintiff or Defendant [*870] .

Process is similar in Lexis Advance and Westlaw Next dockets.

To Find Citations to a Case

LexisNexis's citator, Shepard's

Click on the alarm clock.

Westlaw's citator, KeyCite

Click on the bell.

Bloomberg Law's citator, BCite

Click on "Create Citation Alert."

To Learn About New Cases in a Jurisdiction

Court Websites

Washington Courts

RSS feeds for Supreme Court Opinions, Court of Appeal decisions
Email updates with Supreme Court or Court of Appeal decisions
- Note that you can also get email updates with caseload reports, proposed court rule revisions, and more.

Ninth Circuit

RSS feeds for published opinions and unpublished dispositions

Willamette Law Online

Email alerts with summaries written by Willamette law students, covering:

Daily email newsletters summarize new cases from selected jurisdictions (U.S. Supreme Court; 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, 9th, and Fed. Circuits; California Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, and New York Court of Appeals). Weekly newsletters summarize new cases in about 50 topics.