About Court Opinions
Only the written opinions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals are routinely available. Decisions of the lower (trial) courts are not generally published or distributed. Note: An exception to the rule is a Lexis Advance database of more than 600 Superior Court opinions from 2005 to present.
When searching online sources, use words and phrases you would expect a judge to have used.
Free Online Sources
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Washington State Judicial Opinions Website [Washington Courts]A free site with published opinions from the Washington Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals.
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Google ScholarContains opinions from the Washington Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals. Covers 1950 to present.
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Court Listener (opinions) [Free Law Project]Contains cases decided by the Washington State Supreme Court and Appellate Courts. Covers Supreme Court cases 1924 to present, with selective coverage back to 1893 and Court of Appeals cases 1969 to present. Use the "Select Jurisdiction" button to limit cases to either or both of the Washington State courts.
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Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Opinions [Washington Courts]Contains slip opinions. Includes unpublished Court of Appeals opinions. Covers Feb. 2013 to present. Offers an email service to notify users about new opinions.
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Washington Courts [FindLaw]Contains opinions from the Washington Supreme Court and the Washington Courts of Appeals. Covers 1997 to present.
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Caselaw Access Project - Washington StateIncludes Washington Reports (Wash.) (1889-1981), Washington Reports (Wash. 2d.) (1939-2017), Washington Appellate Reports (Wash. App.) (1969-2017) and Washington Territory Reports (Wash. Terr.) (1854-1888).
Commercial Online Sources
Westlaw Campus Research is a UW Restricted database. Bloomberg Law, Lexis Advance, and WestlawNext are available to users with individual passwords. For more information, see Access to Bloomberg Law, Lexis Advance & WestlawNext.
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Washington State Cases [Westlaw]Contains opinions from the Washington Supreme Court (1854 to present) and the Washington Court of Appeals (1969 to present).
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WA Supreme Court Cases [Lexis Advance]Covers 1854 to present.
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WA Court of Appeals Cases [Lexis Advance]Covers 1969 to present.
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Superior Court of Washington [Lexis Advance]Contains more than 600 selected opinions from superior courts. Covers 2005 to early 2015 (with a few cases from as early as 1921).
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Judicial Branch PublicationContains opinions from the Washington Supreme Court (1854 to present) and the Washington Court of Appeals (1969 to present).
Print Sources
Official Reports
The official reports are published under the authority of the State of Washington.
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Washington Reports, 1st and 2d seriesCall Number: Reference Area & Compact Stacks (KFW45 .A2)Publication Date: 1889 to presentPublished decisions of the Washington Supreme Court. 1st series contains decisions from vols. 1 - 200, 1889 - 1939; 2d series contains decisions from vol. 1, 1939 to present.
Bluebook abbreviations: Wash., Wash. 2d
Reporter of Decisions abbreviations: Wash., Wn.2d -
Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the Territory of WashingtonCall Number: Reference Area & Compact Stacks (KFW45 .A195 1879)Publication Date: 1879Covers 1854 to 1888. 3 vols.
Bluebook abbreviation: Wash. Terr.
Reporter of Decisions abbreviation: Wash. Terr. -
Washington Appellate ReportsCall Number: Reference Area & Compact Stacks (KFW48.A5 W3c)Publication Date: 1969 to presentBluebook abbreviation: Wash. App.
Reporter of Decisions abbreviation: Wn. App.
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Caselaw Access Project - Washington StateIncludes Washington Reports (Wash.) (1889-1981), Washington Reports (Wash. 2d.) (1939-2017), Washington Appellate Reports (Wash. App.) (1969-2017) and Washington Territory Reports (Wash. Terr.) (1854-1888).
Unofficial Reports
Unofficial reports are published by a commercial vendor, Thomson-Reuters (formerly, West Publishing). They contain all Washington Supreme Court decisions and most--but not all--Washington Court of Appeals decisions.
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Pacific Reporter
Call Number: Compact Stacks (KF135.P2 P32)Publication Date: 1884 - 1931Contains opinions from the Washington Supreme Court and the Washington Court of Appeals. Consists of vols. 1 - 300.
Bluebook abbreviation: P.
Also contains appellate court opinions from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. -
Pacific Reporter, 2d Series
Call Number: Compact Stacks (KF135.P2 P32)Publication Date: 1931 - 2000Contains opinions from the Washington Supreme Court and the Washington Court of Appeals. Consists of vols. 1 - 999.
Bluebook abbreviation: P.2d
Also contains appellate court opinions from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.
Many of the volumes are also available online through the Caselaw Access Project. -
West's Pacific Reporter, 3d Series
Call Number: Compact Stacks (KF135.P2 P32)Publication Date: 2000 to currentContains opinions from the Washington Supreme Court and the Washington Court of Appeals. Consists of vols. 1 - 309. Library subscription canceled in 2013.
Bluebook abbreviation: P.3d
Also contains appellate court opinions from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.
Many of the volumes (including more recent volumes than the library's holdings) are also available online through the Caselaw Access Project.