Legal Research & Resources: Subject Approach to
Finding Cases

Click on one of the handy PDF guides below for a list of all the legal resources available at Cerritos College Library

A digest is a large compilation of case law summaries, which are initially categorized into fairly broad topics, then subcategorized again into much more specific topics. They are updated with pocket parts and supplmentary pamphlets. To find California Cases use:

West's California digest, 1850 to 1950, covering cases from State and Federal courts.

• East Wall of Reference Area -  LAW KFC57 .W467

West's California digest 2d. - Covers state and federal cases decided since 1950

• East Wall of Reference Area - LAW KFC57 .W47
  

A case published in a West reporter has five components:

1. The heading containing the parallel citation (if any) to an official reporter, the case name, the court that rendered the decision and the date of the decision.
2.  A synopsis of the decision written by case editors, not by the court.
3. One or more paragraphs summarizing the key points within the decision.
4. The names of the attorneys who represented the parties and the judge or judges who decided the case.
5. The opinion of the court.

Court cases can be published by more than one publisher.  Because of this, there can be more than one citation appearing after the name of the case. The first citation in this string of numbers is to the official reports for a particular court, and is called the “official” citation. The other citations given after the “official” cite are known as the “unofficial” or “parallel” citations.

For example:

• The citation in our example above begins with the case name, which includes the plaintiff/appellant’s last name, Lyle, and an abbreviated version of the defendants/respondents’ name, Warner Brothers Television Productions.

• The first citation, to the California Reports,is the official citation. The second and third citations are considered parallel citations because they refer to unofficial sources—to the Pacific Reporter and California Reporter, respectively.

• The goal is to provide the researcher with several options by which to locate the same judicial opinion. Case reporters are hundreds of volumes and a library may only have space (and the budget) for one of these sets.

California Supreme Court Citation: