On this page
Finding Texas cases
Free online availability of Texas Court of Appeals and Texas Supreme Court opinions and case records is through the Texas Courts Online website.
Remember that the Law Library has printed case law resources, as well as access to online collections not available in the Blume Library. Consult a Law Librarian for assistance.
Some more resources:
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowHeinOnline is Hein's premier online product, with more than 70 million pages of legal history available in an online, fully-searchable, image-based format. HeinOnline bridges the gap in legal history by providing comprehensive coverage from the inception of more than 1,600 law and law-related periodicals.
Focuses on law journals, case law, and government documents.
Some United States collections include the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and parts of the Serial Set. Other notable collections are the US state collections, Canon law materials, international treaties and agreements, English legal materials, and United Nations legal materials.
Databases by Category: Canadian Content, Case Law, Current Content Journals, International Resources, International Treaties and Agreements, U.K. Content, U.S. Federal Content, U.S. State Content
Learn more about this resource at: https://lib.stmarytx.edu/HeinOnline - Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Includes local, regional, national, and international newspapers, as well as non-English language news; business information about US and international companies; federal, state, and international legal materials including case law, media transcripts, and more.
Nexis Uni features more than 17,000 news, business, and legal sources—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790.
- Texas Online Court Docketsfree site with links to several levels of courts in Texas, which specifically target docket lists, telling you which cases are being heard when.
- Texas Reports (1840-1909)digitized volumes of Texas Supreme Court opinions, from the Portal to Texas History at UNT
Finding other states' cases
Cases and decisions from courts below the Courts of Appeals in different states are often difficult to find online.
Remember that the Law Library has printed case law resources, as well as access to online collections not available in the Blume Library. Consult a Law Librarian for assistance.
- Findlaw: Cases & CodesIncludes some Courts of Appeals cases; for some districts, summaries of cases are available,Coverage of 5th Court of Appeals cases (which includes Texas) goes back to 1995.
- Court Rules, Forms, & Docketsan exhaustive listing of this useful information for each state; dockets are official calendars of court proceedings
- State Government Information IndexBlume Library guide with links to libraries in the various states with guides to their own government resources
Local courts
For more San Antonio area government information, check out this LibGuide.
Texas Court organization
The State Bar of Texas offers a series of informational pamphlets online dealing with a variety of legal issues in their "For the Public" section.
Here's a handy chart that sets out the organizational structure of the Texas court system. You can find the original chart here at Texas Courts Online. It's hyperlinked to more information and contacts for the specific courts. Plus they provide a printable PDF version.
Texas Courts Online offers other information related to the judicial process in Texas. Search for background information on specific topics in their "TCO Encyclopedia." Here are some other useful sections of the website:
- Judicial Directoryinformation on individual courts and court personnel throughout the state
- Organizations"Organizations" tab provides links to related agencies, funding information, and judicial education programs