Q: Where can I find federal court opinions online?

A: The federal court system includes the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, U.S. Courts of Federal Claims, U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts. For U.S. Supreme Court opinions, see http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/ . For more information about the federal court system, see http://vls.law.villanova.edu/Locator/fedcourt.html , http://www.uscourts.gov/about.html , or http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDCTS /.

The U.S. Courts of Appeals consist of 11 circuit courts in addition to the District of Columbia Circuit and the Federal Circuit. California is in the Ninth Circuit along with Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. For information about and opinions issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, see http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/
newopinions.nsf/opinions+by+date?OpenView&Start=1&Count=100&Expand=1.1#1.1 . For information about the other circuits, go to http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDCTS/ .

California is divided into these U.S. District Court jurisdictions: the Northern District, Eastern District, Central District, and Southern District. Currently opinions and other information from the Eastern and Central Districts are online at http://vls.law.villanova.edu/Locator/fedcourt.html .

The U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in California are also divided into the Northern District, Eastern District, Central District, and Southern District. Each district has information, including opinions, online at http://vls.law.villanova.edu/Locator/fedcourt.html . Click on the district for which you want the information.

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