Don't hestitate to contact law librarian Michelle Penn if you have any questions about accessing library resources.
There are many historical cases available on Westlaw and Lexis, usually for higher level federal and state courts, however coverage is not consistent. One online resource for historical state cases with greater coverage is HeinOnline. HeinOnline's State Reports: A Historical Archive contains a state-by-state guide to historic published cases and links to some (but not all) of the court reporters. Even if the court reporter for the years and court you are interested in is not available online through HeinOnline, it can be useful to understand what the official historical state reporters are so you can search for them in print to see if we have them in the library catalog, and/or to contact a librarian to see if we can obtain access to them.
Opinions and briefs for historical cases appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court can be found in Gale's Landmark Records of the U.S. Courts of Appeals contains docket materials from signfiicant historical U.S. Courts of Appeals cases from 1891-1980, while ProQuest's Supreme Court Insights contains docket materials from 1899 to the present.
The law library subscribes to some databases with historical federal dockets coverage. Gale's Landmark Records of the U.S. Courts of Appeals contains docket materials from signfiicant historical U.S. Courts of Appeals cases from 1891-1980, while ProQuest's Supreme Court Insights contains docket materials from 1899 to the present. However, many docket items are not available online, and may only be located by contacting a court or archive. Moreover, many historical dockets may not have been preserved.
Of course, if you are having trouble navigating these databases or finding docket materials don't hestitate to ask a librarian!
Federal Dockets: PACER/Bloomberg Law
Most federal courts add their dockets to what is called PACER ("Public Access to Court Electronic Records"). Bloomberg Law pulls all of the dockets from PACER, and makes them easier to find and search. As a law student, you have access to Bloomberg Law, so there is no reason for you to use PACER as a law student. If you need help setting up a Bloomberg Law account, email lawref@colorado.edu. To see more information on using Bloomberg Law dockets, watch the video below.
State Dockets:
There is no single platform similar to Bloomberg Law for state dockets. However, there are many state dockets available on Trellis. Trellis covers 45 state trial court dockets.