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SSW660: Social Justice and the Law: Home

Summer 2021: R. Spencer

Use Nexis Uni to search for Case Law & Law Reviews

Supreme Court Topics

How-to: Searching for Case Law in Nexis Uni

You can use Nexis Uni to search for Case Law. Below are instructions for searching for a known case: MacPherson v. Buick, 217 N.Y. 382, 111 N.E. 1050 (1916)

  • Start on the Nexis Uni homepage. And select the "Advanced Search" link under the main search box. 

Nexis Uni database Advanced Search

  • On the Advanced Search screen, follow these steps:
    • Step 1: select Legal from the top menu
    • Step 2: select Cases from the drop-down menu on the left
    • Step 3: select "United States Cases"

Nexis Uni database search for legal cases

  • Now that you are searching legal cases in the United States, you can select Party Name from the drop-down menu to the right of the search box [Finds all case party names (as provided by the court)].

Nexis Uni database search by Party name

  • Enter the Party Names, in this case:
    • Step 1: first search box: MacPherson
    • Step 2: second search box: Buick
    • Step 3: Use the Search button to continue

Nexis Uni database search by Party name

  • The results page lists the case we're searching for at the top. If that was not the case, we could use the "Narrow By" options on the left-hand side of the page.

Nexis Uni database Advanced Search results

You can use Nexis Uni to search for Case Law. Below are instructions for searching for an unknown case by topic.

  • Start on the Nexis Uni homepage. Below the main search box is a section labeled "Guided Search."

Nexis Uni database Guided Search

  • In the "Guided Search:"
    • Step 1: select Cases from the "What are you interested in?" box
    • Step 2: select the appropriate Jurisdiction [Federal Cases or State Cases]
    • Step 3: type in your topic or keyword(s)
    • Step 4: [optional] select a date or date range
    • Step 5: use the Search button to continue

Nexis Uni database Guided Search steps

  • The results page lists all relevant results. Most likely you will want to use the "Narrow By" options in the left-hand menu to reduce the number of results.

Nexis Uni database Guided results page

  • For example, you can "Narrow By" "Practice Areas & Topics."

Nexis Uni database Narrow By Practice Areas & Topi

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