Using LexisNexis General (Business and Legal) (linked below), select "Look up a Legal Case" in the center of the page. Enter either a name in the case in the "Case name" box or a citation in the "Citation Number" box. A citation is more precise..There may be multiple cases of the same name.
A citation to a court case consists of an abbreviation indicating a particular court reported plus number indicating the volume and page number:
94 S Ct. 1009 Volume 94 of Supreme Court Reporter, page 1009
113 N.E.2d 321 Volume 113 of Northeastern Reporter 2d series, page 321
Major court reporters in the GIL collection:
F., F.2d, F.3d Federal Reporter (U.S. appellate courts); call no.: LAW KF 105 .F432
F Supp., F Supp. 2d Federal Supplement (U.S. district courts); call no.: LAW KF 120 .F42
L. Ed., L. Ed. 2d Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition (U.S. Supreme Court); call no.: LAW KF 101 .A313
N.E., N.E.2d Northeastern Reporter (Ohio state courts plus New York, Mass., and Ill.); call no.: LAW KF 135 .N6
S Ct. Supreme Court Reporter (U.S. Supreme Court); call no.: LAW KF 101 .A212
U.S. United States Reports (U.S. Supreme Court); call no.: LAW KF 101 .A212
LEGAL ENCYCLOPEDIAS
American Jurisprudence (AMJur); call no.: LAW KF 154 .A42 (also online in NexisUni)
Ohio Jurisprudence (OJur); call no.: LAW KFO 65 .O35 1977
Use these legal encyclopedias to locate citations for court opinions dealing with a particular subject. Encyclopedias summarize what courts and laws have said and list selected court cases and laws in footnotes. Since they take a broad view of all jurisdictions and select the most relevant cases, these sources are likely to provide a more accurate result than other sources.
Encyclopedias are arranged alphabetically by broad legal subject areas (such as Civil Rights or Constitutional Law). Start with the general index. Look up your subject (experiment with different terms -- concentrate on the principle or concept involved rather than the facts of the situation).
The index gives you a subject chapter name and a section number. To find out what the abbreviations used in the index mean look in the table for abbreviations in the front of any index volume. Look up the chapter name alphabetically in the main volumes of the encyclopedia. Each chapter is divided into numbered sections.
ALWAYS LOOK IN THE POCKET SUPPLEMENTS to each volume for the latest material and case notes.
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Online Databases
FOR FURTHER HELP
Pocket Guide to Legal Research. KING REF KF240.P886 2008
Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law. KING REF KF 240 .E35 2005
Black's Law Dictionary. KING GOV & LAW KF 156 .B53 2004
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. KING GOV & LAW KF 245 .B58 2005.