Westlaw Tutorial
Alison Cook
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24 steps
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3 minutes
Westlaw
Columbusstate
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Navigate to [https://library.columbusstate.edu/index.php](https://library.columbusstate.edu/index.php)
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Click "Databases A-Z"
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Click the "Search" field.
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Type "westlaw" into the search bar.
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Click this dropdown.
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Click 'Apply'.
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Click "W"
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Click "Westlaw Campus Research"
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Click "Cases"
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Click the "Search:" field.
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Type in the court case you are looking for. In this example, I used Brown vs. Board of Education, Topeka Kansas. I did a simple keyword search, "brown v. board of education."
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When the search results populate, on the left, are tools to help you reduce the number of search results to a more manageable amount. You can use any of them that you think will be helpful. In this example, I clicked, "Expand Jurisdiction - Federal"
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Click the "Federal" field.
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Using a date range can be very helpful in weeding out the irrelevant entries. Click "All"
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Click "Date Range"
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In this example, I used the years, 1950 - 1960. Type "1950 [[tab]] 1960"
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Click this button.
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You can also use the other options such as the Judge if you know the name.
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Or if you know the Docket Number, that can be very helpful as well.
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Using the limiters helped reduce the search results from over 6,000, to a little over 200. Click "Brown v. Board of Ed. of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kan." to see what is linked to that case record.
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Click "Filings (73)" to see associated court documents filed.
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Click "History (48)" to see how the case progressed through the courts.
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Clicking on the Document tab will help you with obtaining copies of the original documents if they are available.
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Keep in mind, that sometimes Westlaw does not have all of the documentation of court cases, even if they are major cases with landmark decisions. Often you can locate these in other databases such as HeinOnline, ERIC, or the court's website.
