Structure of a case
Example of a database case record
This is an example of a case record located in Westlaw AU using the case citator FirstPoint.
A Case Citator is a legal research tool which allows you to find cases, track a case's history and it's treatment by subsequent courts, and provide links to relevant cases, legislation and secondary sources. They allow you to determine if your case is still good law.
Other case citators include:
- CaseBase in Lexis Advance
- KeyCite in Westlaw US
- Shepard’s in Lexis.com
Court Details
Case Name: Name of the Parties
Court: Name of the Court
Citation: This is an example of a medium neutral citation which cites the court rather than a law report series. (Not all cases are published in law report series). Information on how to cite a case is to for your assignments using the AGLC referencing style is available in the AGLC Reference Guide.
Judgment Date: The date of the decision.
Catchwords
Subject headings which describe the case. They are usually in bold or italics at the beginning of the case and identify the main legal issues dealt with.
TIP: Catchwords are a great source for keywords to add to your search.
Headnote
Headnotes provide a summary of the decision, facts and issues of the case.
Case Status Symbol
The Case Status Symbol alerts researchers to the status of the case. The status symbols are generated by litigation history and/or cases citing.
Different case citators use different symbols. Hover over the symbol to view the symbol’s meaning. In this example the enclosed blue “H” indicates that the case has some history but is not known to be negative history.
Judgement Date
Judge: The name of the judge(s) who heard the case.
Judgment Date: The date of the decision.
Download full-text
There may be an icon to 'Download full text'.
Cases are often reported in more than one law report series, such as CLR and ALR; citing the authorised report is preferable, if available. Note: not all law reports are authorised.
TIP: a list of Australian and International law reports is available in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Third edition): Appendix, pp. 285-315. Authorised, official or preferred series are identified with an asterisk.
Related Documents
Case citators such as FirstPoint collate information related to the case, such as the judicial history of a case, cited documents, and related journal articles.
