On November 17, 2009, Google quietly introduced the addition of a new search capability to its Google Scholar search engine: legal opinions and journals. Although somewhat limited in scope and functionality – and thus likely not a replacement for expensive paid services like WestLaw and Lexis – the new Google Scholar search capability and case law database are sure to be welcome new resources for casual researchers, pro se litigants, and attorneys in need of free legal research.
As with most Google services, the Google Scholar legal opinion and journal search feature has simple, but effective, functionality. Advanced search features are simple to understand and use. Importantly, a “How Cited” feature provides insight into how a given case has been referenced in other cases – an extremely useful feature that addresses one of the main elements lacking in many existing free case law databases.
Of course, there are limitations, some of which seem surprising given Google’s preeminence in search. For example, searches for state opinions may be limited to a particular state or group of states, but federal opinions can only be searched across all states.
Other limitations are not surprising. For example, although searches appear to cover law review articles, journals and other sources, full copies of the articles often reside behind fee walls.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the new Google Scholar feature is that the scope of its database is unclear. There is no indication of how often the database is updated. And while Google claims to provide “full text legal opinions from U.S. federal and state district, appellate and supreme courts,” early reports of test searches indicate that the availability of state appellate decisions below the “supreme court” level may be limited.
Despite its limitations, as a free service the new Google Scholar legal opinion and journal search feature is undoubtedly a step toward increasing accessibility to legal research. By addressing some of its limitations, Google Scholar will hopefully soon take a much bigger step in that direction.
