A decision is an official ruling of a court that settles one or more matters in a case. The term is often used interchangeably with the terms judgment, opinion, and order. A decision may be a final judgment settling all matters in a case or it may be an interlocutory decision dealing with an intermediate matter while the case is ongoing.
A majority of Justices on the Supreme Court must agree to the content of a Court’s main opinion before it is publicly delivered. This is done by each Justice “signing onto” the opinion, and a Justice who writes the opinion takes into account the comments and concerns of other Justices who voted for it. Sometimes a Justice writes a dissenting opinion instead, and this can have a significant impact on the outcome of the case.
The decisions of the highest courts in a state, including the Supreme Court, are collected and published for easy reference. This collection is known as a court reporter, and it provides a useful starting point for research on legal issues.
The Library has several court reporters, including the full set of federal reports and the complete sets of seven regional reporters. Contact a Reference Librarian to request these and other resources for research. The Library has access to electronic resources that allow users to search for and find case law from all over the country, including LEXIS and Westlaw. These services are free for departmental users.