Home: NC LEGAL RESOURCES GUIDE

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Primary Sources
Constitution
Statutes
Administrative Rules and Regulations
Court Reports

Secondary Sources
Legal Dictionaries
Legal Encyclopedias
Legal Journals
Legal Journal Indexes
Books on Legal Topics
Other Sources

Additional Information

North Carolina Legal Resources Guide

Primary Sources

Court Reports

Court reports include the published decisions of appellate courts on specific issues raised in disputes (cases). Cases begin as civil disputes or criminal charges which are taken to court for resolution by a judge and/or jury. The first level of the court system is called the trial court. In North Carolina, district courts and superior courts are trial courts. Decisions from these courts are not published. If the verdict of a trial judge and/or jury is disputed and an appeal is filed with a higher court, a published decision of the appellate court will be available. Decisions are published in order by date. Only decisions of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of North Carolina are published.

North Carolina Court of Appeals Reports, v. 1- 1968 to date

D. H. Hill Stacks KFN7448.9 .A2 (5th floor, Tower Stacks)

Records all decisions of the North Carolina Court of Appeals since its creation in 1968.

Cite as: 145 N.C.App. 431 (1989)

North Carolina Reports, v. 1- 1789 to date

D. H. Hill Stacks KFN7445 .A2 (5th floor, Tower Stacks)

Records all decisions of the North Carolina Supreme Court beginning in 1789.

Cite as: 367 N.C. 123 (1978)

LexisNexis Academic Federal & State Cases

NCSU's Information System; restricted use via remote access.

Go to this LexisNexis Academic link to search case law from ALL states combined, and there change the default choice in the "Select Sources" dropdown to "State Court Cases, Combined."

To search ONLY North Carolina case law, on any LexisNexis webpage, you must choose the "Sources" tab, and Browse Sources, selecting 1) Publication Type, 2) Filter by United States, North Carolina, 3) click on the Cases folder, select either "NC State Cases, Combined" or "NC Supreme Court Cases from 1778," and click (at right margin) OK - Continue.

Subject access to court decisions is provided by a digest. The digest also provides access by case name.

West's North Carolina Digest 2d, v. 1-45

D. H. Hill Stacks KFN7457 .W47 year (5th floor, Tower Stacks)

This digest provides subject access to the decisions of the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. The set includes a Descriptive Word Index which helps you choose the appropriate subject term. The Table of Cases and Defendant-Plaintiff Table are used to locate decisions if you have the name of one of the parties involved in the case.
Cite as: 10 N.C. D 2d § 39.

Strong's North Carolina Index 4th, v. 1-30

D. H. Hill Reference KFN7445.6 .S82 1989 (1st floor, Reference Stacks)

This set is described as a comprehensive encyclopedic treatment of North Carolina law. It includes a General Index, Tables of Cases, and a quarterly update service. Older cases are recorded in a supplementary Archive set of volumes

Cite as: 1 N.C. Index 4th, Agriculture § 19.

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