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First Amendment Cases: Searching for Recent Opinions

Search Tips

Finding Recent Opinions in Westlaw

Keyword Searching Using Terms and Connectors

One way to find cases is to run a date-restricted terms-and-connectors search for Supreme Court cases containing keywords related to the First Amendment. A suggested search follows.

Searching With Topics and Key Numbers

Under the topic Constitutional Law, there are a wide variety of key numbers that relate to the first amendment, which when combined with a date limit, will help you retrieve a very focused list of cases. In the key number outline, select "Specify Content to Search," then select the specific key numbers of interest using the checkboxes and then click on "View headnotes."

Finding Recent Opinions in Bloomberg Law

Keyword Searching Using Terms and Connectors

Finding Recent Opinions in Lexis

Keyword Searching Using Terms and Connectors

The link above will limit your search to U.S. Supreme Court cases. Paste the search query "first amendment" or (free! w/5 (speech or assembl! or associat! or religio! or petition or press)) into the search box, then use the filtering options to limit the results to the date range of interest. Use the sorting options to show the most recent cases first.

Search By Topic in Lexis Advance

In Lexis, you can limit your search using topical headings.

After logging in, click the Topics button underneath the search bar, then follow this path: Constitutional Law > Bill of Rights > Fundamental Freedoms. Continue to drill down into subtopics, and run a search. Suggested topics include:

Freedom of Assembly
Freedom of Association
Freedom of Religion
Freedom of Speech
Freedom to Petition

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