There are two courts to search-Circuit Court and Superior Court-and both have plaintiff and defendant indexes. You'll need to go through security to access the building so pack light and leave things like cameras, pocket knives, and banjos home.Ĭonsult the microfilmed indexes to find a case numbers for divorces 1871-1963. Washington, Room 1113, open weekdays 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. To search indexes, visit the Cook County Circuit Court Archives on the eleventh floor of the Daley Center, 50 W.
If you can't do the research in person, see the FAQ for how to obtain the records from a distance. This page explains how to search for divorce records at the Cook County Circuit Court Archives. Try using this link to find Archives information. Google Scholar also includes case law (before searching, change the radio button below the search bar from Articles to Case Law).Note: The Clerk of the Circuit Court website is experiencing "technical difficulties" which means the links below may appear broken.
For example, the infamous Leopold & Loeb murder case from 1924 was not published in a reporter.Ĭase law is primarily located in fee-required databases such as Lexis Advance and Westlaw, which you can access by visiting the Cook County Law Library. Please note that state district court cases, such as those you would find on the Cook County Clerk of Court website, are not published in reporters. Case lawĪfter a case has been ruled upon by a judge or jury, it is sometimes summarized and published in a collection called a "reporter." Published cases are then referred to as "case law" and become legal precedent. If you are not in the Chicago area, your local library might also have access to historical newspapers. Chicago Public Library offers online access to historical Chicago newspapers to cardholders and onsite access to any library visitors. Historical newspapers or archives, such as the Chicago Tribune Historical Archive, are great places to check for news coverage of cases. Transcripts are recorded by individuals called "court reporters," who are also sometimes referred to as "stenographers." Try contacting the Official Court Reporters of the Cook County Clerk of Court (if your case was heard there) to see if there are transcripts available for your case. Transcripts of court proceedings, such as a criminal trial, are not always available, and often require a fee to obtain. Again, for older and well-known cases, you may be able to find copies of these documents posted elsewhere online for free. See PACER's FAQ page for fee information and more. Most documents located via PACER can simply be downloaded, but also for a fee. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (also referred to as "Dirksen") are found via a different system called PACER, for which you must register for an account and for which there is a fee to search. Retrieving copies of documents typically requires a trip to the courthouse, but documents from older and well-known cases can often be found elsewhere online - try using an online search engine first.įederal court cases heard at the U.S. Please note that most dockets simply list what was filed (similar to an index), but do not provide copies of the actual documents.
Most Chicago-area cases are heard in Cook County courts, and can be found via the Cook County Clerk of Court website. In order to locate a docket, you must know which court heard a particular case. Official documents pertaining to a court case, such as a complaint filed by a plaintiff (the initiator of a case), motions made by attorneys, or orders issued by judges, are listed on a docket. Also try searching the Chicago Collections portal with keywords related to your topic there are several holdings related to well-known cases, such as Leopold & Loeb. There are several places to check for legal materials, depending on your research objective.