Cases on Westlaw and Lexis
Cases are organized in various ways for easy access. Databases are usually organized by jurisdiction, such as Illinois Appellate cases, or 7th Circuit cases. Sometimes groups are combined for common types of searches, such as all Illinois and 7th Circuit cases. These combinations give you the ability to find all cases for a project with one search rather than several searches in smaller databases. The organization of these databases is not tied to the various reporters anymore, but they do share the same organizational rationale.
Both West and Lexis offer database citations that are specific to the online version of an opinion. Lexis includes their citation with every display of the case. West, on the other hand, will only display a Westlaw citation until a paper citation appears. At that point, the editors suppress the Westlaw citation. However, West still allows one to search using the Westlaw citation, even if it has been suppressed from the case display. Not all opinions appear on both services. All reported (i.e., published in paper) opinions will appear on both services. The distinction will arise with unpublished opinions, with the more obscure documents appearing on one or the other, as they get them from the courts.
