Opinions

Opinions of the California Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeal are public record, whether published or unpublished.

Opinions of the California Supreme Court establish precedent that must be followed by all California appellate and superior courts.

link to published / non-citable opinions

link to unpublished / non-citable opinions

What is a published opinion?

All opinions of the California Supreme Court are published in bound volumes called the Official Reports.

Some opinions issued by the California Courts of Appeal are certified for publication by the Court of Appeal or ordered published by the Supreme Court because they meet criteria established in California Rules of Court, rule 8.1105. These opinions are known as "published" or citable opinions.

What is an unpublished opinion?

The majority of Court of Appeal opinions are not certified for publication and are thus not published in the Official Reports. These opinions are known as "unpublished"; they generally cannot be cited or relied upon in other cases (see California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115).

This does not mean, however, that the contents of these opinions are protected or private information. All opinions posted on this site are public records and may be indexed by internet search engines.

Please note that copies of published and unpublished opinions may also be available from or searchable through sources other than this website.

Search Case Information

The California Appellate Courts Case Information System provides case information for California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases, including copies of opinions, both published and unpublished. Case information is updated once an hour throughout the business day.

Click on the link below to search this system for an opinion or other information in a specific case.

      link to case information search