Virginia Legal Materials

An overview of the Virginia court system is available at Virginia's Judicial System. Non-lawyers may also find helpful the Virginia Judicial System Court Self-Help Resources for Self Represented Litigants.

• Virginia Reports, Ranges 204-205 (Virginia Materials). Reports of cases decided in the Supreme Court of Virginia, Virginia's highest court. Supreme Court decisions are also available from 1730 to present on Lexis (Scalia Law and on-site users only), from 1729 to present on Bloomberg Law (Scalia Law users only), from 1790 to present on Westlaw (Scalia Law and on-site users only), and from 1995 to present on Supreme Court of Virginia Opinions.
• Virginia Court of Appeals Reports, Range 204 (Virginia Materials). Reports of cases decided in the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Court of Appeals decisions are also available from 1985 to present on Westlaw and Lexis (Scalia Law and on-site users only), and on BloombergLaw (Scalia Law users only). Additionally, published decisions of the Court of Appeals are available from 1995 to present on Court of Appeals of Virginia Published Opinions, and unpublished decisions are available from 1995 to present on Court of Appeals of Virginia Unpublished Opinions.
• South Eastern Reporter, Range 206-207. Regional reporter for published Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions from Virginia. The print copy is no longer being updated (as of 8/1/2015). The current South Eastern Reporter is also available on Westlaw (Scalia Law and on-site users only).
• Virginia Circuit Court Opinions, Ranges 204-205 (Virginia Materials). Selected opinions from Virginia circuit courts since 1985. Circuit court opinions and orders from 1957 are available on BloombergLaw (Scalia Law users only).  Opinions from this court are also available on Westlaw (Scalia Law and on-site users only) from 1976 to present and a limited number of opinions from 1855 to present are available on Lexis (Scalia Law and on-site users only).
• Historical Reports.   LLMC Digital is also an excellent source for historical decisions.   

• Virginia Supreme Court Records and Briefs.  Washington and Lee University's School of Law provides digital briefs from 1923 through 2005 on their website, linked here.  The University of Richmond School of Law Library has also digitized some briefs, and made them available here.  An online collection is also available on HeinOnline (Mason and on-site users only) up to 2015.  Records and briefs in cases decided by opinion from 2006 to present are available electronically upon request. Please see a Reference Librarian for assistance with our Virginia Supreme Court Records and Briefs collection.
• Dockets. Virginia Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit Court, and General District Court dockets are available on the Virginia Judicial System Case Information and Status web site. They can be searched by party name and case number. Dockets for these courts are also available on Bloomberg Law and Westlaw (Scalia Law and on-site users only). They can also be searched by keyword. General District Court dockets are not available on Bloomberg Law, and Westlaw provides limited docket information for these courts. There is some docket coverage on Lexis, and statewide Circuit Courts are also available on Lexis Courtlink (Scalia Law users only). Students should see a Reference Librarian for assistance with Courtlink.
• Verdicts and Settlements. VerdictSearch D.C. Metro provides verdicts and settlements in D.C. metro area cases, including D.C.; the counties of Prince George’s, Montgomery, Baltimore, and Fairfax; and the independent cities of Richmond, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach.  In the Scalia Law Library, years 2013-2018 are available on the second floor, in Ranges 201-206 (KF8984.A59 M4.). 

• Virginia Court Rules. Contained in Volume 11 of the Code of Virginia, Ranges 201-202 (Virginia Materials) and 102 (Virginia Quick Reference Materials), and on Lexis (Scalia Law and on-site users only), and on BloombergLaw (Scalia Law only). Also contained in Volume 11 of West's Annotated Code of Virginia, Range 201 (Virginia Materials), and on Westlaw (Scalia Law and on-site users only). Current Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia are also available at Virginia’s Judicial System.
• Virginia Rules Annotated, Ranges 228-229 (Virginia Materials) and 102 (Virginia Quick Reference Materials).  Also available on Westlaw (Scalia Law and on-site users only).