Sometimes, you will find that searching isn’t the technique you need. Browsing in Casemaker4 should feel very familiar to you if you have used previous versions of Casemaker. Let’s get started!
When you open Casemaker4, you will see a list of states. This State Library page- is your default landing page. This list includes all 50 States plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, and access those collections. On the left, you can change the page to be a list of Federal materials or Tribal court materials. Additionally, using the left side menu, you can view the materials by Compilation type and see Archived materials from previous years. These same menus are available in the menu bar below the search bar and can be found on any page, clicking on a menu item in this upper bar area will then direct you to the corresponding page.
From the State menu or library page, clicking on a state provides you with a listing of collections that the state has to offer and the currency or coverage for each collection. Each state is going to offer you different collections – at a minimum giving you access to case law, constitution, administrative code, court rules, statutes, and session laws. Casemaker defaults to List View, and you can select or change this in the blue navigation bar about the list of contents. List View allows you to navigate through the particular items in an index or table of contents fashion. Another option available is Tree View which will allow you to expand and collapse the information that you’re looking for in a directory tree-like structure. This not only allows you to have a more visual frame of reference for where you are in the library, but it also allows you to explore the content around a particular statute as well as viewing the structure and contents of previous year versions. If you prefer List View, you can also view previous versions of content by clicking on the Archive option in the blue navigation bar.
As you browse Casemaker the search bar updates to match where you are. So, if you clicked on Virginia, then Statutes – the search bar will show you that any queries you enter will only search Virginia Statutes. You can always override this by specifically selecting your jurisdictions or compilations from the Jurisdiction/Compilation menu.
While in list view, if you are browsing materials that have sections, such as statutes or administrative codes, you will notice a small search bar in the upper right of the list of content. This search bar allows you to enter in just the section number and be taken directly to that section in the content.
While viewing a document in list view, you will notice that in the grey bar across the top of the content, there is a path of clickable links. This path, known as the Breadcrumb Trail, shows you where you are in the content. Any portion of the path is clickable and allows you to go back to that section of the hierarchy.
Need more help with Casemaker4? Support is available Monday-Friday from 8 am to 8 pm EST. You can call 877.659.0801 or email support@casemakerlegal.com. Prefer to text chat? Click the Live Chat link in the upper right of the Casemaker system to connect to a member of the support team.
That is all for this week! We will back with more tips and tricks next week. Thanks again for making Casemaker a Valued Member Benefit.
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