Find one case by citation or caption
find_caseFast direct lookup: give a citation or a case caption and get THE case (or 'not decisive' with up to 5 candidates) without a full-text search. Use search_cases for topics and words. A citation ("384 U.S. 436", "Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444 (1966)", "449 F. App'x 901", "2019-Ohio-10") resolves through the reporter index; when a case name is given (in the query or as expected_case_name) and the case at that citation carries a different name, the answer is NOT decisive (problem name_mismatch) and names the case that is really there. A caption ("Miranda v. Arizona", or one distinctive name such as "Celotex") is decisive when the top match is at least twice as strong as the runner-up, or when the case name IS the caption word for word (punctuation, company suffixes and abbreviations read) for one decision in the corpus (several filings of one decision count once: the answer is the Published, reported record, the others listed in also_filed_as) -- an exact caption outranks any opinion-text match; common captions ("Smith v. Jones", "State v. Johnson") are not decisive by design. A docket number ("2D09-5223", "No. 1:15-cv-00001" with court, "17-1618") resolves through the docket index: decisive when one case carries it, otherwise problem ambiguous_docket with the candidates (a Supreme Court number also matches its cert-stage entries). The answer carries case (bluebook, url, link_md, treatment_flag), kind (citation|caption|docket), decisive, candidates, and a note when not decisive. A red, yellow or procedural case also carries treatment_flag_reason and treatment_flag_basis. A Westlaw / Lexis number whose sources disagree about the case carries database_caution. For a caption that is not decisive, the candidates whose caption carries both parties (abbreviations and acronyms read) are listed first, marked matched_by caption, with caption_matches = how many decisions carry it. A misspelt or partial caption that nothing matches ("Palsgraph v. Long Island R.R.", "City of Keller") gets suggestions appended to candidates, marked matched_by caption_fuzzy (a close spelling of the party names, or a caption that begins with the one party given), with did_you_mean; they never make the answer decisive. Short forms (MCP101): "[Name, ]303 U.S. at 288" is read through the page run of the case that holds the page; for id., ibid. or supra pass sentence (the draft sentence containing it) and quotation: id. binds to the citation before it in that sentence, never to a case named earlier in the conversation. year and quotation break a tie among caption candidates. "Miranda, 384 U.S. 436" (one name before the cite) is read as that cite with the name checked.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| year | No | Optional: the decision year as written. Breaks a tie between candidate cases; never overrides a cite that resolves | |
| court | No | Optional court id filter for a caption (same syntax as search_cases court); takes precedence over state | |
| query | Yes | A citation, a case caption or a docket number, e.g. "410 U.S. 113", "Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)", "Roe v. Wade", "Celotex", "2D09-5223" | |
| state | No | Optional two-letter state code (or name) narrowing a caption to that state's own courts | |
| sentence | No | Optional: the sentence of the draft that contains this cite, as written (for id., ibid. or supra include the sentence before it). Binds id., ibid., supra and short forms ("Jones, 590 F.2d at 174") to the citation before them in it, and reads the case name written right before a bare short form | |
| quotation | No | Optional: the words quoted with this cite. Breaks a tie between candidate cases: the one whose opinion holds the words | |
| expected_case_name | No | The case name the citation is supposed to be; the answer is not decisive when the case at the citation carries a different name |