Case-law access map · checked November 7, 2026
Pennsylvania: where to read court opinions for free
Free and searchable from 1759 to today (CourtListener; the court's own site from 1998).
Appeals courts: free and searchable from 1759 to today (CourtListener from 1840; the court's own site from 1998; Caselaw Access Project to 2019).
As we read the highest court's own website and the free indexes on November 7, 2026. CourtListener's years come from its public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026). The table has each court and source.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing.
Courts and sources
Each line is one court read from one source. Years are the span that source lists; “inferred” means taken from a description of the site, not from the site itself. A site that refused our automated check may still open in a browser.
| Court | Level | Source | Years | Text search | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania Supreme Court | Highest court | pacourts.us | from 1998 | Yes | Opened in our check |
| Supreme Court of Pennsylvania | Highest court | CourtListener evidence | 1759–2026 | Yes | Opened in our checkStart year raised from 1702 to 1759 (the Caselaw Access Project's start); CourtListener's earlier date falls before the court began.120,046 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 29, 2026; 18,811 with approximate dates. |
| Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1933–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check41,835 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 29, 2026; 6,688 with approximate dates. |
| Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court | Appeals | pacourts.us | from 1998 | Yes | Opened in our checkIts opinion lists load with a script, which our automated check could not read. |
| Pennsylvania Superior Court | Appeals | pacourts.us | from 1998 | Yes | Opened in our checkIts opinion lists load with a script, which our automated check could not read. |
| Superior Court of Pennsylvania | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1840–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check146,558 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 29, 2026; 16,503 with approximate dates. |
| Court of Judicial Discipline of Pennsylvania | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1928–2018 | Yes | Opened in our checkCourtListener shows no automatic collection of new opinions from this court.119 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Dec 19, 2018; 35 with approximate dates. |
| Pennsylvania - all reported decisions in CAP reporters | Other | Caselaw Access Project (Harvard) evidence | 1759–2019 | No | Opened in our check |
| Pennsylvania - state appellate and supreme courts (published opinions) | Other | Google Scholar | from 1950 | Yes | Opened in our check |
| Pennsylvania Admiralty Court | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1783–1788 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use26 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Dec 19, 1788; 22 with approximate dates. |
| Pennsylvania Arbitration Panels for Health Care | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1977–1981 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use54 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Nov 9, 1981. |
| Pennsylvania Board of Parole | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1952 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use1 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Aug 27, 1952. |
| Pennsylvania Court of Quarter Sessions | Other | CourtListener evidence | Years not measured | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use1 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); 1 with approximate dates. |
| Pennsylvania Department of Education | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1981 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use1 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Jan 14, 1981. |
| Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1961 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use1 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Jul 13, 1961. |
| Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1971–1994 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use79 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Nov 15, 1994. |
| Pennsylvania Juvenile Courts | Other | CourtListener evidence | None found | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in useNo opinions from this court were found in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026). |
| Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1973–1981 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use32 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Jan 13, 1981. |
| United States Special Tribunals of Pennsylvania | Other | CourtListener evidence | 2002 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use1 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Oct 24, 2002. |
Where else to look
- CourtListener: Lists 4 Pennsylvania courts.
- Caselaw Access Project (Harvard): Holds published opinions from 1759 to 2019.
- Google Scholar: Its help page says its case law covers state appellate and supreme courts since 1950.
- pacourts.us: Official court website.
- Justia: Also publishes opinions; we did not check it state by state.
Known gaps
- Some of this state's court websites load their opinion lists with scripts. Our automated check could not read them, so their years and search are not measured. A person using a browser can.
- The Caselaw Access Project holds published opinions only through 2019.
- Our survey lists no free statewide source of trial-court opinions for this state.
Corpus
Corpus holds the statutes, not the opinions
For the law itself, Corpus searches Pennsylvania statutes, and each result cites its section and links the source.
Data: Corpus Open (open source). CourtListener bulk data (public domain), snapshot Sep 30, 2026.
Read by Corpus on November 7, 2026. Sites change; check the court’s own website before relying on a line.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing. Corpus is not a law firm.