Case-law access map · checked November 7, 2026
Virginia: where to read court opinions for free
Free and searchable from 1729 to today (CourtListener from 1800; Caselaw Access Project to 2017).
Appeals courts: free and searchable from 1729 to today (CourtListener from 1786; Caselaw Access Project to 2017).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court of Virginia | Highest court | vacourts.gov | from 1995 | No | Opened in our check |
| Supreme Court of Virginia | Highest court | CourtListener evidence | 1800–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check25,131 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Jul 30, 2026; 2,843 with approximate dates. |
| Court of Appeals of Virginia | Appeals | vacourts.gov | from 1995 | No | Opened in our check |
| Court of Appeals of Virginia | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1786–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check20,602 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 29, 2026; 1,321 with approximate dates. |
| General Court of Virginia | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1786–1852 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use1,624 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Jun 30, 1852; 1,426 with approximate dates. |
| Virginia - all reported decisions in CAP reporters | Other | Caselaw Access Project (Harvard) evidence | 1729–2017 | No | Opened in our check |
| Virginia - state appellate and supreme courts (published opinions) | Other | Google Scholar | from 1950 | Yes | Opened in our check |
Where else to look
- CourtListener: Lists 2 Virginia courts.
- Caselaw Access Project (Harvard): Holds published opinions from 1729 to 2017.
- Google Scholar: Its help page says its case law covers state appellate and supreme courts since 1950.
- vacourts.gov: Official court website.
- Justia: Also publishes opinions; we did not check it state by state.
Known gaps
- We found no search of opinion text on Supreme Court of Virginia's website, only lists or lookup by name, number or date.
- The Caselaw Access Project holds published opinions only through 2017.
- 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 Virginia 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.