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Viewing the Search Results
The Search Results Screen
Cases and activities that meet the search statement requirements−commonly known as hits−are listed in the Case Name or Activity panel. The number of hits is displayed at the top of the case list. A description of the highlighted case or activity and a list of subject entries assigned to it appear to the right of that list. To view the description of another case in the list−and the subject entries assigned to it−click on that case or activity.
You can also navigate through the search results by using the vertical scroll bar at the right of the list of results.
The unique identifier for the case or activity appears above the Description panel. This number will also appear on the Search Results report that you receive when you click on the Print button. You can quickly access this case or activity at a later time if you know this identifier by utilizing the Direct Search.
Text from the Description panel can be highlighted and copied to the Windows clipboard for use in taking research notes. Highlight the text by clicking and dragging over the desired area, then right click on the selection and choose Copy from the menu that appears.
A case could be−and frequently was−heard at several levels of court before it was finally resolved. Details about the case at each level of court in which it appeared are listed at the bottom of the screen in the Level(s) panel. To see more about the case at a particular level, and to view its documents, click on one of the levels.
Note: for cases with multiple levels, you must return to the Results screen to view the details of the case at a different level.
For a printed report of the search results, click on the Print button, and the formatted report will open in another window.
For more information about this report, see Reports.
The Case Details Screen
Each case level has a separate case details screen; cases with multiple levels will have a details screen for each level. This screen gives the specifics of each case level, and includes the participants and their roles and facts about the documents in the case. (See Courts, Divisions, Venues, and Levels for a complete discussion of case and case levels.)
You can view the participants in the case either alphabetically by last (or business) name by clicking the Name link above the list, or you can see a list ordered by their relative prominence in the case by clicking the Role link. There are biographies available for those participants who figured most prominently in Lincoln’s legal career. If there is a biography for a participant−indicated by a Bio link to the left of the name−click on Bio to view it. You can browse through all the biographies that are available by referring to the Reference Section.
The number of documents within this case level is displayed at the top left of the Documents panel. The Documents list displays five documents at a time. If there are more than five documents in a case level, you will need to click on the next number at the upper right of the Documents panel. Documents are displayed in chronological order.
Details of each document from this level of the case are given in the Documents window. The people listed in the Author/Signer box relate to the highlighted document. (See Document Types for more information about document details.)
Each document has a unique Document ID. This number is also used in the Image Viewer and in the printed Document List. You can quickly access this case or activity at a later time if you know this identifier by searching for Document ID (See Direct Searches).
To view an image of a particular document, click on the document you want and then click the View Documents button.
For a printed report of the entire case, click on the Print Case Details button. For a list of documents from this level, click on the Print Document List button. The reports will open in a new window.
To return to the Search Results screen, click the Results link at the top of the window.
There are three types of reports you can use to print information (see also Printing):
Search Results Report
You can generate a report of the cases and activities that meet search characteristics by clicking on the Print button in the Search Results window. The cases and activities from the search results are listed in alphabetical order by case or activity name. The report contains a listing of all the levels of a case, including action and end date. The description of the case or activity is also provided.
Case Details Report
A report that gives all of the details of a case from its first appearance through its last appearance (or complete activity) is available by clicking the Print Case Details button on the Case Details screen. This report includes the description, all subject entries assigned to it, details from all levels of the case, its participants and their roles, and other pertinent facts by level.
Document List Report
Clicking on the Print Document List button on the Case Details screen will generate a list of documents from the case at that level. This list includes the document ID, the type of document, its creation and file dates, and location of the original document or copy. The document author(s), signer(s), and other people associated with the document are also given.
