On point
TEXAS RESEARCH
Texas Case Law Search: Plain-English Texas Case Law Research Across Both High Courts
Ask a Texas question in plain English and get the controlling opinions from the right high court, with the holding in plain language and the petition history you need to cite it.
Last updated July 2026 · US firms · Research tool, not legal advice
CASESEARCH · RESEARCH
Federal + state
|
Try:
Reading opinions
Finding the authorities that answer your question...
Controlling statute
The controlling statute is surfaced alongside the case law so you read the code and the precedents together.
Plain-English answer
Research memo
- Question
- Short answer
- Authorities
Casesearch shows you the sources. Always read the full opinion and verify citations before you rely on them.
The short answer
Texas case law search means finding opinions from a bifurcated appellate system: the Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for civil matters, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for criminal matters, and fifteen intermediate courts of appeals sit between them and the trial courts. Texas discontinued its official state reporters in the 1960s, so every Texas opinion is cited to the South Western Reporter (S.W.3d). Texas citations also require a subsequent history notation such as pet. denied, pet. ref'd, or no pet.
2
courts of last resort, civil and criminal
15
intermediate courts of appeals
S.W.3d
the reporter every Texas opinion is cited to
Sept 2024
the Fifteenth Court of Appeals began hearing cases
Side by side
The Texas appellate structure and what binds your court
Texas is the only state besides Oklahoma with two courts of last resort, so the first question in any Texas research problem is whether your issue is civil or criminal.
| Court | What it decides | Cited to | Precedential weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court of Texas | Civil and juvenile matters, nine justices | S.W.3d | Binding on all Texas courts in civil matters |
| Texas Court of Criminal Appeals | All criminal matters, nine judges, automatic death penalty review | S.W.3d | Binding on all Texas courts in criminal matters |
| Courts of appeals, districts one through fourteen | Civil and criminal appeals from their geographic districts | S.W.3d | Binding on trial courts within that district only |
| Fifteenth Court of Appeals | Statewide jurisdiction over certain civil cases involving the state | S.W.3d | Binding statewide within its subject matter jurisdiction |
| Federal, Fifth Circuit and district courts | Federal questions and diversity cases applying Texas law | F.4th, F.Supp.3d | Persuasive only in state court on Texas law |
Casesearch is a research accelerator, not legal advice. Read the opinion and confirm its petition history before you cite it.
How do I search Texas case law?
The first fork is civil or criminal, because it determines which court of last resort controls and which line of authority you are allowed to rely on. A Supreme Court of Texas opinion on a criminal evidentiary question is not binding on a criminal court, and the Court of Criminal Appeals has no say in a contract dispute. Lawyers who practice on both sides of that line learn to check the court before the holding.
The second fork is geographic. Fourteen of the fifteen courts of appeals cover defined districts, and an opinion from the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas binds trial courts in its district but is only persuasive in Houston. Because districts overlap in some counties and split on plenty of issues, a Texas research answer often has to say which court of appeals your case sits under before it can say what the law is. Write the county into your question and the search can do that work.
Say whether the issue is civil or criminal
That single word routes you to the right court of last resort and avoids citing an authority that does not bind.
Name the county or court of appeals district
Intermediate authority is district specific, so the county changes the answer.
Pull the petition history
A Texas cite is incomplete without it, and the notation tells you how much weight the opinion carries.
Watch the Fifteenth Court
Certain civil cases involving the state now route there instead of the local district court of appeals.
Why does Texas have two supreme courts?
The split dates to the 1876 Texas Constitution and the criminal appellate backlog that followed Reconstruction. Rather than expand one high court, Texas created a separate court for criminal appeals, and the design stuck. Today the Supreme Court of Texas hears civil and juvenile matters with nine justices, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals hears every criminal matter with nine judges, including automatic review of death sentences.
For research this has a practical consequence people underestimate. The two courts can and do read the same statutory language differently, and neither can overrule the other. When your issue crosses the line, for example a civil forfeiture proceeding built on a criminal statute, you may have two competing lines of authority and no court above them to resolve the conflict. Finding both lines is the job. Assuming there is only one is the mistake.
What does pet. denied mean in a Texas citation?
Texas requires a subsequent history notation in the parenthetical of every court of appeals citation, and that notation is a weight signal, not decoration. The Texas Rules of Form, known to everyone in the state as the Greenbook, set out the vocabulary. It tells the reader what the Supreme Court of Texas did with the case, which is often more informative than the opinion itself.
pet. denied
A petition for review was filed and denied. The court of appeals opinion stands, but the denial is not an endorsement of its reasoning.
pet. ref'd
Used in criminal cases where the Court of Criminal Appeals refused the petition. Historically carries more weight than a bare denial.
no pet.
No petition for review was ever filed, so the opinion was never tested above the court of appeals.
writ ref'd n.r.e.
A pre-1997 civil notation meaning the writ was refused, no reversible error. You will still meet it constantly in older Texas authority.
pet. granted
The Supreme Court took the case. Treat the court of appeals opinion as unstable until the high court rules.
Are Texas memorandum opinions precedential?
In civil cases, yes. Since the 2003 amendments to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, all civil opinions from the courts of appeals are published in the sense that matters, and a memorandum opinion may be cited. A memorandum opinion signals that the court did not think the case broke new ground, not that the reasoning is off limits.
Criminal practice is different because of timing. Under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 47.7, opinions in criminal cases not designated for publication before January 1, 2003 have no precedential value, although they may be cited with a notation that they are unpublished. That date is the line to remember. A 2001 unpublished criminal opinion is background. A 2004 memorandum opinion in a civil appeal is authority you can put in a brief.
Where can I find Texas case law online?
The Texas Judicial Branch site posts opinions from the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals and all fifteen courts of appeals, with a case search that works well if you already know the cause number or the parties. The state law library offers Texas residents remote access to several research databases with a library card, which is one of the better deals in American legal research and worth checking before you buy anything. CourtListener and Google Scholar carry Texas opinions with stronger full-text search.
What free sources will not do is tell you the petition history in a form you can paste into a brief, or warn you that the case was later disapproved. That verification layer is what a citator or treatment signal exists for, and it is the part of a research subscription that actually earns its money. If you are pricing tools for a Texas practice, the pricing comparison lays out what each option costs per user per month.
Frequently asked
Questions buyers ask about texas case law search
How do I search Texas case law?
Decide first whether your issue is civil or criminal, since that determines whether the Supreme Court of Texas or the Court of Criminal Appeals controls. Then identify your court of appeals district, because intermediate authority binds only within its district. Search published opinions in S.W.3d, and pull the petition history notation before citing anything.
Why does Texas have two supreme courts?
The 1876 Texas Constitution created a separate high court for criminal appeals to clear a post-Reconstruction backlog, and the structure was never merged. The Supreme Court of Texas handles civil and juvenile matters and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals handles all criminal matters. Neither can overrule the other, so conflicting lines of authority can persist.
What does pet. denied mean in a Texas case citation?
It means a petition for review was filed with the Supreme Court of Texas and denied, so the court of appeals opinion stands. A denial is not approval of the reasoning. Texas citation form requires this subsequent history notation, along with variants like pet. ref'd in criminal cases, no pet., and the older writ ref'd n.r.e.
Are Texas memorandum opinions precedential?
In civil appeals decided after the 2003 rule changes, yes, a memorandum opinion may be cited as authority. In criminal cases, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 47.7 provides that opinions not designated for publication before January 1, 2003 have no precedential value, though they may be cited with an unpublished notation.
How many courts of appeals does Texas have?
Fifteen. Fourteen cover defined geographic districts and hear civil and criminal appeals from the trial courts in those counties. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals, created by Senate Bill 1045 in 2023, began hearing cases on September 1, 2024 and has statewide jurisdiction over certain civil matters involving the state.
Keep reading
Federal case law search
Fifth Circuit authority, F.4th, and what binds a federal court in Texas.
California case law search
Published versus unpublished opinions and rule 8.1115.
New York case law search
Four Appellate Division departments and statewide trial court effect.
Florida case law search
Six DCAs, So.3d, and the Pardo statewide binding rule.
Pennsylvania case law search
Two intermediate courts split by subject matter.
Case law search engine
How plain-English search returns cited holdings.
Legal research software pricing compared
What each research tool costs per user per month.
How to find case law
The research sequence that works in any jurisdiction.
Check if a case is still good law
Catching reversals, disapprovals and superseding statutes.
Legal research for small law firms
How the economics work at three to twenty lawyers.
Binding vs persuasive authority
Which opinions actually control your court.
Casesearch is a legal research tool, not legal advice. Always read the full opinion and verify citations before relying on them.
Start now
Search Texas case law in plain English
Ask your Texas question, tell it the county, and read the controlling opinions with holdings and petition history. A research tool, not legal advice.