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fastcase is an online legal research provider. MSBA members have unlimited access to:

 • Case law for federal courts and all 50 states
    o 50 states back to 1950 or before
    o Minnesota cases back to 1874
    o All U.S. Supreme Court cases back to 1 U.S. 1 (1754)
    o All Federal Circuits back to 1 F.2d 1 (1924)
    o Opinions of U.S. district, bankruptcy and tax courts
 • Federal and state statutes, regulations, court rules and constitutions
 • Newspaper articles
 • Public records
 • Federal Filings
 • Minnesota State District Court Opinions
 • Authority checks and more

Does it cost anything to use fastcase?
No. The use of fastcase’s online legal library is free to all Minnesota State Bar Association members. There are a limited number of optional services—newspaper archives for example—that require a per-use nominal fee.

How can I search fastcase?
fastcase provides three user-friendly search options:
  • Boolean (keyword) searches, which allow you to use terms such as AND, OR, NOT, ( ) and “ ” to find cases germane to a research question.
    Using w/n between two search terms will find cases in which the two terms appear within “n” words of each other—e.g., "statute w/2 limitation."
  • Natural Language searches return the best 100 results for your search, based on the text search you provide.
  • Citation searches can also be used if you know the citation of the case you are looking for.

Can I print and/or save my search results?
Yes. Your case law search results can be saved and printed using Word, PDF or Rich Text. Dual-column printing is available for each program.

Can I Shepardize or KeyCite cases on fastcase?
fastcase’s authority check feature displays a list of latter citing cases as well as the text in which the citation occurs. fastcase does not offer Shepards or KeyCite directly from fastcase’s website. However, each case contains a link for Shepards and KeyCite—each search can be conducted for a nominal fee using a credit card.

How current is the legal research database on fastcase?
fastcase’s research library is a compilation of licensed data and data on the Internet. Data is updated directly from the courts, court websites and published material. fastcase updates its case law databases between 24 and 48 hours from the date of decision.

Does fastcase provide user support?
fastcase offers e-mail (7 days per week, response within 4 hours) and live-chat (Monday—Friday, 7 a.m.—7 p.m. CDT) help at www.fastcase.com. fastcase also provides phone support by calling 1- 866-773-2782 (Monday—Friday, 7 a.m.—7 p.m. CDT).