Google now indexes and searches federal and state case law through the new beta version of Google Scholar. While still in its beta phase, Google Scholar should significantly reduce legal research costs for legal professionals and laypersons alike.  The impact Google Scholar will have on large legal research companies like Westlaw and Lexis is uncertain; however, one would expect to see some sort of response shortly.

While Google Scholar does not provide many of the features that Westlaw and Lexis provide, it does allow one to search legal opinions totally free.  It also provides a reference index of cases and articles citing a selected case.  Legal articles may also be searched, but some articles, such as Law Review articles, must be purchased.  Try out Google Scholar at  http://scholar.google.com.