When lawyers and law professors refer to "cases," they typically mean the written opinions of appellate court judges. Although "the law" includes cases, statutes, administrative rules and decisions, local ordinances, and other documents, most of your law school education will involve studying appellate court decisions. Opinions from appeals courts can be crucial to understanding a given legal issue because such opinions are binding on lower courts deciding similar issues in the future. Accordingly, appellate court opinions are usually published in print, online, or both.