Search Instructions

The OALJ Keyword Search Tool has been optimized to work on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer, and Safari. There are slight discrepancies in the display of some features on different browsers; however, the functionality is consistent.

This document contains guidance on using Boolean operators for advanced searches. Note: The Boolean search operators described below are optional and are not required to utilize the OALJ Advanced Search’s full capability.

Quick Overview

Below is a quick overview of the most commonly used search operators. Note that for general two-word searches, the OALJ Keyword Search Tool defaults to an OR search. For example, a search for Judge Smith will bring results that have Judge OR Smith in the text.

Function Description Search Operators
Exact search* Returns results that match exactly the text within the quotation marks (e.g., a search for "house" will only return results with that exact word: house). "[search term]"
OR Returns results that include search term one OR search term two (e.g., a search for house OR home would return results that include either search term but not necessarily both). OR or ||
AND Returns results that include search term one AND search term two (e.g., a search for house AND home would only return results that include both search terms). AND or &&
NOT Returns results that include search term one but NOT search term two (e.g., a search for house NOT home would only return results that include house but NOT results that include home). Note this operator must be used in conjunction with another term. NOT, ! or -

*Since the tool automatically applies fuzzy search capabilities, this function will negate those capabilities. For example, if a user searches house , the tool will by default also return search results with the word mouse since that is a near spelling; however, if the user searches "house" then only search results with the exact term (i.e., house) will be returned.

COMMON MISTAKES AND QUICK FIXES

There may be times when a user expects different results than are returned by the search tool. The table below shows some quick tips and common mistakes that users make, and how to best solve the problems.

Example of Common Mistakes Correct Version of Search Explanation
725.309(d)(3) "725.309(d)(3)" When searching for a specific term, name, or case section, the search phrase should be in quotes.
Judge + Smith Judge AND Smith When conducting a search where two terms are both required, users should use AND rather than a +.
!water Ice !water In order to use the NOT operator, the user must also include a positive search term.

Using Search Operators

Approximate string matching

By default, the search tool has an approximate string matching, or "fuzzy search" capability to handle slight misspellings to improve the user experience. For example, if a user searches for reprot instead of report , the tool will still return the search results that contain the intended word: report.

Exact string matching

If users want to disable the fuzzy search feature in favor of an exact match, users can enter their search in double quotation marks. For example, if a user searches for Judge Smith with no quotation marks, cases containing the word Judge within the document may also appear in the results. If the user wants only documents with Judge Smith's exact name, then they can search for "Judge Smith" within double quotation marks to disable the fuzzy search feature.

If users have a search phrase that they want to search for, such as "suitable alternate employment," the search phrase should be put in quotes to negate the fuzzy search capability.

Boolean operators

Always specify text boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) in all caps. For more detailed information about Boolean operators, see below.

OR operator: OR or ||

The OR operator is a vertical bar or pipe character. For example: wifi || luxury will search for documents containing either "wifi" or "luxury" or both. Because for general two-word searches, the OALJ Keyword Search Tool defaults to an OR search, you could also leave it out. Wifi luxury is the equivalent of wifi || luxury .

AND operator: AND , or &&

The AND operator is a double ampersand. For example: wifi && luxury will search for documents containing both "wifi" and "luxury".

Please note: The plus character (+) is not used as an AND operator. Instead, it is used for required terms. It is placed directly before a term (without a space between) to indicate required terms. For example, +wifi +luxury stipulates that both terms must appear somewhere in the field of a single document.

NOT operator: NOT , ! or -

The NOT operator is an exclamation point or the minus sign. For example: wifi !luxury will search for documents that have the "wifi" term and/or do not have "luxury".

Note that, as opposed to all other boolean operators, when using ! or – the operator must be placed directly next to the term with no space in between. Furthermore, any search terms using the NOT operator must be preceded by a search term that the user wants in their search. For instance, !luxury is not a valid query, whereas wifi !luxury is.

Disabling special characters

Certain special characters will automatically be interpreted as search operators unless they are “disabled.” You can disable them by prefixing them with backslash (\). Special characters that need to be escaped include the following: 

 + - && || ! ( ) { } [ ] ^ " ~ * ? : \ /

For example, to escape a wildcard character, use \*.