2009 onward.
Before official publication in a reporter, courts may make their slip opinions available in PDF via the deciding court's website. Dates of coverage vary, so check the individual court's website.
PACER: Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information from federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts. (Login required; limited access available for UT Law patrons; contact the reference desk for information.)
Coverage varies by court; for federal courts with Texas jurisdiction:
Bloomberg Law (login required): Bloomberg Law provides unlimited access to PACER for the law school community. When requesting a document that has not yet been downloaded to Bloomberg Law from PACER (signified by a green link instead of a blue link), the user is presented with a pop-up window to make a "document request." No information needs to be provided in this window. Simply click "submit," and if the document is available on PACER then it will be downloaded to the user's account when it is retrieved and an email will be sent to the user advising them accordingly.