This issue arose in the Adams v. Gulley thread ("California Judge Orders Removal of Reddit Criticism of Scientist/Consultant Who Publicly Criticized English Lucy Letby Murder Trial"), but I've also seen confusion about it in other places as well, so I thought I'd write briefly about it.
In federal appellate courts and many state appellate courts, many court opinions are labeled "unpublished" or "not for publication." This essentially means that they are not binding precedent, and are not to be published in the official reporters where binding precedent is published. The opinions are often "published" in the lay sense of the term: They are made public on pay services like Westlaw and Lexis, and on many free sites, generally including the sites of the very courts that label them "unpublished." Indeed, some are published in print volumes (such as the Federal Appendix, where federal appellate unpublished decisions are printed).
There is no legal prohibition on writing about them, quoting them, or reproducing them online or elsewhere. They are just not binding precedent.
