Supreme Court of the United States
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Supreme Court Records & Briefs
- U.S. Supreme Court > Docket Search
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"The Supreme Court’s docket system contains information about cases, both pending and decided, that have been filed at the Court. The docket provided here contains complete information regarding the status of cases filed since the beginning of the 2001 Term."
Office of the Solicitor General: Briefs
- Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), United States Department of Justice"The task of the Office of the Solicitor General is to supervise and conduct government litigation in the United States Supreme Court. Virtually all such litigation is channeled through the Office of the Solicitor General and is actively conducted by the Office. The United States is involved in approximately two-thirds of all the cases the U.S. Supreme Court decides on the merits each year."
- OSG: Supreme Court Briefs database1985 - present. Includes Calls for the Views of the Solicitor General (CVSG) briefs: when SCOTUS invites the Solicitor General to file an amicus brief "expressing the views of the United States" about whether the case (based on the petition for certiorari) warrants the Court's review.
Burns Law Library Databases
- Supreme Court Insight (ProQuest)
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Supreme Court Insight is an online collection of full opinions from Supreme Court argued cases, including dockets, petition stage & merit briefs, oral arguments, joint appendices, and amicus briefs. - Making of Modern Law: U.S. Supreme Court Records & Briefs, 1832 - 1978
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Includes a digital archive of U.S. Supreme Court historical materials spanning a 140 year period. - Making of Modern Law Digital Archive (Landmark Records and Briefs of the U.S. Courts of Appeals, 1891 - 1980)
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Includes selected records, transcripts, and briefs from U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals cases that are among the "most heavily cited in case law." Some of these records may also be included in briefs and appendices filed at the U.S. Supreme Court. - U.S. Supreme Court Briefs
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Briefs and petitions from the 1978-79 term to the present. A few pre-1978 briefs are also available. Selected cert. petitions from 1978 to the present. A docket-number search is most accurate because parties' names can change while the case is pending. - U.S. Supreme Court Briefs, Petitions & Joint Appendices
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Selected coverage begins with 1930 (Briefs), 1985 (Petitions), & 1982 (Joint Appendices). - Bloomberg Law
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Select coverage before 2015. Users can ensure a docket is current by noting the "Current As Of" date, on the right side of the docket. If it is not up to date, click "Update Docket" and then refresh the page. Users can create Alerts for cases to receive emails when there is an update to the docket (click "Track Docket" to set up).
Gelman Library Databases
GW Law users can access Nexis Uni remotely or at the Gelman Library to find Supreme Court briefs and petitions. You may search by keyword, party names, citation, counsel, brief type or appeal statement. Selected coverage begins in 1936, but all briefs are available for cases granted certiorari beginning after the 1993-94 term. Other briefs and appendices may be available back to January 1979.
- Nexis Uni
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Formerly LexisNexis Academic. Law patrons have off-campus access only. - Gelman Library: Law & Government Databases
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- HathiTrust
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Full viewing access to Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States. Constitutional law. To log in, select The George Washington University as your institution and then log in with your NetID and regular GW password.
Non-commercial Internet Sources
- The Oyez Project: Cases - Briefs and Petitions (2003- )
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The "cases" section of the Oyez site includes selected briefs and petitions. Search for your case, or select the year and case name to see what briefs and petitions are available. - SCOTUSblog
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Briefs from 2007 to date (PDF). - USDOJ: Office of the Solicitor General
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All briefs (other than responses in In Forma Pauperis cases) filed by the Solicitor General from 1985- . - American Bar Association: Supreme Court PREVIEW
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(Briefs currently unavailable*). Merit and some amicus briefs in PDF from 2003 to current term. The ABA's Preview of Supreme Court cases gives background, issues and arguments in cases before the Court. Email alert is available.
Burns Law Library Microfiche & Print Sources
- United States Supreme Court Records and Briefs on Microfiche
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microfiche, 1897/98-current. Includes full opinion, summary disposition and certiorari denied cases. Use the Finding Aid shelved under blue "Microform Indexes" sign to locate early case records. - Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States: constitutional law
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Includes briefs for selected cases. (In-library use only.) HathiTrust provides full PDF download access to member institutions.
Briefs at the Law Library of Congress
Many briefs are available only at the Library of Congress. Check the Library of Congress U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs collection.
Where the fiche collection indicates "All cases," denied petitions for certiorari should be included.
See the Law Library of Congress' blog posts on the brief collection itself and the binding process.
Federal Court files
Most case files created prior to 1999 are maintained in paper format only.
Paper case files may be stored at the courthouse or at one of the Federal Records Centers (FRCs). A case file may be obtained through the court or directly from the FRC. Contact the court in which the case was filed for more information.
- CourtListener's Recap Archive
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Search CourtListener.com's free database of millions of PACER documents. Coverage is from 1960 - present.
Supreme Court Rules for the Joint Appendix
The current Supreme Court Rule 26 requires that the following be including in a Joint Appendix:
"The joint appendix shall contain: (1) the relevant docket entries in all the courts below; (2) any relevant pleadings, jury instructions, findings, conclusions, or opinions; (3) the judgment, order, or decision under review; and (4) any other parts of the record that the parties particularly wish to bring to the Court's attention."
1980 - 1990: Former Supreme Court Rule 30 provided the requirements for the joint appendix.
1967 - 1980: Former Supreme Court Rule 36 provided for the first time the requirements for a single appendix produced as a joint effort of the parties.
Source: Moore's Federal Practice - Civil § 526App.100, HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF RULE 26
Locating Other Appellate Briefs
- Making of Modern Law Digital Archive (Landmark Records and Briefs of the U.S. Courts of Appeals, 1950-1980)
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Includes selected records, transcripts, and briefs from U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals cases that are among the "most heavily cited in case law."
- Union List of Appellate Court Records and Briefs: Federal and State, 2d
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Contains four sections: United States Supreme Court, United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, State Final Appellate Courts, and State Intermediate Appellate Courts.