United States Supreme Court Records and Briefs (microform and paper copies available)

Lexis and Westlaw

Some Internet Sites (very selective coverage)

Selected Compilations

Many libraries have the Supreme Court records in microform. A smaller number of libraries are Supreme Court brief depositories which means these libraries maintain paper copies of the briefs. These paper copies are archival in nature, as the libraries only receive the briefs in one annual shipment after the conclusion of the Supreme Court’s Term.

Both Lexis and Westlaw have Supreme Court briefs databases that provide the most current access to the briefs. Lexis currently contains Supreme Court briefs from 1979 to the present. From the 1993-1994 Term forward, the Special Masters reports are also included on Lexis. The briefs are available on Lexis software through the GENFED library, BRIEFS file, or through the "BRIEFS" source on the Internet version of Lexis.

Westlaw’s SCT-BRIEF database covers merits briefs from the 1990-1991 Term to the present. SCT-BRIEF also includes amicus briefs from the 1995-1996 Term to the present. In order to find the necessary brief, conduct a terms and connectors search and use one of the several field restrictors available with this database. Thus, the brief can be found by using several different identifiers, among them: case name, citation, attorney, topic, originating court, and/or docket number.

Currently, the Supreme Court does not maintain a Web site of the briefs, although the parties may post some of the briefs separately and one may find these briefs through various Internet search engines. One can find links to selected Supreme Court amicus briefs at American Law Sources On-line ("ALSO"). [95] ALSO is by no means comprehensive, but it does offer an organized listing of various amicus briefs.

Although we have focused on obtaining current copies of briefs in this section, there are also several print compilations of historical Supreme Court briefs. One of the most well-known compilations is Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States: Constitutional Law. [96] Another notable example of an ongoing series of compilations on Supreme Court cases is A Documentary History of the Legal Aspects of Abortion in the United States, which covers selected Supreme Court abortion cases. [97]