Court Briefs & Oral Arguments
Updated April 30, 2009.
Prepared by Cheryl Nyberg, with updates by Julia Vinson (2009).
Legal researchers often find it helpful to read briefs submitted by the parties to an appellate court. Briefs contain legal arguments designed to persuade the court and they analyze legal issues and refer to both primary and secondary sources. Transcripts and recordings of oral arguments before appellate courts preserve the presentations made by attorneys for the parties and questions asked by the judges.
This guide identifies print, microfiche, and microfilm collections at the Gallagher Law Library, free Internet sources, and databases available on LexisNexis and Westlaw. None of these collections are complete. If the brief you want is not available here, consult the clerk of the court that heard the case and/or attorneys for the parties. (UW School of Law faculty and staff should talk with a reference librarian about other possibilities.)
The Gallagher Law Library has briefs for
cases from the following courts:
Briefs are available in several formats:
The Law Library has microfiche/film reader/printers. A microfiche/film scanner permits users to create PDF images of briefs and save them to a flash drive, memory stick, or CD/DVD. Ask a reference librarian or member of the Circulation department for assistance.
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U.S. Supreme Court
| Briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court
are available in print and microfiche/film, on commercial online legal
research services (LexisNexis and Westlaw), and on the Internet.
The Law Library's print collection of briefs is one of a handful outside of the Washington DC area. However, our collection is not complete. The U.S. Supreme Court Library has the most complete collection of Supreme Court briefs (202/479-3186) and the Clerk's Office maintains complete sets of records and briefs for the current term (202/479-3030). |
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Briefs in Print, Microfiche & Microfilm at the Law Library
In microfiche and print (but not in microfilm), U.S. Supreme Court briefs are arranged by docket numbers assigned by the Court when a case is filed. A case's docket number is shown on the first page of the written opinion and on the upper right hand corner of microfiche.
| Years | Docket Nos. | Format | Coverage 1 | Call No / Location |
| 1936 - 2009 | 1936-1 to 08-802 2 | paper | 3 | Compact Stacks |
| 1867 - | paper | selective 4 | KF101.9.L36 / Classified Stacks | |
| 1973 - | to08-527 | fiche | comprehensive | KF101.9 / Reference Area |
| 1960 - 72 | fiche | comprehensive | KF101.9 /Special Collections-Microform 5 | |
| 1957 - 59 | fiche | full opinion only | KF101.9 /Special Collections-Microform 5 | |
| 1951 - 56 | fiche | comprehensive | KF101.9 /Special Collections-Microform 5 | |
| 1924 - 34 | fiche | full opinion only | KF101.9 / Reference Area | |
| 1923 | fiche | incomplete | KF101.9 / Reference Area | |
| 1919 - 22 | fiche | full opinion only | KF101.9 / Reference Area | |
| 1918 | fiche | incomplete | KF101.9 / Reference Area | |
| 1897 - 1917 | fiche | full opinion only | KF101.9 / Reference Area | |
| 1832 - 96 | film 6 | comprehensive | KF101.9 /Special Collections-Microform 5 |
1. Coverage indicates whether the collection contains all cases (comprehensive) or just those cases in which the Court issued a full opinion. "Comprehensive” includes briefs in cases submitted to the Court, including those denying certiorari, memorandum opinions, and those with full opinions.
2. Briefs for original jurisdiction cases are shelved in boxes after the latest docket numbers. (Cases in which the Court has original jurisdiction often extend over several terms and have a separate docket number sequence.)
3. The Law Library's collection is large, but incomplete. It does not contain all briefs for all cases, such as memorandum cases or cases denying certiorari.
4. Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States: Constitutional Law reprints briefs from important selected cases. KF101.9L36 at Classified Stacks. Search the Law Library catalog by the name of one or both parties as keywords to identify the appropriate volume number in this series. The first 4 volumes in the set contain summaries of oral arguments only. Beginning with volume 5, the set contains briefs and oral arguments.
5. Please request assistance at the Circulation Desk to have material from Special Collections retrieved.
6. For microfilm reel numbers, consult the Index to the Scholarly Resources Microfilm Edition of the Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court, 1832-1915. KF101.9.S35 index at Reference Office
Briefs Available Online
LexisNexis: U.S. Supreme Court Briefs, from 1979.
Westlaw
- SCT-BRIEF, from 1990
- SCT-BRIEF-ALL, selected briefs and petitions for cert., from 1870
Findlaw, Supreme Court Briefs, from Oct. 1999, free
SCOTUSblog, selected recent briefs, free
Yale Lillian Goldman Law Library, Curiae Project, selected briefs "based on a ranking developed from citation data in historical and constitutional texts," free
"Friend of the court" (amicus) briefs are also likely to be found on the Internet. Use a general search engine (like Google). Search the names of the parties, the name of the court, the docket number, and/or other keywords associated with the case or the party filing the brief.
See also Michael Whiteman, Free and Fee Based Appellate Court Briefs Online.
Oral Arguments
Transcripts and recordings of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court are available from several sources:
| Beginning Year | Source |
| 1952 | Microfiche. KF101.9U72C6 at Reference Area |
| Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States: Constitutional Law, selected cases KF101.9L36 at Classified Stacks | |
| 1955 (selected) |
May It Please the Court: The Most Significant Oral
Arguments Made Before the Supreme Court Since 1955. KF4748 .M39 1993 at
Reference Area [click on the title link to see the cases included]
May It Please the Court: The First Amendment: Transcripts of the Oral Arguments Made Before the Supreme Court in Sixteen Key First Amendment Cases. KF4770 .M35 1997 at Reference Area May It Please the Court: Courts, Kids, and the Constitution. KF4118 .M39 2000 at Reference Area |
| 1979, Oct. | LexisNexis: United States Supreme Court Transcripts |
| 1990, Oct. | Westlaw: SCT-ORALARG |
| 1995, selected | Oyez. RealAudio recordings and MP3 files, selected cases (including some before 1995) |
| 2000, Oct. | U.S. Supreme Court, Argument Transcripts |
| Alderson Court Reporting, fee-based service |
U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Print & Microfiche at the Law Library
| Years | Docket Nos. | Format | Location |
| 1892 - 2008 |
1892-30 to 08-71719 |
paper | Compact Stacks |
| 1983 - 2004 | 83-2596 to 04-99010 | fiche | KF112 / Reference Area |
Online Sources
LexisNexis: All Federal Briefs and Motions, Combined, from 2000
Westlaw: CTA9-BRIEF, from 1973
Other briefs may be found on the Internet. Use a general search engine (like Google). Search the names of the parties, the name of the court, the docket number, and/or other keywords associated with the case or the party filing the brief.
See also Michael Whiteman, Free and Fee Based Appellate Court Briefs Online.
Oral Arguments
The 9th Circuit website includes audio files of oral arguments, searchable by docket number or date.
Washington Supreme Court
Print & Microfiche at the Law Library
| Years | Docket Nos. or Citation | Format | Location | Arrangement |
| 1872 - 1889 * | paper | KFW45.9 L872 Special Collections |
||
| 1889 - 1988 | 1 to 55432 | paper | Compact Stacks | docket number |
| 1985 - 2003 ** | 110 Wn.2d 1 to 149 Wn.2d 914 |
fiche | KFW45.9 W35 Reference Area |
citation |
* Briefs from the Washington Territorial Court. Please fill out a Retrieval Request at the Circulation Desk.
** Briefs from attorney disciplinary cases are omitted.
Docket numbers are assigned by the Court when a case is filed. A case's docket number is shown on the first page of the written opinion.
Online Sources
LexisNexis: Washington State Briefs and Motions, from 2000
Washington Courts: Supreme Court Briefs, from June 2006. Searchable.
Westlaw: WA-SCT-BRIEF, from 2002
The Washington State Office of Public Defense maintains a brief bank of more than 4,000 briefs filed in indigent appeals before the Washington Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal. Access to the Brief Bank is free but users must first obtain passwords by sending an email message to an address found on the website.
Oral Arguments
TVW, the state's public affairs network, broadcasts and archives oral arguments from 1996 to date. Videotapes are available for purchase.
Washington Courts of Appeal
Print & Microfiche at the Law Library
| Years | Division | Docket Nos. | Format | Location | Arrangement |
| 1969 - 1990 | I | 5 to 22827 | paper | Compact Stacks | docket no. |
| 1969 - 1990 | II | 1 to 12378 | paper | Compact Stacks | docket no. |
| 1969 - 1990 | III | 1 to 9649 | paper | Compact Stacks | docket no. |
| Years | Citations | ||||
| 1988 - 2005 | 52 Wn.App. to 125 Wn.App. 938 * |
fiche | KFW48 .A5W3m Reference Area |
citation | |
* Wn.App. represents the Washington Appellate Reports citation. Briefs from unpublished cases are omitted from the microfiche collection (that is, cases beginning at page 1001.
Online Sources
LexisNexis: Washington State Briefs and Motions, from 2000
Washington Courts: Division II Briefs, from June 2006
Other Courts
Westlaw
- BRIEF-ALL, all available federal and state briefs
- CTA-BRIEF, briefs from the federal appellate courts
- STATE-BRIEF-ALL, briefs from state appellate courts
- also includes databases of briefs from individual state courts and for specific topics
LexisNexis
- All Federal and State Briefs and Motions, Combined
- All Federal Briefs and Motions, Combined
- All State Briefs and Motions, Combined
- also includes databases for briefs from individual state courts and in specific practice areas
Other briefs may be found on the Internet. Use a general search engine (like Google). Search the names of the parties, the name of the court, the docket number, and/or other keywords associated with the case or the party filing the brief. For examples of state court briefs that are available on the Internet, see:
- Florida: Florida State University College of Law, Research Center, Florida Supreme Court
- Kentucky: Northern Kentucky University, Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Law Library, Kentucky Appellate Court Briefs
- Michigan Supreme Court
- North Dakota Supreme Court
- Oregon: Washington County (OR) Law Library
- Texas Supreme Court
- Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Law Library, Wisconsin Briefs
See also Michael Whiteman, Free and Fee Based Appellate Court Briefs Online.
Oral Arguments
Many other court websites provide audio or video of oral arguments, including:
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, Select a Case
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Oral Arguments Search Information
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Oral Arguments
- Alaska Supreme Court, Gavel to Gavel Alaska
- Colorado Supreme Court Oral Arguments and Audio Recordings
- Florida Supreme Court, Broadcast Archives
- Indiana Courts, Oral Arguments Online
- Iowa Supreme Court, Oral Argument Video
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Oral Arguments
- Minnesota Supreme Court Oral Arguments - Videos
- New Hampshire Supreme Court, Listen to Supreme Court Oral Arguments
- North Dakota Supreme Court, Listen to the Supreme Court
- Texas Supreme Court, Oral Arguments Audio/Video
- Wisconsin Court System, Supreme Court Oral Arguments