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Looking for historical U.S. Supreme Court cases? There are several different
sources to use to find them:
- Westlaw -- search the SCT-OLD database that
includes full-text cases from 1780 to 1945. Note: Westlaw is a fee-based service
that requires a subscription; DOL employees can contact the library for assistance.
- Hein Online -- The U.S. Supreme Court Library contains
United States Reports Vols. 1-540, which covers 1754 to 2003. Note: Hein Online is a fee-based service that requires
a subscription; DOL employees can contact the library for assistance.
- Findlaw has Supreme Court Decisions from 1893 to
present via http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html. You can browse
either the U.S. Reports volume number or the year of publication. You can also
search by citation, party name or full text. However, it is important to note
that Findlaw will include only the full text cases that actually have an
opinion issued by the Supreme Court -- it will NOT include the Decisions Per
Curiam, Decisions Granting Certiorari, Decisions Denying Certiorari, etc.
Decisions are in html format.
- Federal Legal Information Through Electronics or
FLITE is produced by FedWorld. FLITE contains the full text of 7,407 U.S.
Supreme Court Decisions from 1937 to 1975. This range covers volumes 300
through 422 of the U.S. Reports. You can search by either key words or case
names. If you do a case name search, remember that party names get reversed in
the appeals process. Try reversing the party names if your search doesn't work
the first time. Decisions are in ASCII text.
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Cornell University's Legal Information Institute (LLI) also has a
selective collection of historic U.S. Supreme Court decisions as part of its
Supreme Court Collection.
LLI's historic database
contains just over 600 of the Court's most
important decisions from the founding of the court up until the
U.S. Supreme Court
began releasing decisions on the Internet. This service is browseable by topic, party name or opinion author. There is also a
keyword search engine that is accessible once you are on the "By Topic" or "By
Party Name" page. When you have selected a case, you can view either the
syllabus, the full decision or the syllabus & opinions only. For more recent decisions available via LII, use
the
Supreme Court Collection main page.
Note regarding United States Reports: the printed bound volumes of the U.S. Reports contain the final,
official opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States. Volumes 502 (Oct Term 1991) - 540 (Oct Term 2003) are available
electronically on the website of the
U.S. Supreme Court.
The website cautions that "only the printed bound volumes of the United States Reports contain the final, official opinions of the
Supreme Court of the United States. In case of discrepancies between a bound volume and the materials included here--or any other
version of the same materials, whether print or electronic, official or unofficial--the printed bound volume controls."
Bound U.S. Reports voumes are organized by term and contain Allotment of Justices, Retirements, Appointments, Table of Cases Reported
(alphabetical by party name), Table of Cases Cited (also alphabetically arranged), and Cases Adjudged, which includes for each case the
Syllabus, Opinion of the Court, and individual opinions of the justices (if any). The Wirtz Labor Law Library has in its collection the printed bound volumes
of U.S. Reports dated 1883 (Vol. 109; October Term 1883) to present. Briefs are not included in United
States Reports. See the previous tip
U.S. Supreme Court Briefs
for more information about locating briefs.
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