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If you are looking for U.S. Supreme Court Briefs, below are some resources that
should be useful. Keep in mind that the online resources may have a lag time
between the time of filing and when they are available electronically. Also, some
of the services such as Lexis and Westlaw only post briefs for cases that have
been granted certiorari.
- Findlaw at http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/briefs/
is a free service that posts briefs alphabetically by party name covering
1999-present. Documents are in pdf or text format. In addition to petitioner,
respondent, reply and amicus briefs, there are also links to the decisions and
other resources such as oral argument transcripts, docket sheets and applicable
U. S. Code sections.
- Lexis/Nexis at http://www.lexis.com provides access through
GENFED/BRIEFS (library / file name). This file includes briefs from the
January 1979-present. Beginning with the 1993/94 term, it includes merit briefs for cases granted certiorari
and special masters. No joint appendices are collected, only appendices to
specific briefs. Prior to the 1993/94 term, it includes all briefs for cases granted
certiorari. Joint appendices and selected special masters are available. Briefs are added
within 6 weeks of publication, and the database is updated irregularly.
- Westlaw http://www.westlaw.com/ provides access through the
SCT-BRIEF database. Merits briefs begin from the 1990-91 Term-present
and the Amicus briefs begin from the 1995-96 Term-present. Westlaw has a
lag time and includes only briefs for cases that have been granted certiorari.
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Office of the Solicitor General within the U.S. Department of Justice provides access to all
briefs
filed by the Solicitor General from 7/1998-present, except responses to
IFP cases. These briefs are searchable by keyword, type or subject. There
are also selected briefs available for 1982-1996 (1982-85 Merits briefs;
1986-90 & 1993-96 Merits briefs and responses) that are searchable by keyword. If you are unable to find the brief using
the OSG database, consider contacting a DOJ
Library.
More information about DOJ libraries can be found on the
Library Staff Home Page.
If you are not able to find a Supreme Court Brief through the resources
mentioned above, there are three other fee-based options:
- Document retrieval services -- There are several companies in the Washington,
D.C., area that will photocopy briefs at the Supreme Court of the United States
and deliver or send them to you. Fees vary depending on the company and the
requested service.
- An internet service -- BriefServe at http://www.briefserve.com
that has 1984 Term-present Supreme Court Briefs. Briefs are sent in pdf format
and cost $25.00 per brief.
- Self-service at the U.S. Supreme Court -- Individuals can make copies of available briefs at the Supreme Court Clerk's Office.
The Office is open to Bar members only Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The fee is 10 cents per
page. The Supreme Court also provides a link to an online resource for Merits Briefs as well as a list of where to find Supreme Court briefs
in PDF format on its
website.
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