Georgetown Law
Georgetown Law Library

Briefs, Oral Arguments and Other Court Documents Research Guide

This guide collects sources for dockets and court documents, including briefs and oral arguments, from federal and state courts.

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U.S. Supreme Court Briefs

Print

  • Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States, KF101.9 .L3, 1793-2003. 
     
  • Antitrust Law: Major Briefs and Oral Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1955 term-1975 term, KF1641 .A57 1979.

Microform

The library has briefs from cases decided by the Supreme Court since 1832. The library also has briefs from cases where the Court denied review beginning in 1982. 

United States Supreme Court Records and Briefs (1897-2015), WMS Media, First Floor, KF101.9 .U54 Micro

  • 1832-1896. Briefs from this time period requires the use of an index. There are 5 indexes covering 1832-1860 (Part I), 1861-1870 (Part II), 1871-1880 (Part III), 1881-1890 (Part IV), and 1891-1896 (Part V). The index reel is located at the end of the Part.
     
  • 1897-1972. Briefs are arranged by the official U.S. Reports citation (e.g., Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436).
     
  • 1973-2015. Briefs are arranged by docket number (e.g., Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 91-744). The docket number can be found after the caption of the case, in the format "Term Year - Number."

U.S. Courts of Appeals Briefs

Microform

U.S. District Court Briefs

State Court Briefs

Guides on Brief Writing

Court rules govern court procedures. Different courts have different requirements, so it is important to check the rules of your specific court when writing a brief. For a research guide on court rules, see Federal Court Rules.