Learn about publicly available online resources for the U.S. Supreme Court. Presentation intended for library school students but offers enough information for someone who is curious about the topic.

1. Judicial Information Sources
LIS 567
Suzanne Colligan
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2. U.S. Courts
• U.S. judicial systems: state and federal
• Federal District courts=Trial courts
• Federal Circuit courts =Appellate
• Federal Judiciary headed by 9 member
Supreme Court
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3. U.S. Courts Con’t.
• Established by Congress under the authority of
the Constitution, Art. III, Sec.1
• Federal judgeships are presidential
appointments; Senate approval for
confirmation.
• If confirmed, they are appointed for a lifetime.
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4. U.S. Court Decisions
• Judicial opinions also referred to as “case law”
• Court decisions interpret both statutory and
administrative law
• Court decisions help determine
constitutionality of laws, presidential actions
• Stare decisis: dictates that courts follow earlier
decisions when same legal issues are presented
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5. U.S. Courts and Publishing
• Not all decisions are published
• Ground-breaking or those that amplify
previous decisions are candidates for
publication
• Rule of thumb: the higher the court the more
likely its decisions have been published
• At the federal level, publication is not
comprehensive
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6. U.S. Courts and Publishing, con’t.
• Official “court reporters” are government
documents
• “Unofficial court reporters” are not
government documents
• Commercial publishers re-publish court
decisions and add editorial treatment
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7. U.S. Supreme Court
• Nation’s highest court; court of last resort
• 10,000+ cases are filed; 80-90 receive formal
written opinion while 50-60 additional cases
are disposed of w/o review.
• 1st Monday in October until the next 1st
Monday in October constitutes a term.
• Arguments are 1 hour
• Cases are audio taped, no cameras!
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8. U.S. Supreme Court Decisions
Cases decided by:
• Majority vote
One justice will write the opinion but the other
justices are allowed to :
 Write a concurring or dissenting opinion to
accompany the majority opinion
• The decision indicates whether the Court
upheld or reversed a lower court decision
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9. U.S. Supreme Court Reporters
• U.S. Reports is the Official Reporter
• Bench Opinion-issued from the bench;
pamphlet
• Slip Opinion-issued a few days after Bench;
may contain corrections
• Preliminary Prints—softcover compilation of
opinions
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10. U.S. Supreme Court Reporters, con’t.
• Bound Volumes—published about a year after
the term.
• In cases of discrepancy between a print and
electronic decision, the print controls
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11. Unofficial Reporters
• Reprints of the U.S. Reports
• Supreme Court Reporter
• Supreme Court Reporter, Lawyer’s Ed.
• United States Law Week
Above are all commercially published.
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12. U.S. Supreme Court Citations
• Find the text of a court decision with reference to
volume and page no.
• Names consist of plaintiff(s) and respondent(s)
Example:
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
FCC is the plaintiff, Pacifica is the respondent
The text of the case can be found in volume 438 of
the U.S. Reports, page 726. The case was decided
in 1978.
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13. U.S. Supreme Court Cases Online
• Opinion availability is scattered
Findlaw (1893+; Opinion Summaries 2000+)
www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
• The Oyez Project (availability varies, some
audio, 1955+)
www.oyez.org
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14. U.S. Supreme Court Cases Online,
con’t.
U.S. Supreme Court Official Site (1991+)
www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/opinions.html
Legal Info. Institute (1992+ and select historic
decisions)
www.law.cornell.edu/supct/
• Know your court case encyclopedias in your
collection—they explain cases, provide citations
and other info.
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15. U.S.S.C. Online, con’t.
U.S.S.C. Opinions Court Cases and Opinions
from Justia
http://supreme.justia.com/index.html
• U.S.S.C. cases from vol. 1-545+
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16. Question
I’m trying to find a court case involving
“Miranda rights”. In the U.S., police are
supposed to read you your rights or it’s not a
legal arrest. What’s the name of it?
Strategy: Legal Dictionary—define “Miranda
Rights”
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17. Answer
The case was: Miranda v. Arizona,
384 U.S. 436 (1966)
Check out Oyez’s version of Miranda!
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18. Another Question
I’m reading about American history and I found
this reference:
5 U.S. 137, I think it’s a court case, where can I
find out more about it?
Strategy: If this is a U.S.S.C. citation, it’s an
older case. Possibly historic. Use a Web site
that allows searches for older decisions.
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19. Answer
http://supreme.justia.com/index.html
• Search for 5 US 137
The case is from the U.S. Supreme Court,
Marbury v. Madison.
• Court cases are hard to decipher for the
average patron. Give them an online
alternative.
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20. Questions?
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