Additional Resources

Many law libraries, including court and academic law libraries, maintain collections of federal and state appellate court records and briefs relevant to researchers in the specific jurisdiction. Items in these collections may be available through interlibrary loan or a document delivery service. Below, find a resource that provides more information about these collections (the title links to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog).

A Union List of Appellate Court Records and Briefs: Federal and State by Michael Whiteman and Peter Scott Campbell
Call Number: KF105.9 .W49 2017
ISBN: 0837740657
This book contains information on libraries that collect records and briefs (in print and microform) from the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, state final appellate courts, and state intermediate appellate courts.

There are many online resources with information about how to locate print, microform, and online sources of federal appellate court records and briefs as well as transcripts or recordings of oral arguments.

National Archives Court Records
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) holds records of federal circuit and district courts and select territorial courts, covering more than 200 years of proceedings. Court records less than 15 years old are not held by NARA and are still in the possession of individual courts. The webpage describes how to locate and order copies of these court records from the Federal Records Centers.
Records of the United States Courts of Appeals
NARA maintains the official Records of the United States Courts of Appeals (1891-1995) in Record Group 276.
Records of the United States District Courts
NARA maintains the official Records of the United States District Courts (1685-1993) in Record Group 21.
Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)
This electronic public access service is provided by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts for obtaining case filings and docket information from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. Documents may be available in full text. Coverage varies by court; the Court Information menu in the PACER Case Locator shows available date ranges. Information is available on registering for a personal account and costs.
CourtListener (Oral Arguments) External
Provides free audio of oral arguments from selected U.S. Federal Courts of Appeals. Coverage varies. New arguments added daily.
U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs
This online guide describes the Law Library of Congress' collection of records and briefs from the U.S. Supreme Court. The Library is one of ten libraries serving as depositories of printed records and briefs. The guide also includes information on other print and online resources available for researchers.

Subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Bloomberg Law (Patron Access) External This link opens in a new window
Court Dockets: Federal and select state and foreign jurisdiction case dockets and court documents. Access restricted to on-site Law Library visitors.

U.S. Federal Appellate Courts: Records and Briefs

Additional Resources