Records and Briefs

Supreme Court records and briefs are available in multiple formats, including print, microform, and digital. For more information, open the tabs below.

The following print resources link to fuller bibliographic information about the resources in the Library of Congress Online Catalog:

Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court, Law Library Bound Collection (1832-present)
Call Number: KF101.9 .R43
The Law Library is a depository for print U.S. Supreme Court records and briefs. For a list of other depository libraries, visit the Supreme Court's Where to Find Briefs page. When requesting items via the online catalog, include the U.S. Reports citation (e.g., 432 US 61), and “Records & Briefs.”
Cases Argued and Decided in the Supreme Court of the United States, Lawyers' Edition by Michie
Call Number: KF101 .A313
Summaries of attorneys' briefs for selected U.S. Supreme Court Decisions are published in this reporter. Beginning with the second series of Lawyers' Edition, briefs of counsel are printed in a separate section at the end of each bound volume.
Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States: Constitutional Law by University Publications of America
Call Number: KF101.8 .K87
This ongoing publication reprints the records, briefs, and arguments for selected major constitutional cases from 1793-present.
Antitrust Law: Major Briefs and Oral Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1955 Term–1975 Term by University Publications of America
Call Number: KF1640 .A68 1979

Many records and briefs are only available in microform or microfiche. This table provides and overview of where to find this information by date span.

1832-1915	Microform (Scholarly Resources) Call number: Microfilm LL-0043	1832-1869: Full opinion cases only 1870-1915: All Cases
Between 1832-1860 (US Reports volumes 31-65), records and briefs organized by term of decision and docket number. The first volume of each term contains an alphabetical table of cases. Between 1871-1951 (US Reports volumes 79-241), records and briefs organized by US Reports citation.
1916-1972	Microfiche (Microcard Editions) Call number: 93-10014 (LL)	1916-1955: Full opinion cases only 1956-1972: All Cases
1974-1983	Microfiche (Bureau of National Affairs) Call number: 93-10014 (LL)	1974: Full opinion cases only 1975-1983: All cases Organized by docket number
1984-1988	Microfiche (Congressional Info. Service) Call number: 93-10014 (LL)	All cases Organized by docket number
1992-present	Microfiche (Microform Inc.) Call number: 93-10014 (LL)	All cases Organized by docket number

1832-1915

Microform (Scholarly Resources)

Call number: Microfilm LL-0043

1832-1869: Full opinion cases only

1870-1915: All Cases

Between 1832-1860 (US Reports volumes 31-65), records and briefs organized by term of decision and docket number. The first volume of each term contains an alphabetical table of cases.

Between 1871-1951 (US Reports volumes 79-241), records and briefs organized by US Reports citation.

1916-1972

Microfiche (Microcard Editions)

Call number: 93-10014 (LL)

1916-1955: Full opinion cases only

1956-1972: All Cases

1974-1983

Microfiche (Bureau of National Affairs)

Call number: 93-10014 (LL)

1974: Full opinion cases only

1975-1983: All cases

Organized by docket number

1984-1988

Microfiche (Congressional Info. Service)

Call number: 93-10014 (LL)

All cases

Organized by docket number

1992-present

Microfiche (Microform Inc.)

Call number: 93-10014 (LL)

All cases

Organized by docket number

In addition to records and briefs in print and microform, there are several useful online resources providing free access to this content, including:

National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) maintains the Records of the Supreme Court of the United States (Record Group 267)(1772-1997; bulk 1790-1984). This webpage provides a general overview of the collection and related finding aids. For assistance, contact the National Archives at 1-866-272-6272 or via its Contact Us form.
Office of the Solicitor General, US Dept. of Justice (1982–present; coverage varies)
Includes all briefs filed by the Solicitor General, except responses to IFP ("in forma pauperis") cases from July 1998-present; Solicitor General merits briefs and responses from 1993-1996 and 1986-1990; and Solicitor General merits briefs from 1982-1985. The website provides additional information on omissions, arrangement, and formats.
Oral Argument Audio Transcripts
The audio recordings of all oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court of the United States are available to the public at the end of each argument week via the Court’s website (2010-present) and print transcripts are posted to the website on the day of argument (2000-present).
The Oyez Project External
This multimedia archive of Supreme Court of the United States work, "from Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (LII), Chicago-Kent College of Law and Justia.com," is another source for audio recorded in the Supreme Court since the installation of the Court’s recording system in October 1955. Click on “Cases” and then the particular case name to access a synopsis and a link to the oral argument. Only select early cases have audio available.
SCOTUSBlog External
Posts merits case briefs from 2007-present.
U.S. Supreme Court, Where to Find Briefs of the Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court provides information about the 10 Supreme Court depository libraries, as well as where to find Supreme Court records and briefs via subscription resources, document retrieval services, and internet sources, among others.

The 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.

U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978 External This link opens in a new window
A collection of over 350,000 full-text Supreme Court documents covering more than 150,000 distinct cases. The records in U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs are the official court filings representing the background and context of the cases presented to the high court. However, this collection does not include the Courts rulings, opinions or decisions. The types of records contained include: Appellants Brief Appellees Brief Application for Review Application for Writ Brief for the U.S. Brief in Opposition Brief of Real Party Interveners Brief Jurisdictional Statement Letter Brief Opposition for Review Oral Transcript Petition Petition for Rehearing Petitioners Brief Petition for Writ of Certiorari Relators Brief Supplement to Petition. The database is a primary source tool for the study of all aspects of American history (American economic history, American social history, Rhetoric and the interpretation of language, African American history and critical race theory, Feminist studies and jurisprudence, Philosophy and ethics) as well as the U.S. judicial system. Search features include the ability to browse cases alphabetically, as well as search by case number, document type, date, keyword and legal citations. Legal citations are in Supreme Court Reporter and Lawyers' Edition formats.
ProQuest Supreme Court Insight External This link opens in a new window
Supreme Court Insight is a complete online collection of full opinions from Supreme Court argued cases, including per curiam decisions, dockets, oral arguments, joint appendices and amicus briefs. Content associated with each case is compiled on a dynamic page organized to facilitate understanding of the judicial process, and is also retrievable on a document-by-document basis. Harmonized subject indexing facilitates the ability of researchers to assess specific cases and groups of cases. Organization indexing facilitates the ability of users to locate specific briefs or retrieve all briefs submitted by a single organization. Supreme Court Insight is a companion product and offers links from case-specific records to Legislative Insight and Regulatory Insight and has similar functionality designed to facilitate teaching and learning.

U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs

Records and Briefs