Although the collection chronicles almost every phase of Blackmun's judicial career, the bulk of the material highlights his service as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1959-1970, and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, 1970-1994. The Supreme Court File, 1918-1999, comprising over ninety-five percent of the collection, documents Blackmun's twenty four years of service as an associate justice. The series is divided into ten subseries: Appointment Books, Correspondence, Case File, Dockets, Briefs, Certiorari Memoranda, Subject File, Speech and Engagement File, Writings File, and Law Clerks File. See the Scope and Content Note in the finding aid for detailed information about how each of these subseries is arranged.

Restrictions apply.