Guide to Legal Resources

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT---COURTS
U.S. SUPREME COURT

U.S. SUPREME COURT DIGEST, LAWYER'S EDITION

• Purpose:  Summarizes Supreme Court decisions on each subject. It is the index to Supreme Court decisions in the sources listed below.
• Arrangement:  Alphabetically by subject. Includes Table of Cases.
• Notes:  Pocket part supplements keep it up to date.
• Location:  Ref  KF 101.1 D535
• Cited:  U.S. Dig.

U.S. REPORTS

• Purpose:  Full texts of Supreme Court decisions.  This is the official document put out by the government.
• Notes:  Text only of decisions.  For analysis and other  information see SUPREME COURT REPORTS--LAWYERS EDITION, described below. Use LAWYERS EDITION for volumes after 1920.
• Location:  Ref KF 101 A3   Library has volumes 1-256 (1920)
• Cited:  U.S.

SUPREME COURT REPORTS, LAWYERS EDITION

• Purpose:  Texts of the Supreme Court's decisions  legal analyses (annotations) and summaries of  counsels' arguments.  Privately printed.  For earlier volumes, use U.S. REPORTS, described above.
• Location:  Ref KF 101 A33     Library has v.66+  (1921+)
• Cited:  L.Ed. and L.Ed.2d

SUPREME COURT REPORTER

• Notes:  PML does not have this source.  It is included here because it is referred to so often.  It is similar to the SUPREME COURT REPORTS, LAWYERS EDITION, privately printed Supreme Court decisions with commentary.  It is indexed in the U.S. SUPREME COURT DIGEST.
• Cited:  S.Ct.

ONLINE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

• 1937-1975  Through FDsys    (1937-1975)
• 1992-2000  Through FDsys
• 2004+  Through the U.S. Supreme Court website http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/opinions.html
• All available through LexisNexis on the Truman network only http://www.lexis-nexis.com/universe  (Select "Legal Research")
      

UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISIONS:  AN INDEX TO THEIR LOCATIONS, by Nancy Alderman Guenther.

• Purpose:  Covers major Supreme Court decisions 1792-1980.  Leads you to specific books which list abridgments of Supreme Court decisions or complete decisions.  Of special interest is the Subject Index in Section 5.
• Notes:  As we have the full texts of the decisions in sources described on previous page, this book has limited usefulness for us.  However, it does help you locate material in the general collection which you may check out of the library.
• Arrangement:  Chronologically in Section 3.  Section 4 is an  alphabetical "case name index which leads you to Section 3."   Subject index in Section 5.
• Location:  Ref KF 101.6 G83 1983

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 1789-1980:  AN INDEX TO OPINIONS ARRANGED BY JUSTICE, edited by Linda Blandford and Patricia Evans.  2 volumes.

• Arrangement:  Chronologically by dates of service for each justice.
• Location:  Ref KF 1016 S86 1983

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:  ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION.

• Purpose:  While this is a copy of the Constitution, it includes annotations of cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court to July 2, 1982.  Pocket supplement includes annotations of cases through 1986.
• Notes:  Alphabetical Table of Cases in the back.
• Location:  Ref KF 4527 J39 1987

JUSTICES OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, THEIR LIVES & MAJOR OPINIONS

• Purpose: Provides (1) biographical sketches of the justices, (2) digests of the major opinions, (3) bibliographies for each justice.
• Location: Ref KF 8744 F75 1997

SUPREME COURT REVIEW

• Purpose: Each volume contains approximately 10 essays dealing with current issues in each session of the Supreme Court.
• Arrangement: Each volume covers one year. No index.
• Location:  General Collection KF 8748 S9  Library has 1960, 1965+

ORAL ARGUMENTS OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

• Purpose: Transcripts of recorded arguments before the Supreme Court.
• Location: 1952/53-1999/2000 in Microfiche Cabinet 26 Drawer 9, Oct 2000+
            on the Web at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts.html

GREAT AMERICAN COURT CASES

• Purpose:  Identifies cases which have influenced the development of key aspects of law in the U.S.  These are primarily U.S. Supreme Court cases, but there are a few from state courts and lower-level federal jurisdictions.
• Location:  Reference Collection KF 385 A4 G68 1999  (4 vols)

LANDMARK DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT

• Purpose:  Highlights landmark decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Arrangement:  Chronological
• Location:  Reference Collection KF 4549 F56 2003

U.S. SUPREME COURT WEB SITE

• Purpose:  Official Web site of the court
• Notes:  Includes information about the court, docket, recent decisions, rules, opinions, bar admissions, etc.
• Online:   http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
   

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