Federal+Reporters,+Records+and+Briefs

=**__FEDERAL REPORTERS, RECORDS AND BRIEFS__**=


 * INTRODUCTION**
 * Federal Court Structure
 * Federal Court Jurisdiction
 * Overview of Federal Court System and Decisions: from Law Library of Congress
 * National Reporter System: began in 1880. Organize decisions by jurisdiction, geography or subject.


 * __UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT__**

__**Where to Find Decisions:**__


 * United States Reports:** official reports for cases decided by Supreme Court. Citations initially (first 90 volumes) cited to individual reporter. However, these volumes were eventually renumbered. The opinions also appear on the [|Supreme Court’s webpage] for 2005-present.


 * West’s Supreme Court Reporter:** reproduces full text of Supreme Court opinions. Includes editorial features such as key numbers and headnotes. Interim pamphlets are issued prior to receipt of bound volume. Supreme Court Reporter is also on Westlaw. Westlaw has Supreme Court opinions from 1790-present. Unofficial reporter.


 * United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers’ Edition (L.Ed.):** reproduces full text of Supreme Court opinions. Includes for selected cases summaries of attorneys’ briefs submitted to the Court and annotations. Interim pamphlets are issued prior to receipt of bound volume. US Supreme Court Reports also appear on Lexis. Lexis has Supreme Court opinions from 1790-present. Unofficial reporter.


 * United States Law Week:** provides current access to Supreme Court opinions. Slip opinions are received electronically and posted on USLW website immediately. Print version contains a General Law section and Supreme Court section. Supreme Court section is useful because it not only provides the text of the opinion. Also includes features such as cases docketed, summary of cases recently filed, etc… The library subscribes to the [|online USLW]. It is a fee-based website.


 * SCOTUS Blog:** includes a section for recent decisions by the Supreme Court. Good for commentary on decided and pending decisions. Free website.


 * FindLaw:** includes summaries of Supreme Court opinions from 2000 to the present. Free website.


 * PreCYdent:** provides complete Supreme Court decision information with official US citation and pagination since 1759. Free website.


 * Cornell’s Legal Information Institute**Supreme Court Collection: archives decisions from 1990-present by topic, party, or author (judge).


 * Oyez Project:** full text of Supreme Court decisions from 1792 to the present. Free website.


 * __Where to Find Records and Briefs__**

**FindLaw****:** includes some briefs from 1999-2007. There is no search form. Briefs are listed by year and case name.


 * Westlaw:**


 * Lexis:**


 * Other Sources of US Supreme Court briefs**: from the US Supreme Court website.


 * __UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS__**


 * __Where to Find Decisions:__**


 * Federal Reporter**: began in 1880 and is in its 3rd series. Only opinions ordered by the federal courts of appeals are included in the Federal Reporter. The courts have rules restricting the number of published opinions..


 * Federal Appendix**: began in 2001 and includes unpublished opinions of the federal Courts of Appeals excluding the 5th and 11th circuits.


 * Westlaw**: can search all US Courts of Appeals decisions together (from 1891 to the present), reported and unreported decisions, and cases by circuit.


 * Lexis**: can search all US Courts of Appeals decisions together or limit the search to federal court by circuit.


 * Findlaw**: includes opinions from 2000 to the present. Free website.


 * PreCYdent**: cases from Federal Reporter 2d and 3rd series. Free website.


 * AltLaw**: cases from 1950 to the present. Free website.


 * __Where to Find Records and Briefs:__**


 * Westlaw**: see screen shot below. Depending upon the circuit selected (click on the “i” for information), coverage begins in the 1970’s.


 * Lexis**: under Briefs, Motions, Pleadings and Verdicts. Includes federal circuit court briefs from 2000 to the present. Cannot select by circuit. Can select briefs by practice area.


 * PACER**: Public Access to Court Electronic Records. PACER provides on-line access to U.S. Appellate, District, and Bankruptcy court records and documents nationwide. Includes docket information (paper filings, appearance dates, decisions). Depending upon the case, material could be redacted or be confidential.


 * __UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS__**


 * __Where to Find Decisions:__**


 * Federal Supplement**: began in 1932. Includes some federal district court decisions. Judge writing the decision determines whether it will be includes in this publication.


 * Westlaw**: includes cases from 1945 to the present. Can search reported, unreported or combined search of district court cases. Also allows you to search for decisions by circuit or district courts by state.


 * Lexis**: can search all US Federal District court decisions together or district court cases by circuit or district courts by state.


 * Justia:** can search all Federal District court decisions from 2004 to the present. Search form allows searching by party name or full text searching.


 * PreCyDent**: Includes opinions from federal district courts since 2004. Updated monthly. Free website.


 * __Where to Find Records and Briefs__**


 * Lexis**: under Court Records, Briefs and Motions, Federal Briefs, Motions and Pleadings, All Federal Pleadings Combined. This option searches all federal court decisions (circuit and district).


 * PACER**: see above discussion.

There are a number of court decisions that do not appear in any of the aforementioned publications. As a result, publishers (West and Lexis) created specialized reporters that include these court decisions. Some examples:
 * __SPECIALIZED REPORTERS__**
 * Federal Rules Decisions
 * Military Justice Reporter
 * Bankruptcy Reporter

Also, many specialized federal courts have official published reporters. These reporters are published by the Government Printing Office (GPO). The Catalog of US Government Publicationswill tell you what libraries include the following reporters in their collection:


 * Reports of the United States Court of Claims
 * Reports of the United States Tax Courts