Strategies for Finding Briefs

Depending on the court involved, briefs can be relatively easy to locate or quite elusive. Strategies for locating briefs vary to the court handling the case in which you are interested. For the most part, locating federal court briefs tends to be easier than locating state court briefs and appellate court briefs are easier to locate than filings for trial court cases.

In addition to the sources listed on the individual pages for federal and state court briefs, some additional strategies for locating briefs include helpful Internet resources, targeted Internet searches, and Interlibrary Loan. When all else fails, you may still be able to locate the needed briefs by using case information to search selected resources or to contact the court.

Helpful Internet resources

  • U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978 is a fully searchable database of over 350,000 full-text documents filed with the Supreme Court in this century and a half.
  • Westlaw provides an extensive range of databases of briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and with state appellate courts; and in select topical areas (i.e. environment, immigration, tax, etc.). See the Westlaw Directory under Litigation: Briefs for a complete list. The BRIEF-ALL database is a combined database consisting of the contents of all briefs databases.
  • Finding Records and Briefs from Harvard Law School Library.
  • FindLaw News Document Archive provides links to many documents in highly publicized cases.
  • National Center for State Courts:Court Web Sites contains links to state, federal and international court web sites. Try this site if you need to locate contact information for any court.
  • United States Courts provides a map with links to sites of federal courts, from the Federal Judiciary.
  • US Department of Justice: Legal Documents contains links to many briefs files by the DOJ in various courts
  • US Office of Solicitor General: Government Briefs contains briefs filed on behalf of the US government, all briefs from 1998 to date, and select briefs from 1982 through 1996.
  • The Federal Trade Commission provides a database of Enforcement Actions, which includes complaints and other documents filed in various courts from 1996 to the present.
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission: Commission Legal Briefs
  • The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Supreme Court section provides documents related to cases the ACLU is litigating, including briefs filed by the ACLU.
  • Amicus Curiae Briefs collected by Lawsource.com.
  • Wisconsin Briefs: An impressive database, from the University of Wisconsin Law School, containing briefs from the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals (unpublished and published cases) from 1992 to date.
  • Briefs and Motions Bank: a collection of briefs from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), on criminal law issues organized by topic. Briefs may be available only to members.
  • ABA Appellate Brief Bank provides links to online sources for briefs.
  • ABA Amicus Curiae Briefs: Briefs filed by the American Bar Association in select cases from 1998 to the present.
  • CourtWeb: Includes select rulings from selected federal district courts from across the country.

Internet Searches

  • Search the Internet using a search engine such as Google. Please note that it can take up to two weeks for a search engine to index and locate documents after the documents are available on the Internet.
  • Bear in mind that you are unlikely to find older (i.e. pre-1995) documents on the Internet. For older documents, Interlibrary Loan may provide copies of needed documents.
  • Visiting the web sites of law firms, advocacy organizations (such as the National Rifle Association or the American Civil Liberties Union), or government agencies (such as the U.S. Department of Justice) to locate briefs filed by the organization in recent years. Specifically, try sections of the organization's web site such as "publications", "legal documents", or "search the site."
  • See also some suggested helpful resources.
  • Also, you can find contact information on the Internet, and contact the attorney involved in the matter directly.

Interlibrary loan

  • Consult A Union List of Appellate Court Records and Briefs: Federal and State (Law Ref Desk KF 105.9 W45 1999) to determine which libraries, if any, hold the briefs you are seeking.
  • Using this book, verify which library(ies) have the appropriate year(s) and that the materials may be obtained.
  • Consult a reference librarian with any questions.
  • Request the briefs through Interlibrary Loan.

 

Using case information

If you do not find the briefs in any of these resources, there are still several options.

You can contact one of the parties and request a courtesy copy of the brief.

  • From the docket sheet, pleadings or other court filings, locate the name of an attorney or law firm involved in the case.
  • Using an online or print directory, locate contact information for the attorney.
  • Contact the attorney, identifying yourself as a law student researching the case, as well as providing as much information about the document you are seeking as possible (such as party names, docket number, title and filing date of the document).
  • Ask for assistance locating the briefs.
  • Provide your full contact information.

Notable cases and trials

  • Westlaw: The TRIALS-ALL database contains trial transcripts and documents from a select group of notable criminal trials, such as the OJ Simpson murder trial.
  • Search the BU Online catalog by Keyword, using the name of the case, i.e. Sacco and Vanzetti.
  • Findlaw collects court documents related to "hot topics" in its News Documents Archive.

Notable Judges

  • Search the BU Online catalog by Keyword, using the name of the jurist, i.e. Benjamin Cardozo.
    • Records and Briefs of Landmark Benjamin Cardozo Opinions, Law Annex KF 213.C38 M36 1999.
  • Westlaw provides databases (e.g., REHNQUIST) that include opinions written or signed by, or papers of, recent Supreme Court justices.

Briefs can be obtained directly from the court where the action is pending, though this can be very expensive.

  • Contact the court clerk's office to find out if all documents are kept onsite or if documents must be requested from offsite storage.
  • Determine the court clerk's number and/or e-mail address by using either a print court directory or the Internet.
  • Most courts require someone to visit the clerk's office in person and will not photocopy and mail documents. Check with the clerk's office for the photocopy policy.
  • In some circumstances, Pappas Library can order copies of pleadings. Consult a reference librarian for assistance.

Page maintained by David Bachman
Last updated: May 2008