Strategies for Finding Oral Arguments
US Supreme Court
- US Supreme Court's web site:
- Oral Argument Transcripts (2000-present)
- Microfiche at Pappas
- The Complete Oral Arguments of the Supreme Court of
the United States contains oral
arguments from the 1969 term to present.
Law Micro KF 101.9 C6
- The Complete Oral Arguments of the Supreme Court of
the United States contains oral
arguments from the 1969 term to present.
- LexisNexis: Using the Find a Source tab, select GENFED; USTRAN to access a database that contains transcripts from 1979 to present.
- Westlaw: The SCT-ORALARG database contains transcripts from 1990 to present.
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Beginning in 2005, the SJC has provided a webcast archive of oral arguments recorded and available to the public.
Lower Federal and State Courts
Please remember that court transcripts are not free. Even a party has to order and pay for the transcript, which can often be hundreds of pages long and very costly.
- You can contact one of the parties and request a copy or to
look at a copy of the transcript
- From the docket sheet or other pleadings, locate the name of an attorney or law firm involved in the case.
- Using a print directory or the Internet, locate the attorney's e-mail address and/or telephone number.
- Contact the attorney, identifying yourself as a law student researching the case.
- Ask if you may come to the attorney's office and view a copy of the transcript or ask from which court reporting service you could order one. Be prepared - these transcripts can be expensive.
- Provide your full contact information.
- Notable trials
- Westlaw's TRIALS-ALL database contains documents related to some 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.
- The only certain way to obtain transcripts of proceedings from many courts is by ordering a copy directly from the court reporter. This can be very expensive.
Page maintained by David Bachman
Last updated: February 2009