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Strategies for Finding State Court Briefs

Depending on the court involved, briefs can be relatively easy to locate or quite elusive. Strategies for locating briefs vary according to the court handling the case in which you are interested.

Massachusetts

LexisNexis and Westlaw

• Westlaw: The MA-BRIEF-ALL database provides petitions and briefs filed with the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), coverage beginning 1990; and briefs filed with the Court of Appeals, coverage beginning 1999. (Some documents are included from earlier years.)

Massachusetts Appellate Courts

• Supreme Judicial Court: Briefs from cases scheduled for argument beginning Sep. 2007 made available and linked to docket entry for the case.

Microfiche at Pappas Library

• Supreme Judicial Court: SJC Records and Briefs, Law Micro, organized by Massachusetts Reports citation, includes 1918 (Vol. 230) to present.
• Appeals Court: AC Records and Briefs/Mass. App. Ct., Law Micro, organized by Massachusetts Appeals Court report citation, includes 1972 (Vol. 1) to present.

Other states

LexisNexis and Westlaw

• Westlaw: In addition to Massachusetts, Westlaw provides briefs filed with appellate courts in many other states. To determine if there is a Westlaw database that might be useful, search the Westlaw Database Directory; or during a research session, search Westlaw's IDEN database with appropriate keywords (e.g., "maryland briefs"); or check the list of databases for state court briefs under the Litigation / Briefs section of the Westlaw Directory. Be sure to check the scope note to determine the dates of coverage of any potentially relevant database.
• LexisNexis: Though not as extensive as Westlaw's holdings, LexisNexis provides briefs filed with state courts, such as the Florida Supreme Court. Search LexisNexis' Searchable Directory of Online Sources with appropriate keywords (e.g., "new york and briefs") to locate databases; or during a LexisNexis research session, check the list of databases (organized by jurisdiction and/or legal topic) in the section on "Briefs, Motions, Pleadings & Verdicts" under the "Legal" tab in the online Research System.
• Check the web sites for the court in question. Links to the court sites are provided at LLRX Court Rules, Forms and Dockets and the National Center for State Courts, among other sites.
• Other sites for state appellate briefs:
  • California Supreme Court, briefs on cases to be orally argued (from 2009)
  • Kentucky Briefs, from Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law, briefs filed with the Kentucky Supreme Court (cases since 2000) and Kentucky Court of Appeals (since 2005).
  • Michigan Supreme Court Briefs, from 2001 to present.
  • Wisconsin Briefs, from the University of Wisconsin Law Library, briefs filed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals (unpublished and published cases) from 1992 to date.

Note: The Pappas Law Library does not collect briefs in paper or microform for courts from other states.

See the general page Strategies for Finding Briefs for additional sources.

Page maintained by David Bachman
Last updated: September 2009