Traditionally, US Supreme Court Briefs were located in libraries in two formats, print and microfiche.  They still are, but databases are replacing those traditional resources.  Here is a list of where to locate US Supreme Court briefs in a variety of formats:

The print collection: Located on the 4th floor of the law library is a selective collection of landmark briefs.  This set in the Law Library has not been updated since 2014.  However, if you are researching a landmark decision prior to 2014, this printed set is still useful for researching the records and briefs of a landmark decision argued before the US Supreme Court.  Another useful feature, this set has a table of contents for each decision: Landmark briefs and arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States: constitutional law

The microfiche collection: Records & Briefs, located on the 2nd floor of the Law Library, dates from 1832 - 2011.  This collection includes every case argued before the US Supreme Court.

Databases & Online Resources: To locate US Supreme Court briefs online you will have to know the date the decision was argued before the Supreme Court to find the database that will work for your research.  If you are researching older case law, select,  The Making of Modern Law. U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978

For current Supreme Court documents, see HeinOnline.

Researching case law dating from 1980 to 2017/2018, you can use Proquest Supreme Court Insight

Canadian Supreme Court Cases: If you are looking for case law from our northern neighbor, select: Canadian Supreme Court cases.

Submitted by Jenny Zook, Reference Librarian on January 18, 2019

This article appears in the categories: Law Library