Supreme Court of the United States Research Guide: Dockets, Decisions, Briefs, and Other Documents

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• Dockets, Decisions, Briefs, and Other Documents
  • Dockets
  • Decisions
  • Briefs and Other Documents: Free Resources
  • Briefs and Other Documents: Subscription Resources
• Oral Arguments
  • The Supreme Court's Website
  • Oyez
  • Additional Resources
  • Video
• Justices
  • Justices' Papers
  • Background Information
• Secondary Sources
  • Selected Books on the Supreme Court at the Law Library
  • Databases
• News
  • Publicly Accessible News Options
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Dockets are freely available for many Supreme Court cases:

• The Supreme Court's website has dockets for cases filed since the 2001 term (the system allows you to do basic keyword searches, using docket number, party or case name, or other keyword that might appear within the docket sheet;
• The National Archives has dockets for earlier cases (from the link, look under Details, and click "Search within this series").

Dockets are also available through subscription sources:

• ProQuest (select coverage from 1973)
• Lexis (beginning in 1953)
• Westlaw (beginning in 2000)
• Bloomberg Law (beginning in 2003)

Supreme Court decisions and opinions are available through a variety of sources:

• Supreme Court website:
  • Slip opinions
  • Opinions relating to orders
  • Bound volumes (U.S. Reports)
• Other free online sources:
  • Findlaw
  • Justia
  • Oyez (via Justia)
  • Scotusblog (via Casetext)
• Subscription databases:
  • ProQuest Supreme Court Insight
  • Bloomberg
  • Lexis
  • Westlaw

Until approximately 1883, dates of case decisions did not appear in the U.S. Reports.  To determine these case dates, consult the Supreme Court's Dates of Supreme Court Decisions and Arguments.