Research Guides: U.S. Government Information: Judiciary

About

The judicial branch includes the U.S. Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and other federal courts that handle cases involving the U.S. government, the Constitution, or federal laws. This branch also limits the powers of the legislative and executive branches through judicial review.

Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, 1789-present - Federal Judicial Center ( FJC)
The directory includes the biographies of judges presidentially appointed during good behavior who have served since 1789 on the U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, the Supreme Court of the United States, the former U.S. Circuit Courts, and the federal judiciary's courts of special jurisdiction.
Members of the Supreme Court (1789 to Present) - Timeline
The information included in this site was taken from a booklet prepared by the Supreme Court of the United States, and published with funding from the Supreme Court Historical Society. It is a product of the Official SCOTUS site.
Official website of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)
The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and such number of Associate Justices as may be fixed by Congress.

Judiciary resources

C-SPAN - Supreme Court
C-SPAN provides extensive coverage of public policy and political events, including campaign stops, press briefings, panel discussions, and author interviews.
HeinOnline - U.S. Supreme Court Library
HeinOnline’s U.S. Supreme Court Library offers the only complete coverage of the official U.S.Reports from 1754-2005. The U.S. Reports are the official record of the rulings, orders, case tables, and other proceedings of the Supreme Court of the United States. Other notable titles in this library include the Constitution of the United States of America, Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Reports Preliminary Prints, U.S. Reports Slip, Opinions, and other historic works...

Nexis Uni
Provides full-text access to U.S. federal and state statutes, regulations, court cases, administrative agency decisions, law reviews, to selected court briefs and pleadings, and legal news sources. Also includes international, national, local newspapers, and wire services, as well as radio and television transcripts. Business, medical, industry, and legislative magazines, journals, and newsletters and various directories are also available. Wide geographic coverage and translations from foreign-language sources, as well as news services like the Associated Press, Agence France Press, El Pais.

Nomination Hearings (1971 - forward). Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Supreme Court Nomination Hearings
Here are the complete transcripts of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on selected Supreme Court justice nominations since 1971. (File sizes are extremely large and may be slow to open. All files are in PDF.)
OpenJurist
United States Reports-Opinions and other transactions from the United States Supreme Court, beginning with its first session in 1790. The first four volumes also cover lower federal courts sitting in Pennsylvania and various Pennsylvania state courts.
SCOTUSBLOG - Supreme Court of the United States Blog
An award winning law blog, SCOTUSblog provides information and opinion on cases and happenings on the Supreme Court. It is the best online resource available tracking the activities at the Court.
Supreme Court Historical Society
The Society, a private non-profit organization, is dedicated to the collection and preservation of the history of the Supreme Court of the United States. Incorporated in the District of Columbia in 1974, it was founded by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, who served as its first honorary chairman.

Westlaw Campus Research
Provides a starting point for legal research; use the search box to find a document by citation or name, or search for documents. Your best bet for an initial search will come from Secondary Sources, you can find the link in the Browse section.

Federal courts generally

Briefs (Finding Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Briefs)
Finding appellate briefs is dependent upon the date of appeal, the salience of the case, etc. This site summarizes Ninth Circuit brief finding options.
LII / Legal Information Institute - Federal Law Materials - Judicial Opinions
Linking to decisions of U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts, and U.S. Courts of Special Jurisdiction.
U.S. Courts.gov
This website includes information about the United States Courts of Appeals and the Unites States District Courts and includes a geographic boundaries map.