Federal Court System
The Federal court system is composed of 94 district courts along with other trial courts, 12 courts of appeal, and a single supreme court. The U.S. Supreme Court can overturn statutes determined to conflict with the Constitution. When looking for U.S. Supreme Court cases bear in mind that slip opinions will often appear online within minutes. The United States Reports are the official reporter of the U.S. Supreme Court, but its publication is very delayed, so commercial titles may be more useful.
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitFederal circuit court for Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.
- Federal Rules (Cornell LII)Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Procedure, and Evidence.
Federal Case Law
- Justia U.S. Case LawFederal court cases.
- PACER : Public Access to Court Electronic RecordsThe Federal Judiciary's case and docket information database. [Free registration, with a charge for each page viewed.]
- Bloomberg LawLaw students & faculty only. Choose 'Federal Law', or 'Litigation & Dockets' tab. Provides access to many Federal court dockets.
Citations
When citing cases, ensure you follow standard citation practice, such as that outlined in The Bluebook.
Case citations are normally formatted: Party Names, Vol# Abbreviation Page# (jurisdiction. year).
- Legal Research & Study GuideLaw Library guide provides more information about legal citation.
- Using the Law Library: A Guide for Educators - Part II: Deciphering Citations & Other Ways of Locating Court OpinionsArticle by librarian William Hilyerd providing a guide to understanding citations & finding cases.
The Bluebook : A Uniform System of Citation by Call Number: KF245 .B58ISBN: 9780615361161Shelf range: Reserve Section
Authoritative guidance to legal citation.
Prince's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations by Call Number: KF246 .B46 2017ISBN: 9780837740393Publication Date: 2017Useful for interpreting older or non-standard legal citations.
Secondary Sources
- Federal Practice and Procedure byCall Number: KF8840 .W68 1982Regularly updated, multi-volume work.
- Moore's Federal Practice byCall Number: KF8820.A313 M63Also available as an e-book in the Lexis Brandeis Digital Library.
Regularly updated, multi-volume work. - Supreme Court Practice byCall Number: KF9057 .S8 2019ISBN: 1682675521Publication Date: 2019-01-01Shelf location: Reference
Supreme Court
- Supreme Court (Cornell LII)Supreme Court decisions.
- United States ReportsPublication Date: 1884-Shelf range: F-114 & F-115
Official reporter of the US Supreme Court. - United States Supreme Court ReportsPublication Date: 1957-Shelf range: F-114
Available electronically through Lexis.
Lexis Lawyer's Edition, is often published more quickly than the official reports. - West's Supreme Court ReporterPublication Date: 1988-Shelf range: F-113
Available electronically through Westlaw.
Often published more quickly than the official reports.
SCOTUSblog
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