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How to Cite Court Cases in APA Style | Format & Examples

Published on February 4, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 27, 2023.

Legal citations (e.g. court cases, laws ) in APA Style look somewhat different from other APA citations. They generally don’t list authors, and abbreviations are used to make them more concise.

Citations for court cases refer to reporters , the publications in which cases are documented. To cite a court case or decision, list the name of the case, the volume and abbreviated name of the reporter, the page number, the name of the court, the year, and optionally the URL.

The case name is italicized in the in-text citation, but not in the reference list. In the reference, specify only a single page number—the page where the coverage of that case begins—instead of a full page range.

You can easily create citations for court cases using our free  APA Citation Generator .

Table of contents

Abbreviations in apa legal citations, citing federal court cases, citing state court cases, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.

Most words are abbreviated in legal citations. This means that a very large number of standard abbreviations exist. Consult resources like this page to familiarize yourself with common abbreviations.

Pages where case information is found online also tend to show the correct form of citation for the case in question. You can check these to make sure you use the right abbreviations.

Note that “v.” (for “versus”) is used between the names of the parties in a case title, though APA recommends “vs.” outside the context of legal citations.

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Federal court cases are those that take place at the national level in the U.S.—in the U.S. Supreme Court, a circuit court, or a district court.

U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest federal court, and its decisions are reported in the United States Reports (abbreviated to “U.S.” in the reference). You don’t need to specify the court in parentheses in this case, since the name of the reporter already makes this clear.

Circuit court

Decisions from the U.S. circuit courts are reported in the Federal Reporter . This reporter has appeared in three series; the first is abbreviated as “F.”, the second as “F.2d”, and the third and current series as “F.3d”.

There are 13 circuit courts, so specify which one you’re citing in the parentheses, e.g. “9th Cir.”

District court

Decisions from the U.S. district courts are reported in the Federal Supplements.  Like the Federal Reporter , it has appeared in three series, abbreviated as “F. Supp.”, “F. Supp. 2d”, and “F. Supp. 3d”.

There are many different district courts, so specify which one is being cited in the parentheses, e.g. “N.D. Ohio.”

State courts are those that operate in specific states rather than federally. The two kinds of state court that are commonly cited are supreme courts and appellate courts. They are both cited in a similar format.

In APA Style , when you’re citing a recent court case that has not yet been reported in print and thus doesn’t have a specific page number, include a series of three underscores (___) where the page number would usually appear:

With APA legal citations, it’s recommended to cite all the reporters (publications reporting cases) in which a court case appears. To cite multiple reporters, just separate them with commas in your reference entry . This is called parallel citation .

Don’t repeat the name of the case, court, or year; just list the volume, reporter, and page number for each citation. For example:

No, including a URL is optional in APA Style reference entries for legal sources (e.g. court cases , laws ). It can be useful to do so to aid the reader in retrieving the source, but it’s not required, since the other information included should be enough to locate it.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, December 27). How to Cite Court Cases in APA Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/court-case/

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Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style

Gaining familiarity with the legal-citation practices used to document legal works may be impractical for student writers and sometimes even for scholars working in nonlegal fields. Nonspecialists can use MLA style to cite legal sources in one of two ways: strict adherence to the MLA format template or a hybrid method incorporating the standard legal citation into the works-cited-list entry. In either case, titles of legal works should be standardized in your prose and list of works cited according to the guidelines below.

Legal Style

Legal publications have traditionally followed the style set forth in the Harvard Law Review Association’s Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation , although some law reviews, such as the University of Chicago Law Review , have published their own style manuals. A more streamlined version of the Bluebook ’s legal-citation method, the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation , was introduced in 2000. The Legal Information Institute, a nonprofit associated with Cornell Law School, publishes an online guide to legal citation geared toward practitioners and nonspecialists instead of academics.

Those working in law are introduced to the conventions of legal citation during their professional training. Legal style is a highly complex shorthand code with specialized terminology that helps legal scholars and lawyers cite legal sources succinctly. It points specialists to the authoritative publication containing the legal opinion or law, regardless of the version the writer consulted.

Students and scholars working outside the legal profession and using MLA style should follow the MLA format template to cite laws, public documents, court cases, and other related material. Familiarize yourself with the guidelines in the MLA Handbook , sections 5.17–22, for corporate authors and government authors.

Following one of the fundamental principles of MLA style, writers citing legal works should document the version of the work they consult—not the canonical version of the law, as in legal style. As with any source in MLA style, how you document it will generally depend on the information provided by the version of the source you consulted.

Titles pose the greatest challenge to citing legal works in MLA style. Since MLA style keys references in the text to a list of works cited (unlike court filings, which cite works in the text of the brief, or academic legal writings, which cite works in footnotes ), writers should, with a few exceptions (noted below), standardize titles of legal sources in their prose and list of works cited. Following the MLA Handbook , italicize the names of court cases (70):

Marbury v. Madison

When you cite laws, acts, and political documents, capitalize their names like titles and set them in roman font (69):

Law of the Sea Treaty

Civil Rights Act

Code of Federal Regulations

When a legal source is contained within another work—for example, when the United States Code appears on a website that has a separate title—follow the MLA Handbook and treat the source as an independent publication (27). That is, style the title just as you would in prose—in italics if it is the name of a court case, in roman if it is a law or similar document; even though the legal source appears within a larger work, do not insert quotation marks around the title:

United States Code. Legal Information Institute , Cornell Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text.

For more on titles in legal citations in MLA style, see “Tips on Titles,” below.

Commonly Cited Sources

A few examples of using MLA style for commonly cited legal sources follow.

United States Supreme Court Decisions

United states supreme court dissenting opinions, federal statutes (united states code), public laws, federal appeals court decisions, federal bills, executive orders, state court of appeals, unpublished decisions, state senate bills, constitutions, international governing bodies.

Where you read the opinion of a United States Supreme Court decision will dictate how you cite it in MLA style. Legal-citation style, in contrast, points to the opinion published in the United States Reports , the authoritative legal source for the United States Supreme Court’s decisions, and cites the elements of that publication.

For example, the case Brown v. Board of Education is commonly abbreviated “347 U.S. 483” in legal citations: 347 is the volume number of United States Reports ; “U.S.” indicates that the opinion is found in United States Reports , which is the official reporter of the Supreme Court and indicates the opinion’s provenance; and the first page number of the decision is 483. (The American Bar Association has published a useful and concise overview of the components of a Supreme Court opinion .)

Regardless of the version you consult, you must understand a few basic things about the source: that it was written by a member of the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the majority and that, when you cite the opinion, the date on which the case was decided is the only date necessary to provide.

Following are examples of works-cited-list entries in MLA style for Brown v. Board of Education . The entries differ depending on whether the information was found on the Legal Information Institute website, published by Cornell University Law School, or on the Library of Congress website.

Legal Information Institute

The works-cited-list entry includes

• the government entity as author
• the name of the case (“Title of source” element)
• the year of the decision; it would also not be incorrect to include the day and month if it appears in your source
• the title of the website containing the case (“Title of container” element)
• the publisher of the website
• the website’s URL (“Location” element)

United States, Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education . 17 May 1954. Legal Information Institute , Cornell Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483.

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress site allows researchers to link to or download a PDF of the opinion from the United States Reports . To locate the case, the researcher must know the volume number of the United States Reports in which Brown v. Board of Education was published. A works-cited-list entry in MLA style would include the author (the government entity) and the title of the case, as well as the following information for container 1:

• United States Reports (“Title of container” element)
• vol. 347 (“Number” element)
• the date of the decision (“Publication date” element)
• page range (“Location” element)

Container 2 includes the name of the website publishing the case and its location, the URL. The publisher of the site is omitted since its name is the same as that of the site.

United States, Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education . United States Reports , vol. 347, 17 May 1954, pp. 483-97. Library of Congress , tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep347/usrep347483/usrep347483.pdf.

Sometimes, Supreme Court justices write dissenting opinions that accompany the published majority opinion. They are part of the legal record but not part of the holding—that is, the court’s ruling. If you cite only the dissent, you can treat it as the work you are citing:

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader. Dissenting opinion. Lilly Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. United States Reports , vol. 550, 29 May 2007, pp. 643-61. Supreme Court of the United States , www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/boundvolumes/550bv.pdf.

In MLA style, it will generally be clearest to create an entry for the United States Code in its entirety and cite the title and section number in the text, especially if you are referring to more than one section of the code.

If an online search directs you to the web page for a specific section of the United States Code, it would not be incorrect to cite the page for that section alone. For example, if you want to use MLA style to document title 17, section 304, of the United States Code—commonly abbreviated 17 U.S.C. § 304 in legal citations—title 17 can be treated as the work and thus placed in the “Title of source” slot on the MLA template, or if you cite the United States Code in its entirety, title 17 can be placed in the “Number” slot.

Your entry will once again depend on the version you consult. Below are examples from various websites.

website for the United States Code

On the website for the United States Code, you would likely determine that the United States House of Representatives is the author of the code. The United States Code is the title of the source, and since the source constitutes the entire website, no container needs to be specified: the source is self-contained, like a book (see p. 34 of the MLA Handbook ). The site lists the Office of the Law Revision Counsel as publisher, so you would include that name in the “Publisher” slot, followed by the date on which the code was last updated, and the URL as the location:

United States, Congress, House. United States Code. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 14 Jan. 2017, uscode.house.gov.

The body of your text or your in-text reference must mention title 17 and section 304 so the reader can locate the information you cite. It would not be wrong to include chapter 3 as well (title 17, ch. 3, sec. 304), although a discerning researcher will note that section numbers (304) incorporate chapter numbers (3), making “chapter 3” unnecessary to include.

If you do not include title 17 and section 304 in the text, you must include that information in the works-cited-list entry:

United States, Congress, House. United States Code. Title 17, section 304, Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 14 Jan. 2017, uscode.house.gov.

A nonspecialist would not be able to determine from the Legal Information Institute site that the United States House of Representatives is the author of the United States Code. A basic citation would include the title of the code as displayed on the site, the title of the website as the title of the container, the publisher of the website, and the location:

Government Publishing Office website

The website of the Government Publishing Office (variously referred to as the Government Printing Office) displays each statute heading (or “title”) as a web page:

You can treat title 17 as the work and the United States Code as the title of the container, as follows:

Title 17. United States Code, U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2011, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title17/html/USCODE-2011-title17.htm.

Or you can treat the United States Code as the title of the source and title 17 as a numbered section within the code, by placing title 17 in the “Number” slot on the MLA template:

United States Code. Title 17, U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2011, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title17/html/USCODE-2011-title17.htm.

Below are examples of how to cite other common legal sources in MLA style.

United States, Congress. Public Law 111-122. United States Statutes at Large , vol. 123, 2009, pp. 3480-82. U.S. Government Publishing Office , www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-123/pdf/STATUTE-123.pdf.

United States, Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Moss v. Colvin . Docket no. 15-2272, 9 Jan. 2017. United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit , www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions.html. PDF download.

It is customary to title court cases by using the last name of the first party on each side of the v . You may also wish to shorten a long URL, as we have done here .

United States, Congress, House. Improving Broadband Access for Veterans Act of 2016. Congress.gov , www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/6394/text. 114th Congress, 2nd session, House Resolution 6394, passed 6 Dec. 2016.

United States, Congress, House, Committee on Education and Labor. The Future of Learning: How Technology Is Transforming Public Schools . U.S. Government Publishing Office, 16 June 2009, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg50208/html/CHRG-111hhrg50208.htm. Text transcription of hearing.

After a president signs an executive order, the Office of the Federal Register gives it a number. It is then printed in the Federal Register and compiled in the Code of Federal Regulations. Executive orders usually also appear as press releases on the White House website upon signing.

United States, Executive Office of the President [Barack Obama]. Executive order 13717: Establishing a Federal Earthquake Risk Management Standard. 2 Feb. 2016. Federal Register , vol. 81, no. 24, 5 Feb. 2016, pp. 6405-10, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-02-05/pdf/2016-02475.pdf.

Minnesota State, Court of Appeals. Minnesota v. McArthur . 28 Sept. 1999, mn.gov/law-library-stat/archive//ctapun/9909/502.htm. Unpublished opinion.

Wisconsin State, Legislature. Senate Bill 5. Wisconsin State Legislature , 20 Jan. 2017, docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/related/proposals/sb5.

If a constitution is published in a named edition, treat it like the title of a book:

The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription . National Archives , U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 28 Feb. 2017, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript.

The Constitution of the United States, with Case Summaries . Edited by Edward Conrad Smith, 9th ed., Barnes and Noble Books, 1972.

References to the United States Constitution in your prose should follow the usual styling of titles of laws:

the Constitution

But your in-text reference should key readers to the appropriate entry:

( Constitution of the United States, with Case Summaries )

If the title does not indicate the country of origin, specify it in the entry:

France. Le constitution. 4 Oct. 1958. Legifrance , www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Droit-francais/Constitution/Constitution-du-4-octobre-1958.

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. United Nations, 1998, nfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf. Multilateral treaty.

United States, Senate. Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. Congress.gov , www.congress.gov/114/cdoc/tdoc8/CDOC-114tdoc8.pdf. Treaty between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

Swiss Confederation. Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft. 18 Apr. 1999. Der Bundesrat , 1 Jan. 2016, www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html.

United Nations, General Assembly. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Resolution 217 A, 10 Dec. 1948. United Nations , www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/. PDF download.

Writing for Specialists: A Hybrid Method

A writer using MLA style to document a legal work for a specialized readership that is likely to be familiar with the conventions of legal documentation may wish to adopt a hybrid method: in place of the author and title elements on the MLA format template, identify the work by using the Bluebook citation. Then, follow the MLA format template to list publication information for the version of the source you consulted.

For example, to cite the United States Code using the hybrid method, treat the section cited as the work. As above, you can omit the title of the website, United States Code , since the code constitutes the entire website and is thus a self-contained work.

17 U.S.C. § 304. Office of Law Revision Counsel, 14 Jan. 2017, uscode.house.gov.

If you are citing a court case, begin the entry with the title of the case before listing the Bluebook citation. In the hybrid style, cite Brown v. Board of Education as found on the Legal Information Institute website thus:

Brown v. Board of Education . 347 U.S. 483. Legal Information Institute , Cornell Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483.

Other sources (public laws, federal appeals court decisions, etc.) can be handled similarly.

If using the hybrid method, do not follow the handbook’s recommendation to alphabetize works that start with a number as if the number is spelled out. Instead, list works beginning with numbers before the first lettered entry and order numbered works numerically.

TIPS ON TITLES Styling titles when you document legal sources in MLA style may be challenging. Below are some guidelines. Standardize titles of legal sources in your prose unless you refer to the published version: as the MLA Handbook indicates, italicize the names of court cases, but capitalize the names of laws, acts, and political documents like titles and set them in roman font. When a legal source is contained within another work—for example, when the United States Code appears on a website with another title—follow the MLA Handbook , page 27, and treat the work as an independent publication. That is, style the title just as you would in prose—in italics if it is the name of a court case, in roman if it is a law or similar document; even though the legal source appears in a larger work, do not insert quotation marks around the title. In the names of court cases, use the abbreviation v. consistently, regardless of which abbreviation is used in the version of the work you are citing. To determine the name of a court case, use only the name of the first party that appears on either side of “v.” or “vs.” in your source; if the name is a personal name, use only the surname. To shorten the name of a court case in your prose after introducing it in full or in parenthetical references, use the name of the first-listed nongovernmental party. Thus, the case NLRB v. Yeshiva University becomes Yeshiva . If your list of works cited includes more than one case beginning with the same governmental party, list entries under the governmental party but alphabetize them by the first nongovernmental party: NLRB v. Brown University

NLRB v. Yeshiva University

Refer to the nongovernmental party in your prose and parenthetical reference, alerting readers to this system of ordering in a note .

Special thanks to Noah Kupferberg, of Brooklyn Law School, for assistance with these guidelines.

32 Comments

Laurie nebeker 08 august 2017 at 02:08 pm.

My eleventh-grade English students write research papers about Supreme Court cases. In the MLA 7th edition (5.7.14) there was a note about italicizing case titles in the text but not in the list of works cited or in parenthetical references. Has this changed for the 8th edition? Also, you've given examples about formatting SCOTUS rulings, but most of the resources my students use are articles about the cases from news sources, specialty encyclopedias, etc. Should case titles be italicized when they appear within article titles? Thanks!

Your e-mail address will not be published

Angela Gibson 09 August 2017 AT 07:08 AM

You are correct to note this change. To make legal works a bit easier to cite, we now recommend that writers italicize the names of court cases both in the text and the list of works cited. When the name of a court case is contained within another work, style the title just as you would anywhere else. Thus, a SCOTUS ruling in the title of a news article would appear in italics. Thanks for reading; I hope this helps!

Nia Alexander 31 January 2018 AT 06:01 PM

How would I cite the 2015 National Content Report? It contains information similar to that of a census.

Angela Gibson 01 February 2018 AT 07:02 AM

There is an example here: https://style.mla.org/citing-tables/.

Nathan Hoepner 12 February 2018 AT 01:02 AM

One of my students wants to use the Versailles Treaty (officially, "Treaty of Peace with Germany"). The Library of Congress has a pdf copy posted. Should he list the treaty in his sources with the URL, or, since is just a copy of the official treaty, just list title, date, and "multilateral treaty"?

ben zuk 17 March 2018 AT 06:03 PM

how would I cite Supreme Court case from Justia?

Patricia Morris 27 March 2018 AT 10:03 AM

Can you give an example for citing the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics?

Michael Park 03 May 2018 AT 12:05 PM

How do i cite a introduced bill into congress

ML Chilson 04 November 2018 AT 05:11 PM

How do I cite a pending case that is still at the trial court level, including citation to the briefs that have been filed by the various parties?

Blah 08 November 2018 AT 11:11 AM

how do you cite a complaint in mla format

Marlow Chapman 10 December 2018 AT 08:12 PM

How would one cite a Title (specifically Title VII) from the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Angela Gibson 11 December 2018 AT 05:12 PM

How you cite it will depend on where you access it. Some points: following the MLA format template, your entry will start with the title of the law. This will either be Civil Rights Act or Title 7 (see the discussion of Federal Statutes above for considerations about which title to begin your entry with). Your in-text citation (whether in prose or parentheses) should direct the reader to the first element in your works-cited list (in other words, the title).

Jeff Jeskie 04 February 2019 AT 08:02 AM

How do my students properly list the Supreme Court cases that are linked on the Exploring Constitutional Law site by Doug LInder at UMKC Law School site?

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/home.html?

Patricia Moseley 14 February 2019 AT 10:02 AM

I need help. My 8th grade history class is answering questions on the US Constitution and citing their answer.

There are five rights in the First Amendment, which include freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government for a redress of their grievances (U.S. Constitution).

Is this in-text citation done correctly? Also, are the amendments spell out or does one use the Roman numeral in text?

Thank You!!!

Angela Gibson 15 February 2019 AT 10:02 AM

If U.S. Constitution is the first element in the works-cited-list entry, the in-text citation is correct. Spell out ordinal numbers (First Amendment), but use numerals for numbers of count (Amendment V) and, by convention, use Roman numerals for divisions of legal works that use them.

Ella 05 December 2019 AT 08:12 PM

How would you cite a state supreme court case?

Ana 06 December 2019 AT 09:12 AM

How would I cite an Act? More precisely, I want to cite The New York State Dignity for All Students Act. How would I do it on in-text citations and on the work cited page? Thanks!

Amanda 17 April 2020 AT 05:04 PM

How would I cite a tribal constitution? Do I use the date of the original publication or the most recent amendment or resolution?

most are found on their tribal government websites so would i treat it like this:

(italicized) Title of Document: Subtitle if Given (italicized) . Edition if given and is not first edition, Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

yet, I still do not know what date to use. Or should i just cite it from a print publication or Nat. Archives so I can use the example given in your list above?

Angela Gibson 20 April 2020 AT 09:04 AM

Cite the version you're looking at and use the date of access if it's the only date you can provide.

Marissa 25 October 2020 AT 05:10 PM

How would you cite The Declaration of Independence?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 26 October 2020 AT 08:10 PM

Thanks for your question. Please consult Ask the MLA: https://style.mla.org/category/ask-the-mla/

Carol Holyoke 19 January 2021 AT 10:01 PM

Could you please tell me how to cite the Declaration of Independence? Do I put it in the Works Cited List?

Angela Gibson 20 January 2021 AT 09:01 AM

It is generally a good idea to create a works-cited-list entry for the version of the document you are transcribing a quotation from (e.g., see our example for the Constitution). Create your entry just as you would for any other source--follow the template of core elements and list any relevant elements that apply.

Diane 23 February 2021 AT 07:02 PM

How do I correctly cite a Congressional public law In Text? I can only find how to cite in works cited pages. Thank you!

Rowena 28 April 2021 AT 09:04 AM

If I quote sections from a piece of legislation does it need to be italicised as well as quotation marks?

Charlotte Norcross 15 November 2021 AT 11:11 AM

How do I correctly cite the congressional record from a specific session? Thanks!

Carl Sandler 02 February 2022 AT 02:02 PM

I am submitting a report to an attorney consisting of investigative findings related to an automobile accident. Some of the information in my report will be technical in nature and other information will be in the form of my opinion(s) based on conclusions drawn from deposition testimony of witnesses and persons knowledgeable of the event. Considering the report will be read by both legal professionals and others not of the legal profession, what approach and format (with examples, please) should be used to cite deposition testimony and also Exhibits presented during the taking of the deposition? I am familiar with Bluebook style of legal citations, however not all persons reading my report would have this same understanding.

Lev 18 April 2022 AT 11:04 AM

Dear MLA Editor: When citing court cases in another language (French), should I keep the title of the case in the original language, translate it, or provide a translation in brackets? The same question goes for the name of the docket number, court, date of publication, and other elements. The MLA manual does not offer any guidance on this! Thanks in advance for any help.

Heidi 27 April 2023 AT 10:04 AM

What is the proper way to reference a recently filed lawsuit (a pending case) in legal writing (letters and memos)? Thanks!

Jennifer Washington 13 February 2024 AT 11:02 PM

How are state educational codes shaping standards for textbooks and materials cited in-text and on works cited?

Margaret Handrow 09 April 2024 AT 09:04 AM

How are state laws and state house bills cited? What would be the in-text citations for state laws and state house bills?

Laura Kiernan 09 April 2024 AT 03:04 PM

For guidance on citing state laws, see this post on the Style Center .

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If you have a question for the MLA's editors, submit it to Ask the MLA!

Background Essay: The Supreme Court and the Bill of Rights

Guiding Question: How has the Supreme Court decided cases in controversies related to the Bill of Rights?

• I can identify the role of the Supreme Court in protecting civil liberties.
• I can explain how the Supreme Court’s role has changed over time.

Essential Vocabulary

During the last 60 years, the Supreme Court has become perhaps the central defender of civil liberties, or freedoms that government is not allowed to restrict, in the United States. This role has been a relatively recent development that marked a distinct change from the Founding, when the Court mostly addressed government powers. The evolution of this role for the Court has greatly expanded popular expectations of enjoying individual rights. However, it has also been fraught with numerous difficulties, both for the constitutional order and for the Supreme Court itself, as it has become the center of controversy about rights.

Limited Government and the Supreme Court

The original Founding understanding of the Bill of Rights was that it limited the powers of the federal government to violate the rights of the people. When originally ratified, the Bill of Rights only applied to the national government, not to state governments. State governments had their own bills of rights to protect their citizens. This reflected the constitutional principle of federalism, or the separation of powers between state and national governments. The Supreme Court endorsed this Founding view that the Bill of Rights applied only to the national government in the case Barron v. Baltimore (1833).

Moreover, this also represented the principle of limited government, one of the foundations of protecting liberties. The national government had certain enumerated and implied powers that the three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—exercised in making, executing, and interpreting the law. Enumerated powers are those listed explicitly in the Constitution. Implied powers are those that government has that are not written in the document. The national government could not exceed these powers to violate the liberties of the people. To further this protection, states had their own bills of rights. The Declaration of Independence asserted that the ultimate protection of the people’s liberties is the overthrow of a tyrannical government after a long train of abuses.

The role of the Court was to hear all cases arising under the Constitution. After the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803), the Court’s role expanded to include determining the constitutionality of governmental laws and actions. However, there was debate over whether or not the other branches also had the responsibility of interpreting the Constitution.

It is important to note that although the Court could rule a law or action unconstitutional, it was not necessarily the final word on the Constitution. In a speech critical of the Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) decision, Abraham Lincoln quoted Andrew Jackson, saying, “The Congress, the executive and the court, must each for itself be guided by its own opinion of the Constitution.” Lincoln was arguing that the Court’s authority and just precedents , or earlier laws or rulings, should be respected, but the Supreme Court was not necessarily the final word on the meaning of the Constitution and could make errors, as it did in Dred Scott . All the branches must interpret the document in the exercise of their constitutional powers for the ends of liberty, equality, and justice.

The Supreme Court, Incorporation, and the Bill of Rights from the Twentieth Century to Today

The due process clause of the 14th Amendment led to the incorporation of the Bill of Rights, which meant that the Supreme Court applied the Bill of Rights to the states. During the first half of the twentieth century, the Court incorporated the Bill of Rights selectively in a few cases. For example, it extended the First Amendment right of free speech against state violation in Gitlow v. New York (1925) and freedom of the press in Near v. Minnesota (1931).

The popular understanding of the Court as the protector of individual rights became widely accepted during the Warren Court (1953–1969) and after. Many of the decisions were controversial because Americans viewed the issues involved differently. Some Americans questioned whether the Court was the appropriate branch to define rights or whether it should be left to the other branches of government or the amendment process. The Court also controversially overturned the laws and common values of states and local communities for one uniform, national standard.

The Court expanded the application of the Bill of Rights (incorporated) to the states in several areas and protected civil liberties in new ways. For example, the Court banned school-sponsored prayer and Bible reading in public schools in Engel v. Vitale (1962) and Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), respectively, for violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

The Court protected the rights of students in local public schools in other ways. In Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), the Court decided that students had the right of free speech to protest the Vietnam War under the First Amendment. The students had worn black armbands to protest the war despite a warning not to, and the school suspended them.

The Court protected the rights of the accused in major cases during the mid-1960s. The Court stated that criminal defendants are entitled to an attorney in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963). The Court excluded, or left out, illegally seized criminal evidence under the Fourth Amendment in Mapp v. Ohio (1964). In Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the Court decided that police officers must provide a “Miranda warning” informing accused people of their rights before questioning them about a crime.

The Court also made key decisions on moral issues that were fiercely debated in American society. In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Court asserted that a “right to privacy” exists and is implicit in several amendments of the Bill of Rights. Therefore, the Court declared a state law banning birth control unconstitutional. The decision was a precedent for the use of the right to privacy argument in Roe v. Wade (1973), which established a right to abortion.

In recent decades, the Court helped protect gay rights. In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Court invalidated state laws banning homosexual acts. In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the Court made gay marriage a right when it required states to recognize the same-sex marriages of other states.

The Supreme Court has left a mixed record regarding its decisions related to the Bill of Rights. On one hand, Court rulings have protected what seem like reasonable and fundamental individual liberties. On the other hand, the Court has made rulings on cultural, social, and moral disputes that often did little to resolve the wider debate over the issues and maybe even fueled division among Americans. In recent decades, for better or worse, Americans have increasingly looked to the Supreme Court as the protector of civil liberties and the final word on the Constitution.

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Lecturer in Legal Studies, Bryant University

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From gun rights to the availability of the abortion pill to at least one – and possibly a second – constitutional case involving former President Donald Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering cases this term that may result in momentous decisions in 2024 .

If you follow news coverage of these and other cases, you may want to read the Supreme Court decisions for yourself to fully understand what was decided, why and how. But when you read a Supreme Court case for the first time, the legal language, unique formatting and structure can be daunting, like looking at a giant rock face and not having any clue about how you climb to the top.

I have taught law to undergraduates for the past 12 years , so I am sympathetic to the nonlawyer’s plight. Here are some techniques I teach my students to help them break a Supreme Court opinion into digestible parts. They should help you begin to understand what was decided, why and how in the important cases being considered by the court this term.

Where do I find the case?

First, make sure you know the names of the parties – meaning the different people, companies or organizations involved – in the case. This may require some quick research. For instance, a search for “abortion pill case” results in this article . When I skim the article, I learn that the Food and Drug Administration is being sued by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, so these are the parties in the case .

Once you know the names of the parties, there are several free options available to find the court’s actual ruling, which is called a written opinion. You can search on the Supreme Court’s website or on Oyez.org . On both sites, the default search option is for cases in the current term, which is October 2023 through October 2024. Take care to adjust your search for the correct time period if you are looking for a case decided in a prior term.

Because the opinions are often long, I recommend getting a PDF version of the case so you can more easily skim and find what you are looking for.

Is this entire document the opinion of the case?

No. Once you get the PDF of a specific case, the document begins with the “Syllabus,” which is the court’s summary of what the case is about. It briefly sets out the facts and the legal principles, as well as the outcome of the case. This is like the blurb on a book jacket –– a preview or summary, but not the entire work.

Keep reading to find the part labeled “Opinion of the Court,” which represents the court’s official decision in this case. The opinion will include an opening sentence along the lines of “Justice X delivered the opinion of the court.”

Toward the end of the opinion, you may see what is called a “concurrence” and/or a “dissent.” A concurrence generally means that the justice who wrote it agrees with the decision of the court – what is called the “holding” – but does not agree with the reasoning for getting there.

A dissent, on the other hand, disagrees with the decision of the court for any number of reasons. The top of the page will be labeled either “concurrence” or “dissent” and will also state which justice or justices authored it. There may be more than one concurrence or dissent in an opinion.

While a concurrence and dissent are important records of some justices’ thinking on the issue, they are not part of the opinion. The content of a Supreme Court opinion is considered “binding precedent,” which means all other courts must follow this decision in the opinion. The concurrence and dissent are not binding, meaning no court is obligated to follow those decisions. However, they are both valuable records and can provide guidance for future legal cases about how justices are likely to view certain legal arguments.

How do I make sense of the opinion?

The opinion is generally made up of four parts: the facts, the issue, the holding and the reasoning. These parts may not be specifically identified with headers, but they are the main ingredients of the opinion. Here’s what each part means.

Facts: This is a summary of who is suing whom about what and why. It may also describe which lower court or courts decided the issue and how it was decided before the case arrived at the Supreme Court. You’ll find the facts at the beginning of the opinion.

Issue: This is the question the court is being asked to decide. It might be located at the start of the opinion or at the end of the facts. Sometimes, there may be more than one issue. To find the issue(s), look for key phrases like: The question before us is … We are asked to decide if … We consider the question whether …

Holding: This is the court’s answer to the question(s) posed. This answer will serve as precedent to guide future cases on this topic at both the Supreme Court as well as lower courts. Sometimes the holding can be found right after the issue. Other times, it appears much later in the opinion or at the end. Some key phrases identifying the holding: Therefore we conclude … We hold … We find …

Reasoning: Most of the opinion will be the reasoning. The reasoning explains how the court reached its holding. The court may explain which existing precedent – holdings from prior Supreme Court cases – applies. The court may also spend time explaining how to interpret language in a federal statute or balance conflicting rights, such as one person’s right to privacy and another person’s right to free speech .

Opinions are often long, so skim first. Consider reading simply for organization, like finding the headings in a textbook chapter to understand the broad ideas. Where does each part begin and end? How many concurrences or dissents are there, and who wrote them?

The concurrence or dissent may not describe the issue the same way as in the opinion. This is precisely why a justice writes a separate explanation – they may feel that the court should have framed the issue differently and perhaps reached a different outcome.

Finally, do not expect to fully understand the content of the opinion at first glance. Even experienced legal professionals need time to carefully read the opinion. Instead, aim to get a feel for the organization and nuance of the opinion. These techniques will give you some footing to begin to make sense of the case and find the parts that are of interest to you.

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U.S. Supreme Court Decisions

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Legal Citation

Legal citations are very specifically formatted and include many abbreviations, and they can be a challenge to create or understand. Use the following resources for information on how to cite legal sources.

• Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (Cornell) Based on the 18th edition of the "Bluebook" and other legal citation sources.
• Thurgood Marshall Law Library Understanding Citations to Basic Legal Resources

Citing Cases

Legal citations take a different form than journal article citations and are very specifically formatted and include many abbreviations, and they can be a challenge to create or understand.

As an example, the case Roe v. Wade would be cited: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) .

The citation is read:

410 = Volume 410 of the

U.S. =  United States Reports

113 = case begins on page 113  

1973 = date of the case decision

The official reporter is the United States Reports (US) and the two unofficial, parallel reporters are the

Supreme Court Reporter (S.CT) and 

United States Supreme Court Reports Lawyers' Edition (L. Ed. or L.Ed.2nd).

The same case can also be found in the parallel reporters:

93 S.Ct. 705 = Volume 93 beginning at page 705

35 L.Ed.2d 147, Volume 35 at page 147.

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The National Constitution Center’s Supreme Court Cases Library includes materials on the most influential Supreme Court cases in American history. To ensure nonpartisan rigor and ideological diversity, we enlisted a pair of leading scholars from diverse constitutional perspectives—Caroline Fredrickson and Ilan Wurman—to help choose the landmark cases included in the Supreme Court Cases Library . The Supreme Court Cases Library also includes landmark cases curated by the National Constitution Center team.

Constitutional Topics

Kennedy v. bremerton school district.

597 U.S. __ (2022)

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

597 U.S. ___ (2022)

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo

592 U. S. __ (2020)

Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru

591 U.S. __ (2020)

Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue

Carpenter v. united states.

585 U.S. ___ (2018)

Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

584 U.S.__ (2018)

Obergefell v. Hodges

576 U.S. ___ (2015)

Zivotofsky v. Kerry

Town of greece v. galloway.

572 U.S. 565 (2014)

Shelby County v. Holder

570 U.S. 529 (2013)

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius

567 U.S. 519 (2012)

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

558 U.S. 310 (2010)

District of Columbia v. Heller

554 U.S. 570 (2008)

Lawrence v. Texas

539 U.S. 558 (2003)

Bush v. Gore

531 U.S. 98 (2000)

Printz v. United States

521 U.S. 898 (1997)

Washington v. Glucksberg

521 U.S. 702 (1997)

United States v. Virginia

518 U.S. 515 (1996)

United States v. Lopez

514 U.S. 549 (1995)

Employment Division v. Smith

494 U.S. 872 (1990)

Texas v. Johnson

491 U.S. 397 (1989)

Morrison v. Olson

487 U.S. 654 (1988)

Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier

484 U.S. 260 (1988)

South Dakota v. Dole

483 U.S. 203 (1987)

Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.

467 U.S. 837 (1984)

Lynch v. Donnelly

465 U.S. 668 (1984)

Harlow v. Fitzgerald

457 U.S. 800 (1982)

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

438 U.S. 265 (1978)

United States v. Nixon (The Tapes Case)

418 U.S. 683 (1974)

Frontiero v. Richardson

411 U.S. 677 (1973)

Roe v. Wade

410 U.S. 113 (1973)

Wisconsin v. Yoder

406 U.S. 205 (1972)

New York Times Co. v. United States (The Pentagon Papers Case)

403 U.S. 713 (1971)

Brandenburg v. Ohio

395 U.S. 444 (1969)

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

393 U.S. 503 (1969)

Terry v. Ohio

392 U.S. 1 (1968)

Katz v. United States

389 U.S. 347 (1967)

Loving v. Virginia

388 U.S. 1 (1967)

Miranda v. Arizona

384 U.S. 436 (1966)

South Carolina v. Katzenbach

383 U.S. 301 (1966)

Griswold v. Connecticut

381 U.S. 479 (1965)

United States v. Seeger

380 U.S. 163 (1965)

Reynolds v. Sims

377 U.S. 533 (1964)

New York Times Company v. Sullivan

376 U.S. 254 (1964)

Sherbert v. Verner

374 U.S. 398 (1963)

Gideon v. Wainwright

372 U.S. 335 (1963)

Engel v. Vitale

370 U.S. 421 (1962)

Mapp v. Ohio

367 U.S. 643 (1961)

Sweezy v. New Hampshire

354 U.S. 234 (1957)

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

347 U.S. 483 (1954)

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (Steel Seizure Case)

343 U.S. 579 (1952)

Terminiello v. Chicago

337 U.S. 1 (1949)

Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing Township

330 U.S. 1 (1947)

Korematsu v. United States

323 U.S. 214 (1944)

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette

319 U.S. 624 (1943)

Wickard v. Filburn

317 U.S. 111 (1942)

Thornhill v. Alabama

310 U.S. 88 (1940)

Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins

304 U.S. 64 (1938)

United States v. Carolene Products Co.

304 U.S. 144 (1938)

West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish

300 U.S. 379 (1937)

Crowell v. Benson

285 U.S. 22 (1932)

Stromberg v. California

283 U.S. 359 (1931)

Olmstead v. United States

277 U.S. 438 (1928)

Whitney v. California

274 U.S. 357 (1927)

Gitlow v. New York

268 U.S. 652 (1925)

Pierce v. Society of Sisters

268 U.S. 510 (1925)

Abrams v. United States

250 U.S. 616 (1919)

Schenck v. United States

249 U.S. 47 (1919)

Lochner v. New York

198 U.S. 45 (1905)

United States v. Wong Kim Ark

169 U.S. 649 (1898)

Plessy v. Ferguson

163 U.S. 537 (1896)

Chinese Exclusion Case—Chae Chan Ping v. United States

130 U.S. 581 (1889)

The Civil Rights Cases

109 U.S. 3 (1883)

Strauder v. West Virginia

100 U.S. 303 (1880)

Reynolds v. United States

98 U.S. 145 (1879)

Minor v. Happersett

88 U.S. 162 (1875)

Bradwell v. The State of Illinois

83 U.S. 130 (1873)

The Slaughter-House Cases

83 U.S. 36 (1873)

Dred Scott v. Sandford

60 U.S. 393 (1857)

McCulloch v. Maryland

17 U.S. 316 (1819)

Marbury v. Madison

5 U.S. 137 (1803)

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• Essay Database >
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• Essay on Crime

Good Example Of Essay On Supreme Court Case

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Crime , Criminal Justice , Social Issues , Court , Supreme Court , Actus Reus , Tort Law , Liability

Words: 1000

Published: 12/13/2021

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Over the period from 2010 to 2016 the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its rulings in a range of landmark criminal cases, dealing with diverse topics, such as freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, rights regarding counsel, detainment of suspects in terrorism, as well as criminal sentences. The case Miller v Alabama (2012) belongs to the last category. The major finding of the Court in this case was that mandatory sentences of life, not including the parole possibility, are unconstitutional in relation to juvenile offenders. The case was referred to the Supreme Court by Evan Miller, a 14-year boy, who was sentenced to life. Acting together with his friend of similar age, Evan Miller committed a homicide by setting fire in a trailer, where his friend and he tended to buy drugs from a neighbor. The case is appealing to me in several domains. Firstly, I am interested in juvenile justice, and keep an eye on all the Supreme Court cases that relate to this field. Secondly, the case has an interesting line of reasoning that includes reconsidering several previous cases, where juvenile criminals were tried as adults (charged with a life term without the right to parole). Thus, current case is of special interest due to the fact that it led to overcoming an existing approach to charging juvenile criminals. At the same time, the case followed the general line of Ropper v Simmons (2005) and Graham v Florida (2010) that acknowledged the constitutionality of diminished culpability of children in criminal cases, not relating to life sentence. Furthermore, the sentence will affect a variety of rulings, because laws of twenty states in the U.S. tended to provide for life sentence without a parole for juveniles, who committed homicide. Lower courts are currently obliged to reconsider existing sentences. Considering the case, the judges took into account different sources of criminal law. Thus, the legislation of Alabama and a range of the U.S. Supreme Court cases were considered. The cases under study included inter alia Jackson v State (2003), Ropper v Simmons (2005) and Graham v Florida (2010). The above cases mostly dealt with constitutionality of specific legislative norms under Eighth Amendment, protecting an individual from cruel and unusual punishment. For example, in Ropper v Simmons (2005) the U.S. Supreme Court found that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishments for crimes that are committed by individuals, who did not reach the age of eighteen. Prior to the landmark decision in Ropper v Simmons (2005) there has been twenty nine juvenile offenders, who were executed since 1976. In Miller v Alabama (2012) the Supreme Court dealt with two jurisdictions: federal and the one of Alabama state. Criminal law, related to in the case, is tightly interconnected with the Eighth Amendment and the concept of national consensus. The notion of criminal liability refers to the liability that arises from one’s committing a criminal act or breaking a law. In turn, accomplice liability allows a court to sentence a person for a crime, committed by another person. If an individual encourages, aids or assists one in the commission of the crime, he/she is considered to be accomplice to the crime. At the same time, a person, who actually committed a crime, is referred to as a principal. In the case under study, only the notion of criminal liability is applicable. Evan Miller and his friend acted together, when committing a crime, and, thus, both of them are criminally liable for homicide. The elements of a crime are as follows. They include means rea (mental state of a defendant), conduct (actus rea), concurrence of means rea and actus rea, as well as causation. Actus reus is a critical element of the crime that characterizes its physical aspect. Actus reus can be reflected in the form of an act or an omission (failure to act). The crucial thing about the act as a form of actus reus is that the act is to be committed voluntarily. The Model Penal Code provides the list of acts that are considered not to be voluntarily. They can include, for instance, a reflex or convulsion, as well as a bodily movement that takes place during unconsciousness or sleep. Omission (failure to act) is usually not considered to constitute an act and cause liability. However, the statutes tend to single out particular situations, when omission leads to liability. “Means rea” is Latin for “guilty mind”. This element of the crime characterizes its mental aspect, accompanying the actus reus. The levels (modes) of means rea are different across the U.S. jurisdictions. Determining the mode of culpability is crucial for deciding the cases. Basic modes of culpability include a purposeful act, a knowing act, a reckless and a negligent act. While in the case of purposeful act one aims to cause a specific result, when acting, the concept of knowing act provides for knowing that the result can take place, but not willing it to occur. A reckless act takes place, when an individual consciously disregards the risk, associated with his actions. This risk is to be substantial and justifiable. Finally, negligent act is not concerned with conscious disregard of the risk. Concurrence is a crucial element of the structure of a crime. While not every act needs to be characterized with means rea, actus reus is essential When both elements are required, they have to concur. The concurrence means that mental aspect of the crime serves as a foundation for committing an act. In current case, actus reus was manifested by setting a fire in a trailer. The accused set a fire purposefully to avoid paying for drugs. Means rea and actus reus concurred.

Denno, D, McGivney, A.A. (2009). Selected Model Penal Code provisions. Retrieved 26 January 2016 from http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/13023/13335893/downloadables/model_penal_code_sel_sec2.pdf Miller v Alabama, 567 U.S. ____(2012) Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005)

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218 Essay about Court Examples & Topics

Need to write an essay about court system? Looking for a court case essay example? The issues of law and crimes are crucial in society are fascinating and worth exploring!

🏆 Best Court Topics for Essays

⚖️ court system essay topics, 👍 a+ court case essay examples, 👨‍⚖️ essay about court: samples, 💡 top judicial essay topics, ✍️ court essay topics for college.

In your court system essay, you might want to focus on American judicial system. Another idea is to discuss the theory and functions of criminal courts. One more option is to find some interesting legal issues and discuss them. Whether you’re planning to write an argumentative or analysis essay, this article will be helpful. It contains interesting court system essay examples, judicial essay topics, and ideas for your court essay.

• Joseph Haydn’s Contract With the Esterhazy Court Joseph Haydn’s contract for work at the Esterhazy Court is a distinctive document that needs to be preserved because it explains the authorities’ attitudes to the music and composers in the eighteenth century.
• The Criminal Trial: Court Observation Report In this case, the accused was found guilty of the crime and the outcome of the judgment was that he would serve a minimum of ten years in prison.
• Casebrief, Based on the Supreme Court: State V Hoying W L Hoying fully acknowledging the violation of writing to the victim, which is in violation of the civil protection order asked Ms.
• Benefits of Three-Tier Court System In the three-tier court system, there are the trial courts, the first appellate courts, and the U.S. Thus, the three-tier court system consists of a regional court, an appellate court, and a supreme court.
• “Supreme Revenge: Battle for the Court”: Documentary Analysis The content of the documentary is proof that the Judiciary is a political playfield for the Democratic and the Republican parties as they struggle for control.
• Court Structure in England and Wales The article below illustrates the hierarchical arrangement of the court structure in England and Wales. In England and Wales, the Supreme Court is the utmost court of petition.
• People vs. O’Neil Supreme Court Desicion In addition to the murder and involuntary manslaughter charges, the jury also charged the individual and corporate defendants with reckless conduct. Secondly, the defendants argued that the murder charges were inconsistent with the involuntary manslaughter […]
• Court Hearing Visit Report Despite the need to uphold the principle of the open justice, some courts are held in camera, that is, they are not open to the public.
• The R v Gordon Wood Case and Court Decision It was brought to the attention of the judge that a week before Caroline was found dead, she had been seen in the company of the accused at a city fitness centre.
• The International Criminal Court Thus, it is essential to formulate the strengths and weaknesses of the ICC and Victor’s justice and to describe the relationship with the U.S.
• Harris vs. Forklift Systems Supreme Court Case The inference from this view is that Charles Hardy did not deprive Teresa Harris of equal rights for employment and was a person who was taught to disrespect women.
• Supreme Court’s Decision in Tinker vs. Des Moines Nevertheless, the court protected the school and claimed the reasonability and fairness of its actions regarding the suspension of the students.
• Intake Officers in Juvenile Court System The final duty of the Intake officer is to determine whether it would be safe to release the juvenile or not.
• A Case Against Polygraph Evidence Admissibility in Court The survival of any civilization depends on the establishment of laws of conduct and the following of the same by all the members of the society.
• International Court of Justice: Definition, History and Importance The purpose of the court is to serve as the organ of judicial arbitration between countries that are members of the United Nations; it is also the organ that gives legal advice to the UN […]
• Case Brief on Reynolds vs. Sims The inadequate apportionment presented in the Alabama legislature deprived voters of rights stipulated in the Fourteenth Amendment and in the Alabama Constitution.
• “The Supreme Court: Home to America’s Highest Court” Documentary In this documentary, Chief Justice John Roberts discusses the principal goal of the Supreme Court and the West Plaza, the site of several public protests.
• Hearsay Evidence and Witness Testimony in Court A statement is only considered as hearsay if the objective of the testimony being presented is to prove the truth of its contents.
• Expert Witnesses and Testimony in Four Court Cases The first case that was linked to the admissibility of expert evidence was Frye v.the United States, in 1923. The Kumho case expanded the use of Daubert and Joiner guidelines to any expert evidence.
• Larry Hillblom: Should Larry Junior Go to Court or Settle? Due to the fact that he did not stipulate that illegitimate children would be unable to receive an inheritance, anyone who could prove themselves to be a child of Larry Hillblom would be a legitimate […]
• The World Court or International Court of Justice All of the cases of the Court are submitted to the Registrar and when the Registrar receives the case, it is dated based on the date of receipt by the Registrar.
• Theory of Negligence Advance in High Court in Australia One such value judgment is the capacity to proof that the damage caused to the plaintiff was foreseeable in the most reasonable sense by a reasonable individual in a similar position as the defendant during […]
• Why Juveniles Should Be Tried in Adults’ Court? Secondly, juveniles should be tried in adults’ court to reduce and minimize crime in the society. When a juvenile commits a crime such as murder, the effects are overwhelming in the society and the impact […]
• United States Supreme Court Justices It should be noted that the role of judges is to guarantee fair decisions to the parties to the process. Accordingly, in an adversarial process, the role of the judge is to control the process […]
• Supreme Court’s Decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma In my view, the ruling revealed the fact that Oklahoma has, for a long time, ignored the requirement that Congress is the sole entity with the power to establish the boundaries of a tribal reservation.
• Nurses in the Court, Licensure, and Regulation Nursing licensure refers to the process in various regulatory bodies, such as the Board of Nursing, to ensure that the nursing practices are within its jurisdiction.
• The American Government and Supreme Court Composition If the current Supreme Court judges were to hear the case, they still would uphold the ruling because it reflects their beliefs of defining the US as a haven dedicated to respecting human rights and […]
• Court Cases Concerning Nursing Education In the process, the question is whether the court’s ruling in favor of the nurse and against the doctor can be justified by a sufficient purpose.
• Enea vs. Superior Court of Monterey County: Case Analysis The issue for determination is if actions that have a negative impact on the profits of the business constitute a breach of fiduciary duty, even though the partnership agreement does not specifically ban such behavior.
• The Griffin vs. California Supreme Court Case In the court, Griffin refused to testify, and according to a prosecutor, the defendant’s choice was evidence of guilt. In turn, it is the responsibility of the prosecution to prove the defendant’s guilt based on […]
• Discussion Thread: International Court As well known, in the aftermath of World War II, the Allies proposed the creation of an international court for the persecution of war criminals, which became known as the International Court of Justice, later […]
• State vs. Anderson: Supreme Court Summary With its main purposes to obtain, store, and review information received from fingerprints, the AFIS system is fundamental in the investigation of criminal cases.
• Supreme Court: Originalism and Textualism Regardless of the decision to be made, conservative Supreme Court Justices are going to be split because of the misinterpretations of the new approach called textualism.
• European Court of Justice Case Analysis Therefore, the company’s vehicles that featured the defeat device in the engine were prohibited per Article 5 of Regulation No 715/2007.
• Being Outside International Criminal Court Jurisdiction The regime gives the ICC power to assert its jurisdiction in that particular nation as long it is a member nation of the court.
• Employee Benefits Program for Supreme Court Justice They are also a guarantee of the independence of the Supreme Court Justice representative in the performance of his duties. In case of the death of a representative of the Supreme Court Justice related to […]
• United States vs. Nixon Landmark Supreme Court Decision Nixon case happened in 1974 is one of the most critical decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States because it rejected the privileges that the head of the state supposedly had.
• The Supreme Court Chief Justice Position: Recruitment Plan Afterward, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court must be appointed by the President, with the following approval by the Senate. As a result, fairness and the absence of bias in court judgment will be […]
• Transferring a Defendant to an Adult Court In the given case, it seems pretty challenging to transfer the defendant to the adult court due to the number of mental challenges.
• Legal Trends of In-Court Accommodations This study by Celik owes that disclosure of cases of child sexual abuse is directly related to the individual and environmental factors in different age groups.
• Section 2339B of the US Code in Court Case To begin, the court concluded that the legislation was clear since the sections of the Act that pertained to the plaintiffs’ anticipated behavior were specified explicitly.
• The Sanowicz vs. Bacal Court Appeal Case I would like to appeal to the decision made by the Court that has concluded that a referral fee must be paid despite the lack of the necessary agreement.
• Addressing and Respecting Citizens’ Rights in Supreme Court Facts of The Case: Harriet Louise Adderley is the representative of the group of protesting students. The primary aim of the students was to protest for the releasing their black friends from the non-public prison.
• The Supreme Court’s Cancellation of Vaccines One of the points of view is that the COVID situation is getting worse, and the mandate was a logical continuation of Biden’s policy to combat coronavirus.
• The Brewer vs. Williams Supreme Court Case Williams became the main suspect of the young girls’ abduction after a young boy confessed to have seen him at the YMCA packing his car a large bundle of clothes with “skinny and white legs” […]
• Greenman vs. Yuba Supreme Court Case As the result of the trial before the jury, the court acquitted the third party of this conflict the retailer where Mr.
• McKinney vs. Arizona Case and Court Decision The Arizona Supreme Court upheld the state appellate jury’s ruling, holding that a court may perform a re-evaluation of the contributing instead of a jury in cases involving the death sentence.
• Civil War and Supreme Court: The Enforcement of the Slave-Trade Laws I believe the leading causes of the American Civil war were the fight over the moral issue of slavery and political differences between the Southern and Northern American states.
• The Supreme Court Decision on the Right to Same-Sex Marriage The decision of the Supreme Court on the constitutional right of citizens to same-sex marriage is a significant event in the history of the development of modern democratic society.
• Diana Levine vs. Wyeth at the Supreme Court Diana Levine sued Wyeth at the Vermont Supreme Court, seeking compensation from the defendant for improperly written instructions to Phenergan that resulted in the amputation of one of the plaintiff’s limbs; litigation continued in the […]
• Washington vs. Texas Court Case No. 649: Issue, Facts, and Summary Still, the court authorities denied him a request to listen and consider the testimony of a witness or an accomplice, because of which the court’s verdict turned in the opposite direction.
• Marbury vs. Madison: A Landmark Supreme Court Case However, one of these judges, William Marbury, wanted to ask the Supreme Court to issue a writ of mandamus, a mandate, meaning that something that happened in case of his appointment would not be delivered […]
• Criminal Court System in U.S. As a result, one gains an in-depth insight into the subject matter and becomes capable of improving it to reduce the threat of a mistrial, The stages of a court process may vary depending on […]
• Louisiana District Court: Role, Structure, and Jurisdiction Criminal District Court in Orleans Parish has supervisory jurisdiction over the municipal and traffic courts. There is a total of 42 district courts in the state, executing jurisdiction of criminal and property-related cases.
• Court Proceedings Experiential Report The practical experiences of the proceedings both confirmed and challenged some of the information that I have learned about the structure of a trial.
• Intellectual Property: The Supreme Court’s Ruling in Eldred vs. Ashcroft The other relevant information to be shared on the basis of this case encompasses the copyright and patent clause that accords the Congress with the power to provide authors the authority of controlling the use […]
• The Institution of the US Supreme Court The institution was designed as a check on the power of the legislative and the executive branches of the federal government.
• The Supreme Court’s Internet Sales Tax Decision The added input leads to an increase in products’ prices, making it hard for e-commerce startups to compete with other large-scale retailers and wholesalers.
• A Comparison and Contrast of Two Court Rulings Furthermore, he or she has a duty to act in the protection of others should a patient present a threat. In a situation closer to that in Estates of Morgan v.
• Using Victim Impact Statements and Defendant’s Sentencing Memorandums in Court Thus, I consider these documents to be of high importance, and the jurisdiction should give it more attention the punishments will only become more realistic.
• Alternative to Incarceration (ATI), Treatment Court The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health later developed a forensic mental health court diversion program that offered consultation services to courts on the management of criminals with psychiatric illnesses.
• Vehicle Searches: The Carroll vs. US Court Case However, the court upheld that in line with the Fourth Amendment of the constitution, the security agents had to prove that they had a legitimate lead making them believe that the particular vehicle had contraband […]
• Court Observation: Ausar Walcott’s Trial Some of the information to be presented includes the names of the parties in the suit, a summary of key facts, the jury’s verdict, and the relevant legal issues.
• How Canada’s Supreme Court Affected Administrative Law Principles The protection of the rights of a claimant should respond to the statutory scheme in an administrative decision and expectations of procedural protection.
• Conflicting Cases and the Contemporary Court Systems This paper will compare the constitutional framework of the U.S.and the UK, The cases in which the existing regulations collide with the essential Constitutional premises are quite few, yet they set the prime example of […]
• Court Rulings on Confidentiality in Healthcare In both Tarasoff and Morgan, the therapists contacted the relevant authorities in favor of the victim’s safety. The cases showed that individuals have a moral obligation to make decisions that infringe private information in favor […]
• Current Issues of Supreme Court Confirmation Process This fact ensures that the confirmation process is impartial, which contributes to the effectiveness of the Supreme Court by endorsing the candidates who have the most suitable skills and knowledge to occupy this position.
• Bordenkircher vs. Hayes, the United States Supreme Court, 1978 Is the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment violated if, in the course of plea bargaining, a state prosecutor threatens the accused to be indicted on more severe charges if the respondent does not […]
• Court Observation in Courts of Sydney Once inside the courtroom, he sits at the bench facing the rest of the court.the defense lawyers sit in the left side of the court, close to the dock, while the prosecution sits on the […]
• Court Cases Showing Various Law Arguments After further inquisitives, the Supreme Court realized that the need for the second appeal by the plaintiff was of no need.
• Current and Future Issues Facing Courts and Court Administrators The system of courts is structured in a way that both the innocent and the guilty have a chance to be heard.
• Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and Consumer Contracts According to the European Commission, the solutions to such complex systems are in the freedom of contract. Rules may limit freedom of contract in some member states of the EU.
• The Practice of Sealing Juvenile Court Records The practice of sealing juvenile’s court records is indeed acceptable practice to some extent in most countries in the world. Recent surveys as analyzed in the article indicate that the locations where juvenile records are […]
• The Role of Expert Witness in Court Some court cases may require the services of an expert to enable the jurors and judges to have a better understanding of the underlying principles of the case in question.
• Design of a Drug Court System Offenders have a strong incentive in being members of the Drug Court in that they have the prospect of avoiding being in jail for as long as they abide by the rules and cooperate in […]
• Trial Court Functions, the Concepts of Schlichmann The term preponderance of the evidence means that the side that would provide greater evidence concerning the case would lead either the judge or the jury to take one side as opposed to the other.
• Juvenile Court System: 15-Year-Old Larceny Offender The facts of the case show that the juvenile is a first offender and is yet to attain the minimum age for criminal prosecution according to the state’s juvenile justice system.
• The United States State and Federal Court Systems For example, if a person has a bank account in a particular state, then he or she is under the jurisdiction of this state’s court.
• Supreme Court Eras. Brown vs. Board of Education The primary purpose of the paper is to provide the in-depth analysis regarding a possible decision made by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the case Brown v.
• Court Unification and Juvenile Delinquency Speaking about the given issue, it is important to give the clear definition of this category and determine who could be judged by the juvenile court.
• The Warren Court’s Rulings and Criminal Procedure Police also inform the suspects that they have the right to an attorney that will be provided to them by the state if they cannot afford one.
• Court Requirements in Aguilar and Gates Cases However, the Supreme Court’s requirements for testing the validity of the evidence were not congruent: the major diversion point was the reliability of the source of information used in the process of the investigation.
• Policing and the Bill of Rights: Supreme Court Cases Jones case, the placement of a GPS device under a suspect’s car was interpreted as a violation of the Fourth amendment by the Supreme Court. In the United States v.
• Lechmere vs. National Labor Relations Board: Supreme Court’s Decision Lechmere Inc did not allow the organizers to use the lot, and they opted to use the public strip of land to distribute the handbills to employees entering in the morning and leaving in the […]
• Complex Foundations: Nottingham Magistrate Court The glass material used to form the walls of the court requires a strong support, hence the choice of the piling method.
• FCT V Stone : Court Case Analysis In particular, the court had to decide if the athletic activities of this person could be regarded as a form of business.
• Plea Bargaining in the Court System This is one of the main arguments that can be put forward. These are some of the suggestions that can be made.
• Bail and Pre-Trial Release Conditions Impact on Court Systems In this journal, Clark informs the world how the state of pre-trial release in tribal jurisdiction operates in the United States.
• Systematic Review of Drug Court Effects on Recidivism Although the article does not state the specific research question or hypothesis for the study, it is clear that the study wanted to address the question “what is the impact of drug courts on recidivism […]
• Effectiveness of the DUI Court In the last one decade, the relative success of drug courts has led to the establishment of a growing number of driving while impaired or driving under the influence courts across the U.S.
• The Structure of the US Court System and Determination of Truth There have been suggestions to study the inquisitorial system and adopt some of its features that could help to improve the determination of truth under the US adversarial system. It is thus advisable to redesign […]
• Jury Selection in Court First of all, some attorneys will hire psychologists to analyze the prospective jury pool and help pick out which jurors would be the most effective for the case at hand.
• In re Yamashita Case and Supreme Court’s Decision As a result, General Yamashita was the commander of all Japanese forces that were operating in Philippine, so he was responsible for their actions.
• Analysis of a Specific Supreme Court Decision The issue of fetal protection and the safety of pregnant mothers as provided in the Johnsons’ Control fetal policy is one that, not only draws particular attention to the parties that it seeks to address, […]
• Accountability of Court Officials Therefore, just like the politicians and the government which is accountable to the citizens of the country, the judicial system is accountable to the citizens.
• Court Decisions that Influence Juvenile Justice System Supreme Court that postulated that an underage person is eligible to the rights of due process, namely the right to obtain counsel, the right to be notified about the charges, and the right to encounter […]
• Is There a Gender Bias in the USA Court System? The truth of the matter is there is gender bias in the United States court system. Another factor that underlines gender bias in United States courtroom is the number of female lawyers as compared to […]
• State Court Statistics Project Statistics show that the state of California has one of the highest court case filings, there are three different courts in California; these courts are spread around the 58 counties of California. Except for California, […]
• Juvenile Court Philosophy This philosophy states that a rehabilitation program can prevent the children from committing crimes since it attempts to transform cognitively the distorted cognitive behavior of the child involved in criminal acts.
• Gender Bias in Family Court This research study wishes to consider the current scope and resultant impacts of gender bias in the context of family courts in the United States of America.
• Court Watch Expectation: Personal Experience Apart from the court staff, I expect to learn about the sections of the courtroom and the function of each. I am hoping to observe how, in the initial court proceedings, the charges are filed […]
• Business and Corporate Law: Federal Court of Australia ASIC was provided with the notice of the application and it advised the Federal Court of Australia that it did not oppose the application; neither did it propose to attend the hearing of the application.
• Court Proceedings: Pretrial Motion and Its Aspects Any request, defense or objections which are competent of resolution devoid of any court proceedings of the common matter may be pleaded at any time before trial by motions. At the discretion of the judge […]
• Mr. Charles Dempsey Court Case: Cause and Consequences of the Crime The case had gone through the plea hearing, the preliminary hearing the trial hearing and was to be decided on this day during the sentencing hearing where the judge was supposed to deliver the Judgment.
• Court Sentencing: Juvenile Status and Unemployment These provisions allowed that based on prior criminal history and in consideration of the current offense, they could be transferred for trial in adults courts.
• Dow Jones & Company Inc. vs. Gutnick: The Australian Court’s Conclusion The paper starts with the details of the case, including the factual and procedural background thereof, proceeds to the judgment summary of the case and the analysis of the questions that the court ruling have […]
• Cyber Crimes: Court – United States vs. Ancheta Reasoning: The jury argued that the defendant conspired to violate the Computer Fraud Abuse Act as well as the CAN-SPAM Act, caused havoc to computer networks of the national defense department of the federal government, […]
• The Introduction of the New British Supreme Court The introduction of the new British Supreme Court has involved different constitutional implications, such as changing the role of the Lord Chancellor and creating a position of President of the Court of England and Wales; […]
• Apprendi vs. New Jersey: Decision Made by the Highest Court of the United States On the other hand, Apprendi had the right to challenge the alteration of the sentence claiming that it was against the constitution.
• Supreme Court Decision in the US vs. Bass Case of 2001 In the case of the defendant, race should not be a contributory factor and if this is so, then it can be concluded that the ruling was unfair.
• Examples of Court Cases Involving Alcohol On the day the deed was executed, the plaintiff was driven in an automobile from his farm to Reno, Nevada for the purpose of the plaintiff and defendant being married in said city.
• US Constitutional Law & Supreme Court’s Decisions It is not only necessary to have the necessary knowledge about principles and judgments of Constitutional Law by the Supreme Court, but it is also important to know how the Court has arrived at such […]
• Court System and Prosecutors Office The state of New Jersey is not an exception to this rule, and the relation of the Morris County Prosecutors Office in Morristown, NJ to the current US court system is the relation of a […]
• Rights and Freedoms: The Court Case Terry vs. Ohio All these rights are noted in the constitutions of the countries along with the obligations of the citizens.”The Bill of Rights” is a very important document in the life of Americans, as this Bill guarantees […]
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg Documentary of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg, who became the 107th judge of the Supreme Court and the second woman on the bench, was a sensation with the younger generations.
• 2017 ICC Moot Court Case Prosecution Argument In the court case, the Counsel for the Government of Yunkel has requested that Judge Rosemelle Hasty, one of the three Pre-Trial Chamber members assigned to the matter, be disqualified.
• Drug Abuse: Drug Court and Detoxification However, since 1989, the US federal system has been providing the majority of drug abusers with proper treatment or education with the help of a drug court option.
• Portrait of Kangxi Emperor in Court Dress Review The painting belongs to the Late Kangxi period.”Portrait of Kangxi Emperor in Court Dress” is depicted with the help of color on silk on a hanging scroll.
• Thurgood Marshall: Supreme Court of the United States Thurgood Marshall, serving on the Supreme Court of the United States, was one of the prominent American jurists who played a pivotal role in shaping the history of civil rights in America.
• Court Case of Swain vs. Geoffrey Osborne Limited The court was to resolve whether the defendant and the second defendant were liable for personal injuries sustained by the lorry driver in the accident. On the day of the accident, the driver had driven […]
• Supreme Court: The Case Research The national-traffic and motor-vehicle-safety act was established in the US in the year 1966 and it was meant to facilitate the federal government to provide and enforce safety standards meant to ensure that road safety […]
• Supreme Court’s Interpretation of Democracy This was seen in the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment in a case involving Sherbert and Verner. The court mentioned the importance of a compelling interest from the state in regard to employment […]
• Does Understanding Body Language in Court Hearing Influence Interpreting Process When the other parties receive the coded message, they go through the process of decoding or interpreting it to understand and meaning”.”Effective ways of communicating exists between the sender of the information and the receiver […]
• Supreme Court Decision: Corporations and Freedom of Speech The Constitution is the framework for the Government of the United States that protects and guarantees the basic rights of the people.
• Maltreated Children’s and Court Involvement In this study, independent variables included the age of the children involved in the proceedings, the gender of the children, duration of time that the child has been involved in the proceedings and the in […]
• Witnesses’ Role in the Court Trial In conclusion, eyewitnesses’ evidences are very important during the court procedure, but judges should be very careful with these evidences and to check them carefully.
• Public Interest Immunity in Court Process Before attempt to evaluate the current operation of the law of public interest immunity in civil trials it is necessary to discuss the definition of public interest immunity, current situation and the judgement of few […]
• The Model of the International Criminal Court The basis of the functioning and jurisdiction of the ICC is the Rome Statute. The irony of the matter is that in comparison to other modern states, the United States has considered itself as not […]
• Morse vs. Frederick: Decisions of the United States Supreme Court This court is independent; this gives it the mandate to check the other two arms of the government that is the Legislature and the Executive.
• Three-Tiered Court Structure in the United States S is a three tiered judicial system divided into the Supreme Court, The Courts of appeal and the Federal District Courts.
• Pennsylvania State Court System In regard to the terms of the Appellate Court Judges, their length of terms for Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court are 10 years in all cases.
• Washington County Court Services The former held notion about unaccepted restorative justice and the victim offender mediation has been reviewed and now the aim of this Court is to restore the relationship between the offenders and the victims and […]
• Top Court Rules Against Police in Search Case In the case in point, there are several issues which must be considered: in cases of domestic disturbance, who has the right to grant entrance to police; if police enter to protect one occupant, can […]
• The Texas Court System and How Its Impact on Americans In Texas all the judges are selected using the partisan elections with the exception of the municipal judges who are appointed by the mayor or the city council.
• Global Human Rights: The European Court of Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights, or officially called Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms became one of the most significant documents accepted by the Council of Europe.
• European Union & Court of Justice The sixth most important developmental trend in the history of Europe has been visualized by Europeanization since the 16th century in a broad historical sense.”The primary and overarching objective of EU development cooperation is the […]
• Juvenile Delinquents in Adult Court We are all aware of the existence of social standards concerning the status of children and adolescents, as well as the nature of punishment and justice.
• Supreme Court and Local Governments Unfortunately, the ruling on the property by the Supreme Court is characteristic of a regulated market. To preserve a free market and the right of property ownership, the ruling should be reviewed.
• Forensic Experts in Court: Pros and Cons The forensic psychologist, in this case, does not employ the notion of empathizing any action in the defendant’s favor but being closer to the gathered evidence from the particular defendant’s reasons and provide the sources […]
• Business Law & Court System in Virginia The General District Courts and J&DR Courts are parts of District courts and they are courts of limited jurisdiction. Only the Chief Judges can appoint clerks of J & DR and General District Courts.
• Appeal Process in the Supreme Court in the U.S It is the duty of the Supreme Court to correct errors in trial court proceedings, interpret case law and statutes, and the state and federal constitutions and administrators of the courts.
• Forensic Science and Law: The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Daubert According to the Daubert decision, the Supreme Court took a broad view of “science ” based on the data and reasoning facts considered as expert evidence.
• President’s Power in Supreme Court Cases The Humphrey’s case and the Myers case test the powers of the president of the United States to hire and fire individuals at will.
• Necessity of a New International Environmental Court For example, the international court of justice which is the Judicial Wing of the United Nation is in a position to hear environmental cases and fully attend to them.
• Lomanno: Tax Law and Court Rulings Report
• Arizona Court System to Sue Uber Technologies Inc.
• Relationship Between the Supreme Court and the High Court Justice
• People vs. Goetz: Court Decision and Implications
• Dual Court System Definition
• Court for Mentally Ill: Commonwealth vs. Bobbitt
• Court Alternatives for Mentally Ill Criminals
• Electronic Surveillance and Related Court Rulings
• The Supreme Court Saves Cell Phone Privacy
• State Court Organization and Structure
• Felony Court System Administration
• Mock Trial Experience at Brooklyn Federal Court
• Constitutional Law: Supreme Court and Stare Decisis
• International Court Punishing Rape in Armed Conflict
• Supreme Court Decisions That Affect Victim Handing
• The Crown Court Case: Drug and Weapons Trafficking
• Supreme Court: Elk Grove Unified School District vs. Newdow
• Understanding the Court System: People vs. Turner Case
• “Punishment” and “Conscience of the Court” Comparison
• Criminal Court: Ahmad Al-Faqi Al-Mahdi Case
• Loving vs. Virginia Supreme Court Case
• Women Roles in the Ptolemaic Court
• Cypress Semiconductor Corporation vs. Superior Court
• Court Problem and Its Future
• The Supreme Court of the United States
• Court System vs. the United States Constitution
• Court Process: Interview Eith the Prosecuting Attorneys
• Project Reset and the Domestic Violence Court
• The Eighth Amendment and the US Supreme Court
• US Supreme Court’s Role in Criminal Justice System
• Criminal Cases in the Supreme Court’s Jurisdiction
• Home Firearms in McDonald vs. Chicago Court Case
• US Supreme Court’s Ideological Tendencies
• Supreme Court in New York Times Co. vs. United States
• Obergefell vs. Hodge: Supreme Court Case
• Syrian War Crimes and International Criminal Court
• Roberts Court and Its Political Relations
• Trials and Verdicts in the Court Proceedings
• The Juvenile Division of the Court
• Brown vs. Plata Case and Supreme Court’s Decision
• European Court of Justice and Regional Integration
• The Supreme Court Role in Canadian Politics
• Supreme Court and State of the U.S. Justice System
• Law: Court Issue Analysis
• Law: Court Purposes and Responsibilities
• Supreme Court Ruling: The Louisiana Purchase
• Analyzing Data in HR and Presenting Findings to Make Decisions in Crown Prince Court
• Analysis: “Governing From the Bench: The Supreme Court of Canada and the Judicial Role” by Emmett Macfarlane
• Albert Court Motor Lodge
• The New Deal and the Role of the Supreme Court
• The United States Supreme Court: Marbury vs. Madison
• U.S. Supreme Court: Antonin Scalia as a Textualist
• Oral Arguments and Decision-Making on the Supreme Court
• Supreme Court in Israel
• Personal Jurisdiction of a Court
• Civil Rights Court Case: Griggs vs. Duke Power Co
• The Role of the High Court in Australia’s System of Government
• High Court of Australia
• Emperor Xiaowen and His Court
• The Supreme Court: Justice Clarence Thomas
• The Relationship Between the International Criminal Court and the African Union
• Prima Facie Case: Home Country vs. Foreign Country
• International Court of Justice in Hague
• Supreme Court in the United States
• Roe vs. Wade Ruling – The Result of the Supreme Court
• As Supreme Court Reconvenes, Civil Rights Issues in the Fore
• Gay Marriage and Decision Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
• The Warren Court in United States
• U.S. Supreme Court Operation
• Comparison of US Supreme Court Decisions
• Child Abuse and Neglect Children in Court
• Questioning and Criticizing Supreme Court Nominees
• The Supreme Court Decision: Bank of Augusta vs. Earle
• The Supreme Court, in the Case of Kelo vs. the City of New London
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Supreme Court Research Guide

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Introduction

The Supreme Court of the United States is the court of last resort in the United States. Many cases that the Court reviews concern the U.S. Constitution, and the Court's decisions have far-reaching implications for the citizenry and the history of the United States. This guide is designed to give some background information and suggest resources for further research on the history of the Court , the Justices of the Court , and the Court's practice and decisions .

• Making of Modern Law: U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978 The Supreme Court Records & Briefs database contains nearly 11 million pages of records and briefs brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in the period 1832-1978.
• ProQuest Supreme Court Insight Find compilations of briefs, dockets, joint appendixes, oral arguments, opinions and other documents for a case. Best for decisions a few years old.
• Supreme Court Practice : for Practice in the Supreme Court of the United States An accounting of the rules and practices before the U.S. Supreme Court.
• U.S. Supreme Court Library (HeinOnline) Access opinions of the Court, Rules of the Court, CRS Reports about the Court, and other material about the Court. Slip opinions are usually a few months delayed.
• The United States Law Week "Supreme Court Today" provides lists of and status information for cases in which certiorari has been granted. Best for recent opinions.
• United States Supreme Court Website Access most recent decisions, oral arguments, rules and filing requirements. Updated daily, so best for recent opinions.

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In addition to this guide, there are many other freely available research guides on the U.S. Supreme Court:

• U.S. Supreme Court Duke University Law Library
• U.S. Supreme Court Tarlton Law Library
• United States Supreme Court Research University of San Francisco, Dorrain Zief Law Library
• Web Guide to U.S. Supreme Court Research Gail Partin for LLRX

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Updated 5/2013 (ET) Updated 4/2022 (MMK) Links 2/23 (MMK)

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• Last Updated: Feb 15, 2024 8:25 PM
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Guest Essay

Stephen Breyer: The Supreme Court I Served On Was Made Up of Friends

By Stephen Breyer

Justice Breyer is a retired associate justice of the United States Supreme Court and the author of “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism.”

Recently, the Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett spoke together publicly about how members of the court speak civilly to one another while disagreeing, sometimes vigorously, about the law. Considerable disagreements on professional matters among the Supreme Court justices, important as they are, remain professional, not personal. The members of the court can and do get along well personally. That matters.

In my tenure, this meant that we could listen to one another, which increased the chances of agreement or compromise. It means that the court will work better for the nation that it serves. And I wonder: If justices who disagree so profoundly can do so respectfully, perhaps it is possible for our politically divided country to do the same.

Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman appointed to the court; Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the second. I remember being slightly surprised when, during a visit to meet with several European judges, they suddenly disappeared. Where had they gone? It seems they went off together to look for suitable women’s collars for their robes. They found some, and Justice Ginsburg wore them ever after.

At about the same time, Justice O’Connor reminded me that our chief justice, William Rehnquist, had decided that he, too, needed something distinctive on his black robe. Inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe ,” he decided to enliven it with a few gold stripes on the sleeves. Justice O’Connor found at a European bookstall a picture of Lorenzo de’ Medici wearing similar stripes. She suggested that we send it to him with a special message from her.

We would do things together outside class. Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice O’Connor and I would play bridge with friends and spouses (often changing partners). Today, I gather that justices who do not always agree on legal results nonetheless agree to go to hockey games or play golf together. (Why hockey in Washington, D.C., where baseball, football and basketball abound? Perhaps they just like hockey.)

As is fairly well known, Justice Ginsburg and Justice Antonin Scalia loved opera and became great friends. They even persuaded Justice Kennedy and me to take part in a Washington Opera performance of “Die Fledermaus,” provided, of course, that we simply sat onstage on a sofa and never opened our mouths. Justice Scalia had a good musical voice, however; he, law clerks and other justices would sometimes sing at the court, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist, as well as by a friend of Justice Scalia who was a fine pianist and loved Cole Porter.

Justice Scalia and I would talk to students in high school or law school and other audiences about the court. It was obvious to those audiences that while we did not share basic views about how to interpret difficult statutory and constitutional phrases, we were friends.

Certain unwritten rules helped to smooth over differences and maintain good personal relations among court members. At conferences when we discussed cases privately, we proceeded in order of seniority, and no one would speak twice until everyone had spoken once. Thus, everyone could be fairly sure that he or she would have a chance to speak before minds were definitely made up. (This rule helped me, for I was the most junior justice for 11 years.)

Once all had spoken, we would discuss the case, back and forth. But one quickly learned that it did not help to say “I have a better argument than you.” Much better to listen to what others say and to find in their points of view material for working out an agreement or perhaps a compromise.

Chief Justice Rehnquist generally did not approve of jokes made during the business portion of the conference, though I admit I once told him while we were having coffee, after having recently nearly lost a majority on what we thought initially would be a unanimous opinion, “I have discovered how to get five people on a single opinion.” “How?” he asked. “Start with nine,” I replied.

In any event, agreement or disagreement, joke or no joke, in my 28 years on the court I did not hear a voice raised in anger in that conference, nor were snide or personal remarks ever made. The discussion was professional, disagreements reflected legal differences on the merits, and the justices tried to find ways to reach court agreements.

Justice O’Connor maintained that a highly important informal court rule was this: You and I may disagree strongly in respect to Case 1, but that fact has nothing to do with our positions in respect to (not legally related) Case 2, where we may be the strongest of allies. That is, no horse-trading.

After conference we would have lunch, often talking about sports or trading so-called jokes and other nonlegal matters. I remember once saying to Chief Justice Rehnquist that I thought it amazing that we were about to have a pleasant lunch when just 20 minutes before at conference we strongly disagreed about applicable law. His reply suggested that he thought only a short time earlier that half the court thought the other half had lost its mind.

What works for nine people with lifetime appointments won’t work for the entire nation, but listening to one another in search of a consensus might help.

Stephen Breyer is a retired associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.

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