FINDING SUPREME COURT DECISIONS
 

Ref KF 101 .A3 and Web

United States. Supreme Court. United States Reports. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1754--. The text of Supreme Court decisions are published in this series in chronological order. As decisions are made, they are published in pamphlet form, called "slip decisions" before being cumulated into volumes. A searchable database of decisions from 1893 to the present can be found at the Internet site http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html.

World Wide Web

US Supreme Court Multimedia Database: Oyez Project, Northwestern University. Internet: http://oyez.at.nwu.edu/ A database of information about the court, the justices, and the decisions. In addition to written opinions, provides sound files of arguments heard in the Supreme court for selected cases that have been important in interpretation of constitutional law. These arguments have been taped and stored at the national archives; now some of them can be played back at your computer (though you will have to have a RealAudio player and have a sound card to hear them). These arguments can provide insights into the decisions and how they were arrived at.

FINDING BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
 

Ref KF 4527 .A3 1992

Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1992. This work gives the text of the constitution with annotations that refer to cases decided by the Supreme Court to 1992. The table of cases in the back handily links cases to relevant parts of the constitution. A well-organized, searchable Internet version can be found at http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/constitution/ and another one at http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/constitution/ , this one covering annotations current to 1996 Supreme Court decisions. Though the second web version is more current, downloading text from the web site can be slow.

Ref KF 105 .C68

Corpus Juris Secundum. St. Paul: West, 1936--. This is a vast legal encyclopedia. It has over a hundred volumes and five volumes of indexes, giving over 400 different treatises on legal concepts with references to laws and court opinions. It is kept current by means of "pocket parts," pamphlets slipped into the back cover of each volume. Be sure to consult these updates whenever you use CJS.

Ref KF 4502 .D635 1989

Documents of American Constitutional and Legal History. New York: Knopf, 1989. This two-volume set contains the texts of Supreme Court and lower court decisions as well as other kinds of texts that were critical in the formation of US law.

Ref KF 4548 .E53 1986

Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. New York: Free Press, 1986. This set has 2-3 page articles on concepts, people, public acts, and historical periods, focusing specifically on the constitution; typical entries are "Antitrust Laws," "School Busing," "Brown vs. Board of Education," " "Reagan, Ronald," and "Constitutional History." The articles are fairly up-to-date and, while not long, give good summary information as well as references to relevant cases and secondary material.

Ref KF 154 .E53 1987

Encyclopedia of the American Judicial System. New York: Scribner's, 1987. Provides long articles on various issues. All of volume three is devoted to constitutional law, giving discussions of such topics as congress, the courts and constitutionalism, and criminal procedures as well as of such issues as privacy, racial discrimination, sexuality and law, etc.

Ref KF 385 .A4 J64 1992

Johnson, John W. Historic U.S. Court Cases 1690-1990: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 1992. A collection of short essays that highlight major cases that made an impact on American law or which are connected to important historical events. Included are sections on civil liberties, minorities, women, political processes, economics, etc. There is an index of cases at the back.

Ref KF 8744 .F75 1995

The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Opinions. New York: Chelsea House, 1995. Offers biographical sketches of justices arranged in chronological order, with assessments of their contributions to law and their role in specific key decisions.

Ref KF 8742 .A35 O93 1992

Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University, 1992. This is a good place to get a quick handle on people, concepts, and cases important in the study of the Supreme Court

KF 4546 .S9

Supreme Court Review. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960--. An annual volume that summarizes the year's highlights in Supreme Court decisions. Published under the auspices of the University of Chicago Law School.

Ref KF 101.1 .A3

United States Supreme Court Digest. St. Paul, MN: West, 1944--. Here decisions are summarized in a codified, rather than chronological, order. There are indexes by subject and case name. Pocket parts must be consulted for updates.

Ref KF 154 .W47 1998

West's Encyclopedia of American Law. St. Paul: West, 1998. A twelve-volume set that offers detailed articles written in accessible language on points of American law, including international and historical material that has shaped US jurisprudence. Less in-depth than Corpus Juris Secundum, but with less of a purely legal focus.

FINDING DEFINITIONS:
 

Ref KF 156 .B53 1990

Black's Law Dictionary. 6th edition. St Paul, MN: West, 1990. This is the standard legal dictionary, defining legal terms and terms that have special legal significance, including terms such as "evidence rules," "presumption," and "Smith Act."

FINDING ARTICLES AND OTHER INFORMATION
 

World Wide Web

Lexis/Nexis Universe. Internet: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe This collection of databases offers access to well over a billion references, most of which are in full text. The simple web interface makes it quick and easy to search for a wide variety of texts. To search, choose an area, then a database from a drop down list, and choose dates of coverage. Then type in a search term or terms and press "search." This service is strong in popular press coverage, legal and government information, business information, medical citations, and offers several reference options as well. The legal section is particularly notable for allowing searches of case law and of law review articles. There is a section for congressional information, offering full text of congressional hearings, reports, and other materials. And there is an index of references to statistical resources in federal government documents. Access is available through any computer with web access connected to the Gustavus computer network directly or by modem.

Ref KF 8741 .A1 M37 1990

The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1990. Here you will find lists of references to books, articles, and other documents relating to the Supreme Court, including the organization of the Court, the Court and equal rights, the Court and civil liberties, and on each justice.

last updated 10/6/99