Law

General Information

United States Courts (Federal Judiciary)

Information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. government. Includes an explanation of the court system, rules and policies, forms, information on locating courts and obtaining court records, and educational resources.

Federal Case Law (LexisNexis^® Academic)

This online database, available to members of the UNT community, searches and retrieves the full text of recent cases from all levels of the federal courts.

The Federal Judiciary Home Page

The official home page for the U.S. Federal Courts. It serves as a clearinghouse for information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. government.

Federal Judicial Center

The federal courts' agency for research and continuing education. Site includes links to manuals and other publications describing various aspects of the federal court system.

The Federal Court System

Federal Court System: Full Screen Version

Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States 

Official home page of the U.S. Supreme Court. Includes historical background, rules, guides, opinions, and other related information.

The United States Supreme Court (UNT Libraries)

Guide to understanding the Supreme Court. Explanation of the judicial process, biographies of the current justices, advice on finding and citing Supreme Court opinions.

Supreme Court Collection (Legal Information Institute—Cornell)

Includes recent and historical decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, data on pending cases, court calendars, information about the justices, court rules, a glossary, and other information.

USSC+ Online (InfoSynthesis)

All Supreme Court cases from 1966–1996; leading cases from 1793–1966. Full service requires payment of a fee, but the following services are free:
   Current term's decisions (in reverse chronological order)
   Top 1000 cases (cases most often cited by the Supreme Court)

Selected Historic Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court (Legal Information Institute—Cornell)

Over 600 historic cases indexed by topic, party name, and author of the opinion. Very easy to search—just click on desired selection.

Significant Oral Arguments of the Supreme Court, 1955–1993 (The Supreme Court Historical Society)

In 1996, the Supreme Court Historical Society appointed an Ad Hoc Committee of distinguished legal scholars and Supreme Court practitioners to determine the most significant oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court from 1955 until 1993. The Committee was asked to pick not only important cases, but also examples of effective appellate advocacy. Ultimately the Committee selected 411 cases; 130 from the Warren Court era, 160 from the Burger Court Era and 121 from the first seven years of the Rehnquist Court.

FLITE - Historic File of Supreme Court Decisions (FedWorld)

Full text of all decisions issued between 1937 and 1975. Easy to download entire case at once, but plain text in all caps can be annoying to read.

The Supreme Court Historical Society

The Supreme Court Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the history of the Supreme Court of the United States by conducting public and educational programs, publishing books and other materials, supporting historical research, and collecting antiques and artifacts related to the Court's history.

The Oyez Project: U.S. Supreme Court Multimedia Database (Northwestern University)

Provides information about major constitutional cases heard and decided by U.S. Supreme Court, biographies of current justices and lists of all justices, and a virtual tour of the Supreme Court building. Includes digital audiorecordings of the court proceedings.

Lower Federal Courts

Court Links (The Federal Judiciary Homepage)

Clickable map linking to courts of appeals, district courts, and bankruptcy courts for each state. A directory by circuit number is also available.

District Courts (FindLaw)

Links to homepages and other information about each district court, arranged alphabetically by state or territory.

Bankruptcy Courts (FindLaw) 

Links to court homepages and other information about the bankruptcy courts, arranged alphabetically by state or territory.

Special Courts

United States Court of Federal Claims (formerly U.S. Claims Court)

Has jurisdiction over claims seeking money judgments against the United States. A claim must be founded upon either the U.S. Constitution, an act of Congress, the regulation of an executive department, an express or implied contract with the United States, or damages in cases not sounding in tort. Most of its cases involve disputes over tax refunds, government contracts, or civilian and military pay. Other cases involve intellectual property, Indian tribes, and various statutory claims against the federal government.

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

Serves as the final appellate tribunal to review court-martial convictions of the Armed Forces.

United States Court of International Trade

Has jurisdiction over any civil action against the United States arising from federal laws governing import transactions.

United States Tax Court

Congress created the Tax Court to provide a judicial forum in which affected persons could dispute tax deficiencies determined by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue prior to payment of the disputed amounts. The jurisdiction of the Tax Court includes the authority to hear tax disputes concerning notices of deficiency, notices of transferee liability, certain types of declaratory judgment, readjustment and adjustment of partnership items, review of the failure to abate interest, administrative costs, worker classification, relief from joint and several liability on a joint return, and review of certain collection actions.

United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Has exclusive jurisdiction to review decisions of the Board of Veterans Appeals, which is an administrative body within the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Only the claimant may seek such review.) Most cases deal with entitlement to disability or survivor benefits, or the amount of those benefits, but a few deal with education benefits, life insurance, home loan foreclosure, or waiver of indebtedness.

Court Rules

These and other rules and procedures governing federal courts are compiled as an appendix to Title 28 of the U.S. Code. Local rules can often be found on the individual court's Web page.

Court Rules, Forms, and Dockets (Law Library Resource Xchange)

Over 800 sources for state and federal court rules, forms and dockets. Search by keyword or browse by court type, type of resource, jurisdiction or state.

Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States (Cornell)

Rules and procedures governing conduct in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals)

These rules govern procedure in appeals to United States courts of appeals from the United States district courts and the United States Tax Court; in appeals from bankruptcy appellate panels; in proceedings in the courts of appeals for review or enforcement of orders of administrative agencies, boards, commissions and officers of the United States; and in applications for writs or other relief which a court of appeals or a judge thereof is competent to give.

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Cornell)

These rules govern the conduct of all civil actions brought in Federal district courts. While they do not apply to suits in state courts, the rules of many states have been closely modeled on these provisions.

Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (Cornell)

These rules govern the procedure in all criminal proceedings in the courts of the United States, and, whenever specifically provided in one of the rules, to preliminary, supplementary, and special proceedings before United States magistrate judges and at proceedings before state and local judicial officers.

Federal Rules of Evidence (Cornell)

These rules govern the introduction of evidence in proceedings, both civil and criminal, in Federal courts. While they do not apply to suits in state courts, the rules of many states have been closely modeled on these provisions.