The reference librarians at the Ross-Blakley Law Library are happy to help you find or navigate research resources. Librarians are available 9am-4pm Monday-Thursday and 9am-2pm on Friday.
Reference: (480) 965-7161
Email us now!
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (COL) Students
Supreme Court opinions are available in U.S. Law Week about a week after they are issued. U.S. Law Week reports on significant court cases, legislative developments, and regulatory actions. It is available on Bloomberg Law.
Supreme Court opinions are available in the two unofficial Supreme Court reporters, Supreme Court Reporter and United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer’s Edition. The Supreme Court Reporter, published by West, contains cases beginning with the 1882 term; it is available in print in the Core section of the Law Library and online through Westlaw. The United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer’s Edition, published by LexisNexis, contains cases since 1754; it is available on Lexis.
The official United States Reports preliminary prints of Supreme Court opinions are available two to three months after the decision is issued, with the bound edition published one to two years later. U.S. Reports contains cases since 1754 and is available in print in the offsite High Density Collection and through the HeinOnline Supreme Court Library.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress provides access to digital copies of the printed bound volumes of the United States Reports from 1791 to 2004.
Justia Supreme Court Center
The Justia Supreme Court Center has Court opinions from 1759 to the present available; cases are organized by year.
Legal Information Institute
The Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School allows searching of Court opinions from 1990 to the present, with selected historical opinions (1789-1990) available. Opinions can also be browsed by topic, author, and party name.
Oyez Project
The Oyez Project at the Chicago-Kent College of Law has Court opinions from 1793 to the present available.
SCOTUSblog
The SCOTUSblog has Court opinions from 2007 to the present available.
The Supreme Court Database, Washington University in St. Louis
The Supreme Court Database allows researchers to access and analyze Supreme Court decisions in a myriad of ways. There are six significant categories by which cases can be searched and examined: (1) identification variables (citations and docket numbers); (2) background variables (origin and source of the case); (3) chronological variables (date of decision, court term); (4) substantive variables (legal issues); (5) outcome variables (disposition of the case, winning party, formal alteration of precedent); and (6) voting and opinion variables (how the individual justices voted).
Google Scholar
Google Scholar has the full-text of U.S. Supreme Court cases from 1790 to the present. The advanced search option will allow you to limit your search to only Supreme Court cases.
ProQuest Supreme Court Insight, 1975-2016 (available on campus or remotely with ASURITE)
This database provides the full opinions of argued Supreme Court cases for the dates 1975-2016 and includes associated dockets, oral arguments, joint appendices, and amicus briefs (available on campus or remotely with ASURITE).
Westlaw (Westlaw password required)
The Westlaw U.S. Supreme Court Cases database allows searching of Court opinions from 1790 to the present.
Lexis (Lexis password required)
The Lexis U.S. Supreme Court Cases, Lawyer’s Edition database allows searching of Court opinions from 1790 to the present.
Bloomberg Law (Bloomberg Law password required)
Bloomberg Law allows searching of Supreme Court opinions from 1791 to the present. From the “Search & Browse” tab navigate to the “Court Opinions” search feature and choose “U.S. Supreme Court” from the “Federal Court Opinions” menu.
HeinOnline (available on campus or remotely with ASURITE)
HeinOnline has Supreme Court opinions from 1754 to the present available through its U.S. Supreme Court Library. Opinions can be searched or browsed.
The vast majority of cases filed in the Supreme Court are disposed of summarily through Orders, short dispositions released by the Court.
U.S. Supreme Court website
Orders of the Court from 2010 to the present available.
Legal Information Institute
The Legal Information Institute at Cornell has Orders of the Court available from 1998 to the present.
Journal of the Supreme Court of the United States
The Journal of the Supreme Court of the United States contains the official minutes of the Court. It is published each day that the Court issues orders or opinions and reflects the disposition of each case. The Journal is available for free on the Court’s website (OT 1993-present). It can also be accessed on campus or with an ASURITE ID on HeinOnline (1902-present).
Westlaw (Westlaw password required)
The Westlaw U.S. Supreme Court Cases database allows searching of Court cases, including cases disposed of by order, from 1790 to the present.
Lexis (Lexis password required)
The Lexis U.S. Supreme Court Cases, Lawyer’s Edition database allows searching of Court cases, including cases disposed of by order, from 1790 to the present.