Judicial Branch
This site contains a directory of resources from the U.S. Federal Judiciary, including:
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Courts of Appeals
Federal Circuit Court
Other Courtrooms
Other Useful Links
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court
Official home page of the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Supreme Court Collection
Archive of decisions, cases, and orders by Cornell University Legal Information Institute.
OYEZ U.S. Supreme Court Multimedia Database
The OYEZ Project provides abstracts and other materials for leading cases in constitutional law decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. If you are interested in a case but it happens to fall outside the domain of constitutional law, you are not going to find it abstracted in The OYEZ Project. The OYEZ Project contains many hundreds of hours of audio materials of actual courtroom footage and dozens of panoramic images of the Supreme Court Building.
U.S. Courts of Appeals
Note: The 94 U.S. judicial districts are organized into 12 regional circuits, each of which has a United States court of appeals. A court of appeals hears appeals from the district courts located within its circuit, as well as appeals from decisions of federal administrative agencies.
1st Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island.
1st Circuit Opinions
The opinions of the First Circuit from November 1995 to July 2001 are brought to you by the Hugh F. Macmillan Law Library, Emory University School of Law, in cooperation with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
2nd Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Connecticut, New York, and Vermont.
2nd Circuit Rulings
See complete list of rulings and opinions at this website.
3rd Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit. Geographic Jurisdiction: Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and U.S. Virgin Islands.
3rd Circuit Opinions
The opinions issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit since May 1994 have been acquired from the Third Circuit by the Villanova University School of Law. Villanova Law Library is the official archive for the opinions of the Third Circuit.
4th Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
4th Circuit Opinions
Opinions issued since January 1, 1996 appear on this system.
5th Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
5th Circuit Opinions
Search opinions via the University of Texas School of Law.
6th Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.
6th Circuit Opinions
The opinions of the Sixth Circuit from January 1995 to June 1999 are brought to you by the Hugh F. Macmillan Law Library, Emory University School of Law, in cooperation with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
7th Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
7th Circuit Opinions
FindLaw's searchable database of the 7th Circuit Court decisions since June 1995.
8th Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
8th Circuit Opinions
FindLaw's searchable database of the 8th Circuit Court decisions since November 1995.
9th Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, and Washington.
9th Circuit Opinions
FindLaw's searchable database of the 9th Circuit Court decisions since November 1995.
10th Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.
10th Circuit Opinions
The opinions of the Tenth Circuit from August 1995 through October 1997 are brought to you by the Hugh F. Macmillan Law Library, Emory University School of Law, in cooperation with the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
11th Circuit
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
11th Circuit Opinions
FindLaw's searchable database of the 11th Circuit Court decisions since December 1994.
DC Circuit Court
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals DC Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: District of Columbia.
DC Circuit Court Opinions
Search the full text of opinions released since September 1997.
Federal Circuit Court
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has nationwide jurisdiction to hear appeals in specialized cases, such as those involving patent laws and cases decided by the Court of International Trade and the Court of Federal Claims./
Federal Circuit Court
Home page of the U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit. Geographic jurisdiction: nationwide for specialized cases.
Federal Circuit Court Opinions
The opinions of the Federal Circuit since August 1995 are brought to you by the Hugh F. Macmillan Law Library, Emory University School of Law, in cooperation with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Other Courtrooms
Federal Court Locator
This is a directory of all federal courts, including U.S. District Courts, U.S. Court of Appeals, and Bankruptcy Courts.
U.S. Bankruptcy Courts
Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. Bankruptcy cases cannot be filed in state court. Each of the 94 federal judicial districts handles bankruptcy matters.
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
The United States Court of Federal Claims has jurisdiction over most claims for money damages against the United States, disputes over federal contracts, unlawful "takings" of private property by the federal government, and a variety of other claims against the United States.
U.S. Court of International Trade
The Court of International Trade addresses cases involving international trade and customs issues.
U.S. District Courts
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the federal court system. Within limits set by Congress and the Constitution, the district courts have jurisdiction to hear nearly all categories of federal cases, including both civil and criminal matters. There are 94 federal judicial districts, including at least one district in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
U.S. Federal Courts Home Page
This site is maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the U.S. Courts and offers information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government.
U.S. Tax Court
The U.S. Tax Court is a Federal court of record established by Congress under Article I of the Constitution of the United States. 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.
Other Useful Links
Federal Agency Internet Sites
Provided by the GPO. GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government.
Federal Judges Biographical Database
The Federal Judges Biographical Database contains the service record and biographical information for all judges who have served on the U.S. District Courts, U.S. Circuit Courts, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court since 1789.
Federal Judicial Center
The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency for the federal courts. Congress created the FJC in 1967 to promote improvements in judicial administration in the courts of the United States. This site contains the results of Center research on federal court operations and procedures and court history, as well as selected educational materials produced for judges and court employees.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Via Cornell Legal Information Institute. 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 Evidence
Via Cornell Legal Information Institute.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.
Federal Web Locator
Via Chicago-Kent Law School. A comprehensive list of federal government information divided into 7 search categories: Legislative Branch, Judicial Branch, Executive Branch (with Departments), Independent Agencies, Quasi Official Agencies, Federal Boards, Commissions & Committes, and Non-Government Federally Related Sites.
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands is the principal judicial organ of the UN. The Court has a dual role: to settle in accordance with international law the legal disputes submitted to it by States, and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized international organs and agencies.
Judicial Statistical Inquiry Form
Statistics on federal court cases by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University.
U.S. Sentencing Commission
The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency in the judicial branch of government. Its principal purposes are: (1) to establish sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts; (2) to advise and assist in the development of effective and efficient crime policy; and (3) to collect, analyze, research, and distribute a broad array of information on federal crime and sentencing issues.
Understanding the Federal Courts
This publication was developed by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to provide an introduction to the federal judicial system, its organization, and its relationship to the legislative and executive branches of the government.
