Research Guides: Researching American Politics and Government: The Judicial Branch

These two reference books are a great start for understanding the basics of the federal judiciary, especially the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court A to Z (5th ed.) by Kenneth Jost
Call Number: Sage ebook
Publication Date: 2012
This book provides quick articles on topics, people, organizations, and areas of study connected to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court Compendium (6th ed.) by Lee Epstein; Jeffrey A. Segal; Harold J. Spaeth; Thomas G. Walker
Call Number: Credo ebook
Publication Date: 2015
The essays in this book provide historical and statistical information on the Supreme Court: its institutional development; caseload; decision trends; the background, nomination, and voting behavior of its justices; its relationship with public, governmental, and other judicial bodies; and its impact.

PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records)
PACER provides pubic access to case and docket information from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. Use the PACER Case Locator to search all courts.
Google Scholar
By switching from Articles to Case Law below the search bar, Google Scholar is able to find federal court cases.

Use these to see what cases are coming up in all the federal courts, find oral arguments, and get analysis of the judicial branch's actions.

SupremeCourt.gov
The official site of the Supreme Court. It includes case information, dockets, oral arguments, opinions, and much more.
USCourts.gov
The official site of all of the courts in the federal judiciary except the Supreme Court.

SCOTUSblog
SCOTUSblog tracks the activities of the Supreme Court throughout all stages of the process. It often hosts outside lawyers and other legal experts to write on issues being covered by the Supreme Court.
C-SPAN | The Supreme Court
Among other coverage, C-SPAN records the audio of all Supreme Court oral arguments and provides transcripts of them.
Nina Totenberg
NPR's legal affairs correspondent. Totenberg is one of the most highly-regarded journalists covering the Supreme Court.

Researching American Politics and Government