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Chapter 9. The American Legal System and the Courts

Explore

The U.S. Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court's web site provides an enormous amount of information about current cases before the Court as well as Court rules and opinions. You can also view the Court's calendar. Check out the Public Information link for recent justices' speeches and the chief justice's year-end report on the federal judiciary.

The FindLaw database allows you to search and read the full text of every Supreme Court decision handed down since 1893 and selected earlier cases, such as The Amistad.

Have a question about the Supreme Court? Congressional Quarterly's Supreme Court Collection is likely to give you the answer. The site provides a wonderful collection of information regarding the history of the Court, justices, and cases. Visitors can also analyze different justices' opinions, read other countries' constitutions, and examine important Court documents. (See Exercises.)

The Supreme Court Historical Society's web site also provides a terrific history of the Court. Of particular interest may be the information on Supreme Court cases regarding students.

Cornell University's Legal Information Institute Supreme Court Collection is another web site from which students can obtain information about current cases before the Court. You can search by cases pending oral argument, cases granted cert (review), and cases argued this term.

Ever wonder what a Supreme Court justice's chambers look like? Want to see the inside of the courtroom? Now you can by taking a Virtual Tour of the Supreme Court (requires QuickTime 5 plug-in). What about actually hearing a court case? Check out the Audio of Selected Supreme Court Cases (requires Real Player plug-in). Here you can listen to important recent court cases, such as University of Michigan affirmative action cases or Bush v. Gore, and Supreme Court classics, including Gideon v. Wainwright and Roe v. Wade.

Judiciary sites at all levels

Find out information about the Federal Judiciary. This site provides links to every federal appellate and district court web site. Visitors can look at a variety of statistical reports on the federal judiciary, view the number of vacancies on the federal courts, and find answers to frequently asked questions about the federal judiciary.

The most influential and prestigious of the appellate courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia's web site contains up-to-the-day information on the court's docket and access to recent opinions.

Legal organizations and centers

Thinking about law school? Then you need to visit the web site of the American Bar Association, the largest voluntary professional organization in the world. This site offers visitors a variety of information regarding the association and will be extremely useful to those considering law school. The Law School link gives information about preparing for a law degree, various law schools, and passing the bar.

The American Judicature Society (AJS) is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to maintaining "the independence and integrity" of the courts. AJS has a national membership of judges, lawyers, scholars, and citizens. Visitors to the web site can learn about judicial ethics, the judicial selection process, judicial independence, and the National Jury Center.

The Brennan Center for Justice is housed at New York University's School of Law. The center is dedicated to questions of criminal justice, democracy, and poverty as they relate to the judiciary. An enormous amount of scholarly research is available at this site. Students can also sign up for the Court Pester E-Lert to obtain weekly emails with links to newspaper articles on the judiciary from across the country on a wide range of issues including judicial selection, reform, and misconduct.