Finding Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Briefs

Current and Recently Decided Cases

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit implemented Electronic Case Filing (ECF) on January 2, 2009.  For appeals filed after that date, the briefs may be available online through the Ninth Circuit PACER system.

PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) is a fee-based system that provides the public access to federal case information.  Anyone may register for a free PACER account.  Charges will be incurred for retrieving docket information and case documents.  (See PACER billing information and fee schedule.)  For assistance with PACER, visit the PACER Service Center website or call (800) 676-6856.

Briefs filed in high profile cases are sometimes made available at no cost under the "Cases of Interest" section of the Court of Appeals Homepage.

Call the Clerk's Office at (415) 355-8000 (option 3) for assistance with finding briefs for cases that are not available on PACER.  Be prepared to provide the docket / case number.  This number is printed on the slip opinion and in any decision printed in West’s Federal Reporter or West’s Federal Appendix.  It typically follows the following format: XX-YYYYY (e.g. 12-10124).

Older Cases

In general, four to five years after case closure, the Court of Appeals case file is transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Regional Archives in San Bruno, California. Call the Clerk's Office at (415) 355-8000 (option 3) to obtain NARA location information for a case.

Some Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals briefs may also be available from the following sources:

• Commercial legal research databases, such as Westlaw and Lexis. Check with your local public law librariesfor access information.

• Gallagher Law Library at the University of Washington: Copies provided through its Scanning Services.

• LA Law Library: Copies provided through its e-Delivery Service.

• 9th Circuit Historical Records Index System (9CHRIS): A searchable database containing Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals historical records from 1891 through the late 1960s.

• Internet Archive: Briefs of the Ninth Circuit from 1892 into the 1960s.

Court Records Research - General Tips

For additional help finding briefs and other court records from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and other courts, consult a research guide. The following are a few written on this topic:

• Berkeley Law Library: Docket Information and Case Filings

• Duke Law: Court Records and Briefs

• Georgetown University Law Library: Briefs, Oral Arguments and Other Court Documents Research Guide

• Harvard Law School Library: Records, Briefs, and Court Filings