Web Sites About the Supreme Court

General Supreme Court & Case Information

• Supreme Court Center at FindLaw.Com 
  The Supreme Court Center allows you to choose from a variety of researching sources. Users can search cases from the current docket by month or subject, read about the justices and landmark cases, and find case briefs and opinions. The Supreme Court Center also has the Court’s calendar and rules. The site also includes articles and reviews commenting on Supreme Court decisions.
  (http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/)
• The Legal Information Institute's Supreme Court Collection
  Cornell University Law School sponsors and maintains the Legal Information Institute (LII). The LII provides a collection of key Supreme Court cases, both past and present. There is also a glossary, the Court’s rules and links to other U.S. Supreme Court related sites. LII also contains collections of federal law, state law, and laws from around the world.  (http://www.law.cornell.edu/)
• The Oyez Project
  The Oyez Project, maintained by Northwestern University, is a Supreme Court multimedia archive.

  The site aims to be a complete and authoritative source for all audio recorded in the Court since the installation of a recording system in October 1955.  They provide good short summaries of cases and the question(s) presented in each, as well as information about the justices, and a virtual tour.  (http://www.oyez.org/)

• The Supreme Court's Website
  The official website for the United States Supreme Court allows access to a variety of information on the Court. You need Acrobat Reader (it can be downloaded if you don’t have it) to read some files. The home page provides links within the site, including a calendar and schedule for the current term, how to visit the Court, oral arguments, and additional information from related web sites. There is also an overview of the Supreme Court where you can research the Court’s procedures and biographies of justices. (http://www.supremecourtus.gov/)
• SCOTUS Blog        
  The weblog provides timely information on current cases before the Supreme Court including links to relevant editorial pieces and news on those cases.  There are also links to other Supreme Court sites and several news sites.  The site recently started offering Supreme Court – oriented podcasts.  The creators have also launched a companion site, SCOTUS Wiki, that will function somewhat like Wikipedia to provide users with information about Supreme Court cases quickly and conveniently. (http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/)
• C-SPAN's Supreme Court Documentary and Teaching Resources

At C-SPAN's web site, you can stream their documentary, The Supreme Court, along with interviews from the Justices, reporters, lawyers, and Court historians.  You can also buy a copy of the documentary.  C-SPAN Classroom (registration required) provides clips from the documentary and lessons and activities to accompany it. (http://supremecourt.c-span.org/)

• Jurist: The Legal Education Network
  Jurist is an online legal education portal, providing legal news, legal research and scholarship, and information on law teaching.  The “Legal News” section has continuously updated coverage of hot legal topics in the U.S. and around the world.  Research can be done by cases and by statutes.  (http://www.jurist.law.pitt.edu/)
• On the Docket
  On the Docket provides articles on cases currently before the Supreme Court including features on selected cases.  You can search archived material and link to case lists by year.  There are also links to other law related sites and news sites. (http://otd.oyez.org/)
• Supreme Court Historical Society
  This site by the Supreme Court Historical Society contains extensive information on the history of the Supreme Court and how it became the Court it is today. The site has biographies of justices as well.  (http://www.supremecourthistory.org/)
• The Washington Post's Supreme Court Page
  The Washington Post site contains current news articles about recent Supreme Court decisions as well as sections spotlighting the newest justices. The site also archives the paper’s coverage of cases from the past five years.  You can get there from the Post’s home page by clicking on News, then Nation, then Special Reports, then Supreme Court.  (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/courts/supremecourt/)
• The New York Times’ Supreme Court Page
  The New York Times site contains news articles about recent Supreme Court decisions, as well as links to several blogs.  It also contains links to articles relating to each of the Justices, interactive multimedia features, and a summary of the notable cases from the present term. (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/supreme_court)
• Tony Mauro's Supreme Court Monitor
  The Law.com website has a Supreme Court Monitor that provides news and information on cases from this term. Decisions from cases in the last five years can be found by date or subject. There is also a section of the site listing cert petitions granted. (www.law.com/jsp/scm/index.jsp)
• Slate Magazine
  The site hosts a regular column by Dahlia Lithwick called Supreme Court Dispatches that provides engaging and accessible information on current issues before the Supreme Court.  Search for “Supreme Court Dispatches” for articles. (http://www.slate.com/)
• Duke Law Supreme Court Online
  The site is geared towards teaching the general public about Supreme Court decisions.  There are “plain English” descriptions of the certiorari grants (including facts and legal issues), the full text opinion as well as edited opinions which are quite user friendly.  The site also includes commentary from legal scholars about the impact of the decisions. (http://www.law.duke.edu/publiclaw/supremecourtonline/)
• National Archives
  The National Archives Site contains a number of links – from the exhibits of important documents, to Congressional records, and even links to Presidential libraries.  The “Our Documents” link contains 100 milestone documents in American history, including documents, treaties, and court cases.  Each milestone document contains a brief synopsis, links to the document and other sources, and some contain suggested lesson ideas.  There is also a link to the Digital Classroom which has lesson plans for teaching with documents. (http://www.archives.gov/)
• American Bar Association
  The American Bar Association maintains a site that provides the merit briefs for Supreme Court cases since 2003.  Amicus briefs, decisions, and the oral argument transcripts are available for the most recent term.  The site also allows limited access to some of the archives of the American Bar Association's publication, Preview, which provides a summary of an analysis of each case decided during the selected term. (http://www.abanet.org)
• United States Courts Online

This site is the homepage for the U.S. court system, and is filled with statistics and other information. Its link to “educational resources” features resources about the Constitution and the structure and purpose of Federal Courts. (www.uscourts.gov/)

Lesson Plan Sites

• Landmark Cases
  This site, by Street Law, Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical provides materials and activities for helping students explore the key issues of each of 17 “Landmark Cases.” The "Resources" section features basic building blocks such as background summaries and excerpts of opinions that can be used in multiple ways. The "Activities" section contains a range of short activities and in-depth lessons that can be completed with students. (www.landmarkcases.org)

• National Archives Digital Classroom & Digital Vaults

  The National Archives contains a number of important documents, Congressional records, and links to Presidential libraries.  The digital classroom includes landmark documents in American history, with teaching ideas and other resources.  The Digital Vaults lets you explore a range of documents.  (http://www.archives.gov/education/) and (http://www.archives.gov/nae/)

• The Constitution Center
  The website for the Constitution Center in Philadelphia has an interactive constitution, which you can explore section by section and is accompanied and interpreted by excerpts from Linda Monk’s book The Words We Live By.  The site also has resources for educators and a constitutional timeline.  (www.constitutioncenter.org) 
• The Learning Network (NY Times)
  Learning Network, in conjunction with The New York Times, provides teachers with a list of comprehensive lesson plans using New York Times articles to explore current topics in the news – gun control, First Amendment issues, censorship, and more. The lesson plans include warm-up activities, resources and materials, wrap-up exercises, vocabulary-building exercises, and extension activities.  (www.nytimes.com/learning/index.html)
• Justice Learning (NPR and New York Times Learning Network)
  

  This site uses audio from the NPR program Justice Talking and articles from The New York Times to engage students in discourse about current policy and issues. Though the site is no longer updated since the end of Justice Talking, it still provides links to the radio programs with accompanying class materials.  (www.justicelearning.org) 

• The Constitutional Rights Foundation
  The Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) is a non-profit, non-partisan, community-based organization that is dedicated to educating youth about civics, the law and the Constitution (including the Bill of Rights). The site includes “online lessons” on topics including school violence, impeachment, elections, “America’s Response to Terrorism,” and the war in Iraq. There are also lessons on the Bill of Rights and recently added lesson in honor of the 50th anniversary of Brown v Board of Education.  Students and teachers can also sign up to receive the CRF Newsletter at no charge.  (www.crf-usa.org)
• First Amendment Center
  The First Amendment Center site allows for research on First Amendment issues, cases, news, and commentary.  The lesson plans section is well done containing a section on key concepts for each lesson, first principles, links to relevant cases, very detailed lesson plans with supplemental material, links to additional resources, and enrichment activities at the end.  All of the materials can be adjusted for a variety of levels and learning styles. (www.firstamendmentcenter.org)
• EDSITEment
  Part of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Lessons cover “humanities” but are divided by content area (social studies, literature, arts) and by grade level.  Great list, good lessons.  Although some may find the website a little historical it acts as an excellent segue into constitutional law.  A good example is the lesson on James Madison and the 2nd National Bank – it would be a great background/lead in to studying McCulloch v Maryland. (http://edsitement.neh.gov/)
• The Columbia Education Center
  Columbia’s Education Center, in Portland, Oregon, provides a myriad of law-related lesson plans on their web site. Click on “Lesson Plans & Web Activities” and go to “Teacher-Developed Lesson Plans” for a host of Social Studies Lesson Plans for grades K-12. There is also a link to other “Web-Based Teaching Resources.” (www.col-ed.org)

• Congressional Digest Debates Online

  Congressional Digest provides citizens, teachers and students with an impartial view of controversial issues, including important debates before the Congress, the Supreme Court, and international bodies.  Subscribers receive access to Supreme Court Debates, Congressional Digest, and International Debates.  Anyone may search full text or browse by topic, publication or date to drill down on specific research needs.  Individual issues are also available for immediate purchase and download. (www.congressionaldigestdebates.com)