Robert J. Ambrogi, in his always astute Web Watch column in Law Technology News, has an article in the July 2003 issue on Free Briefs.
He lists a variety of courts that are now publishing their briefs on the Web, including the Federal 7th and 8th Circuits and the supreme courts of Florida, Kentucky, North Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.
He also notes that the U.S. Department of Justice, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Special Counsel, and S.E.C. also have some of their briefs online.
In addition, he lists various advocacy groups that publish some of their briefs. The A.C.L.U., Cato Institute, Children's Rights, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Lambda Legal, and Public Citizen are just some of groups that he lists.
The briefs can, of course, be valuable in helping you write your own briefs. However, an out-of-the-box use for them could be to discover where your opponent, such as, for example, the Department of Justice, has made an inconsistent argument in an earlier case and then use that inconsistent argument to your own advantage.
I have not included the links to the brief sites in this posting because you can see the article with those links on the Law Technology News website. (You have to register to see it, but the registration is free.)
I recommend that you consider subscribing to their monthly magazine. It always includes some valuable legal technology information. And you can't beat the price – it's free!
Posted by ajlevy at July 14, 2003 5:04 PM