American National Government - POSC 111 Resource Guide

The Constitution created the Supreme Court and empowered Congress, in Article I, Section 8, to establish inferior federal courts. The authority of federal courts is limited to that given to them by the federal statutes that created them. Federal courts exist independently of the system of courts in each state that adjudicate controversies that arise pursuant to the laws of that state.

The existence of “one supreme court” is mandated by Article III of the U.S. Constitution, although the existence and scope of all other federal tribunals are left to the discretion of Congress. A small area of original jurisdiction is set aside for the Supreme Court, but its appellate jurisdiction is to be “with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations, as Congress shall make.”

Highest court of the United States, established by Article 3 of the Constitution of the United States.

The Court Statistics Project (CSP) — a joint project of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) — publishes caseload data from the courts of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These data are provided by the offices of the state court administrator in those jurisdictions.

The Federal Judicial Center is the research and education agency of the federal judicial system established by Congress. It is charged with continuing education and training for federal judges, court employees, and others; developing recommendations and conducting and promoting research on federal judicial procedures, court operations, and history.

Historical information about judges, landmark legislation, oral histories and educational resources.

The White House webpage outlining the role of the Judicial Branch in federal government.

The National Center for State Courts is an independent, nonprofit court improvement organization founded at the urging of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Warren E. Burger.

Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information online from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts, and the PACER Case Locator. PACER is provided by the Federal Judiciary in keeping with its commitment to providing public access to court information via a centralized service.

SCOTUSblog is devoted to comprehensively covering the U.S. Supreme Court without bias and according to the highest journalistic and legal ethical standards. The blog is provided as a public service and is sponsored by Bloomberg Law.

Official site of the Supreme Court.

The Database contains over two hundred pieces of information about each case decided by the Court between the 1953 and 2008 terms.

Useful and clear information about the constitution, amendments and the basic structure of the court system.

Official government website devoted to the federal courts. Includes information on judges, court records, statistical information and educational resources .