Oregon Legal Research Blog
Lawyers in large law firms usually have databases, couriers, professional law librarians and money to help them locate full-text copies of court documents quickly. What are mere mortals to do? There is actually quite a bit.
Mere mortals who want Oregon appellate court documents have their own “points of access” and it’s going to get better:
1) How to Find Oregon Appellate Court Briefs research guide, which will be updated shortly
2) Full-text Oregon appellate court briefs at the State of Oregon Law Library (SOLL) Digital Law Library website:
*Court of Appeals briefs: are usually posted some time during the month that the case is argued for Court of Appeals.
*Supreme Court briefs: are posted a little more irregularly than Court of Appeals briefs, but they are generally posted before the case is argued.
3) You can also contact the Appellate Court Records Section, which can send you an electronic copy of a brief for what I’ve been told is a nominal fee. This service, I’ve been told, is available within a day or two of the brief being filed. (But don’t hold your breath, yet, for an easy mobile app. That’s too high up on the “cool” meter :))
4) Last, but not least, the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) will launch (read the announcement) a new service later this month (July 2016) where subscribers to eCourt will be able to access documents in the Appellate Case Management System. That announcement was made in June. Updates can be found at the OJD website. (Note: not everyone will have access to all court documents due to confidentiality protections and agreements.)
Note re locating Federal Court Documents: Mere mortals who want federal court documents also have several ways to get those documents, e.g. from PACER (which may be available at your public law library) and similar services, from the federal courthouse clerk’s office or library, and even by nagging your Congressional representatives, who control access to federal public records including court documents; they hold the purse strings – and if you don’t think what can be or is posted online isn’t driven by budgets, ask professionals who know the technical and project management expertise and time and money that is required to put information online.