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Appellate Advocacy Research Guide: Databases

This guide provides links to and descriptions of the Library's best and most popular appellate advocacy resources . It includes resources on state and federal rules, brief writing, oral argument, and appellate practice before state and federal courts.

About Databases

This page includes links to a number of sources that are available online through commerical providers, Bloomberg, LexisNexis, and Westlaw. Topics include:

Grammar and Style Guides

Very few style guides are available in commercial databases.  The "how to" guides are most often found in print.

  • Bloomberg Law now includes a law dictionary feature.  Simply type a legal term into the go box in the upper right-hand corner and select the most relevant entry under the "Barron's Law Dictionary" heading in the drop-down list to easily access the definition
  • Westlaw includes Black's Law Dictionary and Words and Phrases, which provides judicial definitions and explanations of key legal terms by jurisdiction.

Appellate Advocacy Texts and Treatises Online

Only a handful of the many texts devoted to appellate advocacy are available online. Access is available to current Loyola Law students, faculty, and staff.

Bloomberg Law

  • Federal Appellate Practice: This treatise draws upon the experience of more than a dozen partners and counsel in Mayer Brown's Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group to provide commentary on the most effective ways to handle each step of the process, explaining pitfalls, techniques, and opportunities that may not be apparent from merely reading technical rules.

Lexis

  • Appellate Practice in Federal and State Courts: Appellate Practice in Federal and State Courts is a complete guide to the appellate process for both practitioners and students. From preserving issues for appeal to preparing winning motions, skilled appellate lawyers provide insights on key considerations at every stage.
  • Federal Standards of Review: Federal Standards of Review provides a comprehensive analysis of the review process in civil, criminal and administrative cases. Know exactly how to evaluate a matter brought before the court for review, whether it involves juries, motions, agencies and magistrate judges, or habeas

Practising Law Institute (PLI)

Westlaw

  • Federal Appeals: Jurisdiction and Practice: Federal Appeals: Jurisdiction and Practice provides the guidance you need to determine whether an appeal is worth your time and your client's money. It contains in-depth guidance on the constitutional and statutory underpinnings of federal appellate jurisdiction.
  • Federal Court of Appeals Manual: In Federal Court of Appeals Manual, you'll find answers to all your questions concerning the federal courts of appeals. Using a clear, active style, the text emphasizes practical advice, presenting an exhaustive discussion of appellate procedure, techniques, and tactics. 

Briefs and Brief Writing

None of the major texts and practice guides listed under the Books section of this Guide are available through paid commercial databases.  Examples of actual briefs filed in actual cases, are, however, available.  Examples from briefs databases can provide a writer with ideas for arguments, new cases and ideas for structuring a brief.  But, one should not rely on someone else's judgment or legal research as a substitute for their own.  One of the advantages of books on brief writing is that in addition to examples, they provide explanation as to why an example is good or bad and how it can be improved.

Bloomberg Law

Lexis

  • U.S. Supreme Court Briefs
  • One can locate examples of briefs for both state and federal jurisdictions by choosing "Briefs, Pleadings and Motions" from the Lexis+ content menu.  From there, scroll to locate your jurisdiction. You can narrow your search using the same filters available for other Lexis documents.

Westlaw

  • To access appellate briefs via Westlaw, go to the All Content tab and choose 'Briefs'  the Briefs Multibase "has selected briefs from the U.S. Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, U.S. Tax Court, 51 state courts and the District of Columbia."  One can search for briefs by jurisdiction or by topic.

 

Oral Arguments

Courtroom Cast (LexisNexis)

  • LexisNexis Courtroom Cast includes training libraries for trial advocacy, rules of evidence, and appellate advocacy. The Appellate Advocacy Training Library includes short videos with commentary on various aspects of oral argument like using cases, citing to the record, and handling hostile questions. Register for Courtroom Cast using your LUC email address. The registration link is in the upper right-hand corner. To access the Appellate Advocacy Training Library click on the 'Training' link in the black banner.

Lexis

  • United States Supreme Court Transcripts : Transcripts of arguments before the United States Supreme Court since 1979.  Transcripts are received  from the Court, usually within two weeks of publication.

Westlaw

  • Trial Transcripts and Oral Arguments : This database contains oral arguments for select courts including the U.S. Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit Ciourt of Appeals going back to 2000.

Subject Guide

Address

Loyola University Chicago
School of Law Library 
Philip H. Corboy Law Center
25 E. Pearson Street
Chicago, IL 60611

Email

Access and borrowing questions:
Law-Library@luc.edu
Research questions: LoyolaLawReference@luc.edu

Phone Numbers

Main:  312.915.7200
Circulation:  312.915.6986
Reference:  312.915.7205
Interlibrary Loan:  312.915.7202
Fax:  312.915.6797