SCOTUS/enemy combatant case legal research question:

[UCLA02]

A professor of mine is listed as filing an amicus brief in the Hamdi/enemy combatant case that the SCOTUS announded Friday they will hear. It was submitted for the 4th Circuit's consideration of the case. (337 F.3d 335)

My question is are these briefs of public record and if so, how does one get them? Done some poking around Lexis and can't find it a way to get them. Is it because the Fed. courts just don't release them for databases to host online, or would one have to request them directly from the court, if at all?

(I really don't want to ask my prof about it directly, in case anybody was going to suggest that approach...;-) )

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[seventhson]

1. call the court clerk and ask them

they will yell you what is avasilable and where. Try a local law library or law school law librarian too.

[happyslug]

2. Try Pacer?

http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/

[happyslug]

3. Try Pacer?

http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/

[Flaxbee]

4. It probably wouldn't be online yet...

so asking the court is a good idea, but perhaps you could ask the UCLA dept. your prof. is part of & get around asking him/her directly that way. And/or call UCLA's law school and ask them... if your prof. isn't part of the law school (are you at UCLA law?) then s/he very well may have asked one or several of the law profs. for their input/suggestions & the law school library might have copies (the law school librarians will know immediately where you can get it). Amicus briefs usually are public, but this is such a sensitive case that the feds may try to limit access (esp. to briefs that are critical of their position). Getting it from the court will be a pain in the a** because they're not going to sit there any copy it for you, and they probably don't have extras lying around to mail out. You'll most likely have to go directly to the source, the professor, or his/her teaching assistants/aides.

Also, check online at places like NPR (Nina Totenberg follows the courts, they might have info in their archives about the case & amicus briefs) and the ACLU, etc., etc. In fact, the UCLA department you prof. is part of might even have it posted...