Free Online Research Tools: Oyez.org

  Oyez is a multimedia archive dedicated to providing free access for all to materials from and about the Supreme Court of the United States. The project is maintained by Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (LII), the Chicago-Kent College of Law, and Justia.com. An audio recording system was installed in the Court in October of 1955, and Oyez offers an extensive collection of transcript-synchronized and searchable audio recordings. Audio recordings can be accessed by locating a case, then clicking on the oral argument link. Once the media window opens, users can search within the transcript, play the entire recording, or click on a paragraph in the transcript to jump to that clip in the recording. Unfortunately, not all post-1955 cases have audio recordings available due to degradation of the original reels and other issues as explained here.

Oyez also features full text Supreme Court opinions, along with case summaries and decision information. If you are interested in learning more about individual justices from any time in the Court’s history, Oyez has detailed biographies. You can also view a virtual tour of the Supreme Court building and justices’ chambers.