Any lawyer writing a brief will consult relevant case opinions, but the most inspirational tool for the job is often other briefs (especially those that inspired past favorable opinions.) And we all know that those briefs are not as quickly and easily obtained as the opinions. Our patrons may be afraid to ask us about briefs, for fear of being taken to that huge microfiche viewer in the back. Fortunately, the electronic age is slowly making inroads in this much-requested area, and access to the brief you need may be at your fingertips.
- First, users might be surprised that both appellate and district court briefs can be accessed via public access computers in any Minnesota state courthouse. (In the main Ramsey County courthouse, go to Room 72 in the basement.) So long as they are not sealed or confidential, briefs are available from January 2015 on, and include both published and unpublished cases. The familiar drawback is that the MNCIS and MACS interfaces only allow searching by case numbers or names, with no option for subject matter searching.
- Second, be aware of the Minnesota State Law library’s online archive for briefs and oral arguments, with coverage beginning with volume 705 of the Northwestern Reporter 2d series (2005). Though not as sleek as a Westlaw interface, the search blank can be filled with statute numbers, terms like “limine”, or with Northwest Reporter citations. Criminal opinions are only available for the Supreme Court, and not the Court of Appeals, and appendices and exhibits are not electronically available. Are you looking for an appellate brief that is very new and not yet on MACS? You can send an email to the State Law Library to request it. For more assistance in locating briefs, see also the State Law Library’s excellent page on finding briefs and oral arguments.
- Third, our expanded Westlaw subscription now allows access to many (but not all) briefs. The “briefs” link on the Minnesota page allows access to selected briefs or petitions filed with a federal or supreme or appellate court, beginning with 2001. (Briefs for other states can be accessed from their respective pages.) A limited number of district court briefs are also available through the “Minnesota trial court documents” links. You may not be able to find exactly the case brief you need, but the advanced interface lets you search for briefs in certain subject areas, such as “motion to quash” or “motion to dismiss.” (Be aware that few Ramsey District briefs are available through this source.)
- The old-fashioned brief options are hardcopy and ….microfiche. The Minnesota State Law Library keeps hardcopy briefs for published opinions back to 1917. Those of the 300 NW2d Reporter series onward may be borrowed. (A money deposit may be needed.) And yes, we still have briefs on microfiche here at the Ramsey County Law Library for published cases, going back to the 300 NW2d Reporter volume forward (roughly 1981 and after.) You can at least use the microfiche to see if a brief is helpful, and either print it or go to the State Law Library to borrow it.
We hope your brief searching is itself brief and painless. When you are ready to start writing your own, consider borrowing our copy of A Brief Guide to Brief Writing: Demystifying the Memorandum of Law.
