Inside the Supreme Court

Petition to Decision

Papers of Supreme Court Justices on Civil Rights Cases

David Achtenberg

Professor & Law Foundation Scholar

UMKC School of Law

Kansas City, MO 64110-2499

816-235-2382

AchtenbergD@umkc.edu

Jett Home
 
Blackmun
Files
 
Brennan Files
 
Marshall Files
 
White Files
 
Abbreviations
Jett v. Dallas Independent School District

Digital Archive

 

The Blackmun Papers The Brennan Papers The Marshall Papers The White Papers

 

          Coverage:  This page links you to the digital archive of all the available papers of Supreme Court Justices dealing with Jett v. Dallas Independent School District (as well as its companion case, Dallas Independent School District v. Jett) Currently, Jett papers are available for Justices Blackmun, Brennan, Marshall and White.   The digital archive presents the papers just as you would find them in the archives where the originals are stored.   

          Alternative Ways to View the Justices' Papers:  Many researchers may prefer to view the papers in chronological (rather than archival) order.  To do so, you should click here to go to the Timeline Page

 

          Examples of Digital Box and File:  In the Marshall page of the digital archives, Box 477 File 4 appears as shown below.  In the Thurgood Marshall Papers at the Library of Congress, Box 477 File 4 contains eight documents totaling 85 pages.  The digital "file" contains the same documents in the order that you would find them if you examined the originals in the Archives. For example, the first document (the third draft of Justice Brennan's dissenting opinion) can be accessed by clicking on the "Begins" image number (TM477F40001).

 

Box 477 File 4
Brief Description Date Begins Ends
WJB Dissent 3rd Draft 06-21-89 TM477F40001 TM477F40015
JPS Dissent 2nd Draft 06-21-89 TM477F40016  
WJB Dissent 2nd Draft 06-21-89 TM477F40017 TM477F40031
SDO Opinion 4th Draft 06-21-89 TM477F40032 TM477F40067
Memo HAB to WJB 06-21-89 TM477F40068  
Memo TM to WJB 06-20-89 TM477F40069  
JPS Dissent 1st Draft 06-20-89 TM477F40070  
WJB Dissent 1st Draft 06-20-89 TM477F40071 TM477F40085

 

 

While the justices have files dedicated to particular cases, they also have files where they kept particular types of document for all the cases decided in a particular term.  For example, Justice Marshall maintained "Docket Files" which contained his hand-written notes on certiorari and merits conferences, i.e., the meetings during which the Court discussed and voted on each case.  Since each of these files contained notes on various cases, the digital version of the file only includes the documents related to Jett or its companion case .  For example, the digital "Docket File" below (Box 552 File 6) contains Marshall's notes only on the certiorari conference and the merits conference at which Jett and its companion case were discussed.

 

Box 552 File 6
Brief Description Date Begins Ends
TM Docket (Vote Record) on Petition various TM552F60001 TM552F60002
TM Conference Notes 03-31-89 TM552F60003  

 

 

         

          Abbreviations:  I have abbreviated the names of the justices, their clerks, and a few other persons.    A key to all abbreviations that can be accessed by clicking the abbreviations button in the yellow navigation area.      

 

          Higher Resolution Copies:  Most of the documents are presented in comparatively small pdf files which should be adequate for most uses.  Please let me know if you think that any particular image needs to be replaced with a higher resolution version.  I will also be happy to send higher resolution copies (or original JPEGs) of any images to anyone who needs them.  For further information about how the documents were photographed, edited and converted to pdf files, click here to go to the Image Creation and Conversion Protocol Page. 

 

          Sources and Citation:  For an explanation of how to determine the original archive location of any document, click here to go to the Document Source Page.