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

Monell Home
 
Blackmun
Files
 
Brennan
Files
 
Marshall Files
 
Powell
Files
 
Stewart
Files
 
White Files
 
Abbreviations




Monell Home
 
Blackmun
Files
 
Brennan
Files
 
Marshall Files
 
Powell
Files
 
Stewart
Files
 
White Files
 
Abbreviations
Monell v. Department of Social Services

Digital Archive

The Blackmun
Papers
The Brennan
Papers
The Marshall
Papers
The Powell
Papers
The Stewart Papers The White
Papers

          Coverage:  This page links you to the digital archive of all the available papers of Supreme Court Justices dealing with Monell v. Department of Social ServicesCurrently, Monell papers are available for Justices Blackmun, Brennan, Marshall and Powell.  (Justice Potter Stewart's papers will become available during the summer of 2010 and will be added as soon as feasible.)  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 Blackmun Papers page of the digital archives, Box 258 File 1 appears as shown below .  At the Library of Congress, Box 258 File 1 of the Blackmun papers contains five documents totaling 129 pages.  The digital "file" contains the same documents in the order that you would find them if you examined the originals in the Library of Congress's Manuscripts Reading Room. For example, the first document (the first draft of Justice Powell's concurring opinion) can be accessed by clicking on the "Begins" image number (HAB258F10001).

 

  Box 258 File 1  
  Brief Description Date Begins Ends  
  LFP Concurrence 1st Draft  5/17/1978 HAB258F10001 HAB258F10009  
  WJB Opinion 3d Draft 5/4/1978 HAB258F10010 HAB258F10053  
  WHR Dissent 2d Draft 4/26/1978 HAB258F10054 HAB258F10063  
  WJB Opinion 2d Draft 4/21/1978 HAB258F10064 HAB258F10106  
  WHR Memorandum 2d Draft  1/31/1978 HAB258F10107 HAB258F10129  

 

 

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 Brennan 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 Monell.  For example, the digital "Docket File" below (Box 430 File 8) contains Brennan's notes only on the various certiorari conferences and merits conferences at which Monell was discussed.

 

  Box 430 File 8  
  Brief Description Date Begins Ends  
  WJB Docket Sheet (vote record) various dates WJB430F80001    
  WJB Merits Conference Notes 3/6/1978 WJB430F80002    
  WJB Merits Conference Notes  11/4/1977 WJB430F80003 WJB430F80004  

 

 

         

          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.