The Oyez Project is a free multimedia database providing access to unabridged oral arguments recorded before the US Supreme Court. The site does not include every oral argument available on audio at the present date, but offers the arguments for those cases that the compilers see as especially significant in the area of constitutional law. They have identified significant cases by reviewing the majority of casebooks and textbooks available on the topic of constitutional law. In addition, the site allows you to take a “virtual tour” of the US Supreme Court building through a series of panoramic photos.
Before either feature of this site can be utilized, users must have RealPlayer and QuickTime installed on their computers. The Oyez Project site provides links to the Web pages for both products from which versions of both may be downloaded free of charge. The minimum system requirements for using these products are a 90 MHz Pentium processor, 16MB of RAM, 14.4Kbps modem, a 16‐bit sound card and speakers, Windows 95 OS, Sound Blaster or a compatible sound card, and an Internet connection and Web browser. The recommended specifications include increases to a 120MHz Intel Pentium processor, 32MB of RAM, 28.8Kbps modem, and Direct X version 3.0.
To search for cases, click on the Cases link on the homepage. The screen that is retrieved lists court‐related events that occurred on that date. Several options for searching for cases appear on the left side of the screen. If the US Reports citation is known, you can retrieve cases by entering the volume and page number on the citation search screen. Likewise, if you are interested in events that occurred on a specific date, there is a search option specifically tailored for this purpose. If you search for a date when the court did not render an opinion, you will receive a message to that effect, along with a list of the justices who were sitting on the Court at that date. When searching by subject, you will be asked to select a topic from a predetermined listing of subjects. To conduct a title search, one or more relevant words from the case’s name should be entered, excluding the “vs.” as well as Boolean operators.
A drawback to the site is that it does not offer any means of Boolean searching for more experienced searchers. This is not really a problem if you have specific information such as the citation or title of the case. However, this could create problems for someone who is trying to retrieve all of the available cases on a subject narrower than those presented on the subject list. Despite this drawback, the Web site has a clean design, and beginning searchers will quickly be able to grasp the searching mechanisms.
When search results are displayed, a standard set of information is presented, including the citation, docket number, subject categories, and relevant dates. The column on the right side of the results screen will inform you whether the oral arguments are available in the database. You will also notice a link to Findlaw in this box. By clicking on this link you will be connected to a free database of legal information, and Findlaw will automatically search and retrieve the written opinion. On the left side you can choose to view how the justices voted, or access an abstract that provides the legal issues presented in the case and what the justices concluded. These are excellent features for quickly accessing basic information about cases. Many users will enjoy the feature that presents how the justices voted in a case. When you click on the voting link, a photograph of the justices who decided the case will appear. As the mouse is moved over each individual, his/her name will appear, along with the information about how they voted in the case.
The Oyez Project also offers a CD‐ROM product called The Supreme Court’s Greatest Hits for sale at $29.95. It offers access to arguments from “50 cases, six related cases that were argued separately but decided with a principal case, and 13 opinion pronouncements” heard before the court since 1955. Since it is a CD product, it offers some advantages in that it is portable and eliminates problems that stem from the Internet such as site congestion. The CD also provides a guide to highlights of the arguments, which makes it easier to pinpoint segments of particular interest. However, the Project’s Web site offers a larger selection of cases (with more than 900 hours of audio as opposed to the CD’s 70 hours) and is available free of charge. Another alternative to the Web site is a collection of audiotapes and trial transcripts entitled May it Please the Court (The New Press, $59.95). This option has the benefit of not requiring any computer equipment for usage, but offers a limited selection of arguments from 23 landmark cases. Also, the arguments included on the tapes are edited versions, and they contain voice‐overs from the editor that some listeners find distracting. Currently, the only way to gain access to every oral argument that has been recorded before the court is to visit the National Archives where the originals are stored. The Oyez Project Web site is currently the most attractive alternative available due both to its breadth of coverage and free cost.
I would recommend this product to any library that has a patron base interested in information about the Supreme Court. If RealPlayer and QuickTime are not already available on workstations, I would perhaps check with professors teaching courses relevant to the topic (political science, history) to see if they feel their students would benefit from the site before going through the process of downloading the necessary software. Overall, an interesting and valuable site that fills a void.
