Goodson Law Library

Federal Judges and Justices (Ref. KF8776.F42).
This loose-leaf service contains a listing of nominations, confirmations, elevations, resignations, and retirements in the federal judiciary. For each nominee, a brief biography is included. Coverage dates from the 99th Congress (1985) through the 107th Congress (2001).

Judicial Nominations (Justice Department).
This site is provided by the United States Department of Justice. The site includes name, nomination date, and confirmation date for recent federal court nominations submitted to the Senate for confirmation.

Judicial Nominations (U.S. Senate).
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary also provides information on judicial nominations, which is searchable by congressional session. The nomination materials include the nominees’ ABA record and committee questionnaire.

Judicial Vacancies (U.S. Courts).
The U.S. Courts website maintains a list of current and future federal judicial vacancies, as well as recent and archived confirmation data. Information is available back to 1981.

A. U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court, Biographies of Current Justices
The official site of the Supreme Court of the United States contains brief biographies of current members of the Court.

Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, 5th ed. (Ref. KF8742.C66 2010).
This book contains two volumes on the history of the Supreme Court and the justices who have served on the Court. Volume one includes a detailed history of the Supreme Court and its development. Volume two addresses the impact of public opinion on the Court's decision making process, reviews the structure of the Court, and contains brief biographies, arranged in chronological order, of each justice who has served on the Court.

Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed. (Ref. KF8744 .H35 2001).
This book contains biographies of all Supreme Court justices from 1789 to 2000, focusing on how their pre-judicial careers may have influenced their judicial tenure. In addition to biographical information, the book also contains a detailed bibliography at the end of each article. The book is arranged in alphabetical order.

The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies 1789-2012, 3d ed. (Ref. KF8744.S86 2013 & online).
This book contains biographical information on all Supreme Court justices from 1789 to 2012. Each article includes information on why the justice was selected for appointment, the justice's educational background, the major constitutional issues addressed during the justice's tenure, and a brief description of each of the justice's major opinions. A selective bibliography on the history of the Supreme Court and on each of the justices is also included. The book is arranged in chronological order.

B. Federal Judges

Biographical Dictionary of the Federal Judiciary 1789-2000 (Ref. KF 8700 .A19 B48 2001).
This book contains brief biographical sketches of all federal judges from 1789 to 2000. An appendix lists judges by appointing president from Washington to Nixon.

Federal Court Locator
This site from Villanova University School of Law provides links to federal judiciaries and opinions of federal courts. While the information provided by the individual links varies, a number of sites include the names of the judges serving on a particular court and contact information, such as address and telephone number.

History of the Federal Judiciary
This site from the Federal Judicial Center provides historical biographical information and professional resumes of federal judges since 1789. The site also provides information on other selective judicial topics such as notable records of judicial service and judicial impeachments.

Judges of the United States, 2d ed. (Ref. Doc. Ju 10.2:J 89/4/1983 & online in HathiTrust).
This directory contains biographical information on all federal judges from 1789 to 1981. It contains indexes by appointing president and year of appointment.

Directories of courts, judges, and court personnel are available for many states. These directories are often published as a section of a directory of attorneys or members of the bar in a given jurisdiction, and usually list the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all judges, state and federal, in their jurisdictions.

Many state court and judge directories have moved to an electronic format or otherwise discontinued print publication. To locate historical print directories in the Law Library's Superseded Reference collection, search the online catalog for the subject keywords law and directories and [state].

North Carolina Legal Directory (Ref. Desk KF 192.N67). The official directory of the North Carolina State Bar. A current directory is also searchable online.

A. Clerkships

Duke Law students who are interested in researching judicial clerkship opportunities should visit the Career Center for access to the Law School's internal application system, Symplicity, as well as OSCAR (Online System for Clerkship Application and Review). This website enables clerkship applicants to select the federal judges to whom they wish to apply and build their application online.

The Goodson Law Library collection includes several titles on the clerkship interview process, skills, and day-to-day responsibilities:

• Mary L. Dunnewold, Judicial Clerkships: A Practical Guide (Ref. KF8807 .D867 2010). Comprehensive overview of the work of a judicial clerk, beginning with the application process and providing "refreshers" on writing and research skills.

• Federal Judicial Center, Law Clerk Handbook: A Handbook for Law Clerks to Federal Judges, 3d ed. 2017. Extensive e-book for federal law clerks.

• Jennifer Sheppard, In Chambers: A Guide for Judicial Clerks and Externs (Ref. KF8807 .S527 2012). Practical guidance for judicial clerks, covering the application process as well as necessary skills such as research, writing, and ethics.

• Debra Strauss, Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships, 3d ed. (KF8771 .S77 2023). Guide covering all aspects of clerkships, including the interview process.

B. Biographies

The Goodson Law Library collects judicial biographies for federal and state judges. Biographies of judges can be found in the online catalog under the following subject headings:

• African American Judges--[jurisdiction]--Biography
• Judges--[jurisdiction]--Biography
• Women Judges--[jurisdiction]--Biography.

For biographies of a particular judge, search the online catalog using the judge's name as a subject heading.