U.S. Supreme Court Transcripts: 1924-1954

This collection extends our selection of Pre-1968 Transcripts with even older transcripts from the U.S. Supreme Court Library and other sources, such as the “Landmark Briefs and Arguments” series.

The focus here is on cases that don’t have an audio recording (i.e, pre-1955 cases), since The Oyez Project already does a fine job providing unofficial transcripts of all tape-recorded cases argued since October 1955.

See our post on The Supreme Court Library for further discussion.

October Term 1924

October Term 1926

October Term 1934

October Term 1936

July Special Term 1942

October Term 1946

October Term 1947

The Parker v. Illinois [PDF] case is interesting because it featured a pro se litigant who was also not a lawyer. It’s also unclear to what extent the Court was aware of this fact, because there’s this curious exchange near the end of the argument:

JUSTICE RUTLEDGE: Mr. Parker, I would like to ask one question and I would like to state it very carefully and have you answer it just as I put it.

MR. PARKER: Yes, sir.

JUSTICE RUTLEDGE: Does the record show – I don’t want yes or no to anything else – does this record show whether you are a member of the Bar or not?

MR. PARKER: I am not. The record shows I am not.

JUSTICE RUTLEDGE: All right.

MR. PARKER: The record shows I am not. Oh, no, I am not a lawyer.

Mr. Parker didn’t prevail (although he did garner 3 dissenting votes). And pro se non-lawyers do sometimes win, as Mr. Sloan did in SEC v. Sloan (1978). But Mr. Sloan was the last non-lawyer to argue at the Supreme Court, and ever since the Court changed its rules in 2013, non-lawyers have not been permitted to argue their own cases at the Supreme Court.

October Term 1948

October Term 1949

October Term 1950

October Term 1951

October Term 1952

October Term 1954

Virginian R. Co. v. Railway Employees

No. 324
300 U.S. 515

Argued Monday, February 8, 1937
Decided Monday, March 29, 1937

300 U.S. 515

Ex Parte Quirin

No. 1
317 U.S. 1

Argued July 29-30, 1942
Decided Friday, July 31, 1942

317 U.S. 1

Ex Parte Quirin

No. 1
317 U.S. 1

Argued July 29-30, 1942
Decided Friday, July 31, 1942

317 U.S. 1

Ex Parte Quirin

No. 1
317 U.S. 1

Argued July 29-30, 1942
Decided Friday, July 31, 1942

317 U.S. 1

Ex Parte Quirin

No. 1
317 U.S. 1

Argued July 29-30, 1942
Decided Friday, July 31, 1942

317 U.S. 1

Ex Parte Quirin

No. 1
317 U.S. 1

Argued July 29-30, 1942
Decided Friday, July 31, 1942

317 U.S. 1

Adamson v. California

No. 102
332 U.S. 46

Argued Wednesday, January 15, 1947
Decided Monday, June 23, 1947

332 U.S. 46

Parker v. Illinois

No. 270
333 U.S. 571

Argued Friday, February 13, 1948
Decided Monday, April 5, 1948

333 U.S. 571

AFL v. American Sash & Door Co.

No. 27
335 U.S. 538

Argued Monday, November 8, 1948
Decided Monday, January 3, 1949

335 U.S. 538

AFL v. American Sash & Door Co.

No. 27
335 U.S. 538

Argued Tuesday, November 9, 1948
Decided Monday, January 3, 1949

335 U.S. 538

AFL v. American Sash & Door Co.

No. 27
335 U.S. 538

Argued Tuesday, November 9, 1948
Decided Monday, January 3, 1949

335 U.S. 538

AFL v. American Sash & Door Co.

No. 27
335 U.S. 538

Argued Wednesday, November 10, 1948
Decided Monday, January 3, 1949

335 U.S. 538

Automatic Radio Mfg. Co. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc.

No. 455
339 U.S. 827

Argued Wednesday, April 5, 1950
Decided Monday, June 5, 1950

339 U.S. 827

Rogers v. United States

No. 20
340 U.S. 367

Argued Tuesday, November 7, 1950
Decided Monday, February 26, 1951

340 U.S. 367

Hoffman v. United States

No. 513
341 U.S. 479

Argued Wednesday, April 25, 1951
Decided Monday, May 28, 1951

341 U.S. 479

Radio Corp. of America v. United States

No. 565
341 U.S. 412

Argued Monday, March 26, 1951
Decided Monday, May 28, 1951

341 U.S. 412

Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson

No. 522
343 U.S. 495

Argued Thursday, April 24, 1952
Decided Monday, May 26, 1952

343 U.S. 495

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer

No. 744,745
343 U.S. 579

Argued Monday, May 12, 1952
Decided Monday, June 2, 1952

343 U.S. 579

Barrows v. Jackson

No. 517
346 U.S. 249

Argued Tuesday, April 28, 1953
Decided Monday, June 15, 1953

346 U.S. 249

Opper v. United States

No. 49
348 U.S. 84

Argued Friday, October 22, 1954
Decided Monday, December 6, 1954

348 U.S. 84

United States v. California Eastern Line

No. 263
348 U.S. 351

Argued Thursday, February 10, 1955
Decided Monday, March 7, 1955

348 U.S. 351

Maneja v. Waialua Agricultural Company

No. 357
349 U.S. 254

Argued Wednesday, March 30, 1955
Decided Monday, May 23, 1955

349 U.S. 254

Peters v. Hobby

No. 376
349 U.S. 331

Argued Tuesday, April 19, 1955
Decided Monday, June 6, 1955

349 U.S. 331