When researching an appellate case, most people begin with the court’s final opinion. But the briefs filed before that decision can also be useful research materials. They show how attorneys framed the issues, developed their arguments, and responded to the other side.
The BYU Law Library is working to make more of these materials available through the Utah Court Briefs collection in the BYU Law Digital Commons. The collection contains public-record briefs submitted to the Utah Supreme Court and Utah Court of Appeals. The courts supplied these briefs to the BYU and University of Utah law libraries for legal scholarship and academic research.
Getting these materials into the repository takes more than uploading PDF files. Each brief needs basic information attached to it, including the case name, court, case number, filing date, type of brief, attorneys, and a short description. Consistent information makes the collection easier to search and more useful to students, faculty, attorneys, and other researchers.
To help with this process, I built a small web app and script. The app pulls information from the brief files, organizes it into the fields Digital Commons uses, and creates a spreadsheet that can be uploaded in batches. This allows us to prepare several records at once instead of entering every field by hand.
Part of the Python Script:
The app also flags files that need a closer look. Not every document is named or formatted the same way, and some files need to be reviewed before they can be added to the public collection. The app helps with the repetitive work, but it does not replace human review.
We are also getting help from our colleagues at the University of Utah’s James E. Faust Law Library. They are processing batches of briefs, which helps us work through the backlog and add more material to the collection. This collaboration is helping make the collection more complete and useful.
Most of this work happens behind the scenes. But it matters when a law student is studying appellate advocacy, a faculty member is researching the development of Utah law, or someone wants to see how the parties argued a case. The briefs give researchers another way to understand a case alongside the court’s final opinion.
As we continue processing these batches, our goal is to bring the collection up to date. We still have hundreds of briefs to review and upload, but this workflow is proving to be a practical way to work through them. It helps us make steady progress while keeping the records consistent and useful for researchers.
For questions about the collection, contact the Repository Administrator at hunterlawlibrary@law.byu.edu.