DC Courts Libraries
The District of Columbia Courts* have two libraries:
- D.C. Court of Appeals (DCCA) Library, located at the Historic Courthouse (Court of Appeals), is not open to the public but their librarian is available via email for reference help.
- D.C. Superior Court Library, located in Room 6735 at the Moultrie Courthouse, is open to the public.
The libraries offer the following resources to assist the public with legal research.
Legal Resources
The libraries have compiled links to local and federal resources you may find helpful while navigating our courts system. Included are links to D.C. law, the D.C. Code, regulations (local and federal), court case locators, reference materials and links to other local resource agencies. These external resources can assist you in finding information whether you're an attorney or a party without an attorney.
If you need help with these resources, please complete the Ask the Librarian form below.
Please note:
- This page provides access to legal information and resources, not legal advice.
- Most links are to outside resources (not maintained by the D.C. Courts).
Ask a Librarian
The Superior Court Library and Court of Appeals Library are pleased to launch a collaborative service for patrons — Ask a Librarian. Do you need help with a legal research question? Are you looking for a legal source of information? If so, Ask a Librarian at the DC Courts Libraries is here to help!
What we can provide help with:
- Basic legal research assistance, e.g., how to locate treatises, how to get started on a research project.
- Locating sources of information.
- Within copyright permissions, sharing of print materials housed in the Superior Court Library.
What we can't provide:
- Review or provide understanding of sources.
- Legal advice of any kind or interpretation of law.
- Extensive or ongoing research.
- Request for help on a current case.
- Assistance filling out forms that will be submitted to the Courts.
*PLEASE NOTE: The DC Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of DC are the equivalent to state courts for the District of Columbia—not federal courts. If you are looking for information about federal court cases or federal docket information, please visit the PACER, the United States District Court for DC, or the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit websites. Thank you!
- District of Columbia Bar
- Legal Aid D.C.
- Public Defender Service for D.C.
- U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
- Office of Attorney General D.C.
- D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program
- American Bar Association
- AARP-Legal Counsel for the Elderly
- Neighborhood Legal Services
- Bread for the City
- D.C. Law Students in Court/Rising Justice
- Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless
- University Legal Services
- University of the District of Columbia School of Law Housing
- D.C. Affordable Law Firm
- D.C. Coalition for Housing Justice
- D.C. Courts' List of Non-Attorney Civil Legal Services
- U.S. Constitution (from the Library of Congress)
- U.S. Code (from govinfo.gov)
- Code of Federal Regulations, C.F.R.
- Congress.gov
- USA.gov
- United States Courts
- Supreme Court of the United States
- The United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
- Law Technology Today (free search engine linked to hundreds of law review articles; maintained by the ABA)
- Bepress Legal Repository (Berkeley Law School)
- Justia
- Thomson Reuters’s Find Law
- VitalLaw Open Access Version
- Online Law Dictionary featuring Black's Law Dictionary 2nd edition
- Washington Lawyer, the official periodical of the DC Bar Association
- Legal Research Guide for Nonlawyers (AALL)
- Guide to DC Law (Library of Congress)
- Guide to DC Legal Research (Georgetown Law)
- Legal Glossary
- WorldCat (online card catalog)
- DC Bar Legal Resources
- DC Law Help
- Law Library of Congress
- American University Washington College of Law (Pence Law Library)
- Catholic University, Columbus School Law (Judge Kathryn J. DuFour Law Library)
- George Washington University Law (Burns Law Library)
- Georgetown Law Library
- Howard University School of Law (Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Law Library)
- University of Maryland School of Law (Thurgood Marshall Law Library)