The Archival Collection of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Housed at the John Minor Wisdom Court of Appeals Building, the 5th Circuit Archives comprise a small collection of materials pertinent to the History of the Court. The archives contain collected information of the current and former judges, including photographs, press clippings, memorial proceedings, resolutions and biographical information.

Other information contained in the archives includes material collected during the period of the splitting of the circuit and a collection of photographs which depict the construction of the Court of Appeals Building from 1910-1915. A brief history of the John Minor Wisdom Court of Appeals Building is located on the 5th Circuit Library web site at:

In the summer of 1997 the 5th Circuit Library began an aggressive acquisition program to collect publications of judges currently sitting on the court. These include law review articles, monographs and videotapes of speeches, and congressional testimony. The publications of judges who sat on the court from the late 19th and early 20th century are currently being collected and added to the collection. Several years ago, the library began the videotaping of oral history interviews of Senior Judges of the court. Once the project is completed, these video tapes will be placed in the archives for viewing. Due to space limitations, the court is unable to collect or maintain the papers of circuit judges. These are generally left to law schools or Archival Collections within the circuit. These include: