Historical Research Resources

Books

Hare, J. (Ed.). (2018). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court: life and law in the Commonwealth, 1684-2017. The Pennsylvania State University Press.

Eastman, F. (1922). Courts and Lawyers of Pennsylvania: A History 1623 - 1923. The American Historical Society, Inc.

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Volume 4

Loyd, W. (1910). Early Courts of Pennsylvania. The Boston Book Company

Rowe, G.S. (1994). Embattled Bench: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Forging of a Democratic Society, 1684 -1809. University of Delaware Press.

Williams, O. (2001). County Courthouses of Pennsylvania: A Guide. Stackpole Books.

Tamilia, P. (2000). Keystone of Justice: The Pennsylvania Superior Court. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee (2006). Literature in Stone: The Hundred Year History of Pennsylvania's State Capitol.

Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee (2002). A Sacred Challenge: Violet Oakley and the Pennsylvania Capitol Murals.

Online Research

Pennsylvania State Archives - Research Online: The Pennsylvania was created in 1903 and is the official archivist for Pennsylvania Supreme Court records.

Jenkins Law Library: Founded in 1802 in a small room in Independence Hall, the Law Library Company of Philadelphia, renamed 1967, is a helpful resource for historical legal research.

Pennsylvania State Library: Browse the online collection at Pennsylvania's State Library, including the Law Library.

Allegheny County Law Library: Located on the ninth floor of the City-County building, one floor above the Supreme Court Courtroom.

Pennsylvania Historical Society: Founded in 1824, the Historical Society serves as Philadelphia's Library of American History with over 21 million documents.

The Athenaeum of Philadelphia: Archives the history of architecture in Philadelphia.

Articles & Websites

Pennsylvania Bar Association's History of the Pennsylvania Constitution

Pennsylvania Bar Association's Resources on the US Constitution

Seth F. Kreimer, The Right to Privacy in the Pennsylvania Constitution, Widener J. Pub. L (1993).

William H. Lloyd, Jr., The Courts of Pennsylvania in the Eighteenth Century Prior to the Revolution, University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register , Jan., 1908, Vol. 56, No. 1, Volume 47 (1908).

Michael J. Schwab, Long Live the King: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania's King's Bench Powers Rightfully Crown It as King of the Commonwealth's Judiciary, 65 Vill. L. Rev. 677 (2020).

Bernard F. Scherer, The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the Origins of King's Bench Power, 32 Duq. L. Rev. 525 (1994).

Joel Fishman, The Reports of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Law Library Journal, Vol. 87, pp. 643-693 (1995).

J. P. Selsam, A History of Judicial Tenure in Pennsylvania, 38 DICK. L. REV. 168 (1934).