Oral Histories
Additional Resources
Oral History Guides
Initiating a Federal Court Historical Program
Federal Judicial Center
Includes an 11-page section on oral history projects and sample oral history legal release agreements in Appendix D.
Oral Histories in the Digital Age
F. Richard Lyford, Historical Society of the United States Courts in the Eighth Circuit.
Guide on oral history projects, presented at the Eighth Circuit Historical Society's History Workshop, May 3, 2016 at the Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference.
Oral History Home Runs
U.S. Courts Library - 8th Circuit
Graphical workflow chart for oral history projects.
Sixty Minute Guide to Oral History
Bradley Williams, Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society.
Handouts from workshop Sixty Minute Guide to Oral History
Interview Outlines
Outline of Interview Topics
F. Richard Lyford. Historical Society of the United States Courts in the Eighth Circuit.
Saving Yesterday Today for Tomorrow: A Guide to Oral History for the Bench and Bar.
Preliminary Outline for Oral History, Appendix A
Biographical Sketch, Appendix C
Outline of Topics for Interviewing Lawyers, Appendix D
Outline of Topics for Interviewing Judges, Appendix E
Carole Hicke. Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society.
Sample Interview Outline for Judge John Bissell (NJ),
Federal Magistrate Judges Association
Suggested Format for Interviews
Federal Magistrate Judges Association
Release Agreements
Saving Yesterday Today for Tomorrow: A Guide to Oral History for the Bench and Bar.
Oral History Agreement, Appendix B
Carole Hicke. Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society.
Initiating a Federal Court Historical Program.
Sample Oral History Legal Release Agreements, Appendix D
Federal Judicial Center.
Transcription
Saving Yesterday Today for Tomorrow: A Guide to Oral History for the Bench and Bar.
Transcribing Procedures for Oral Histories, Appendix F
Carole Hicke. Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society.
A judicial oral history uses well-crafted questions designed to extract a verbal autobiography conveying the life and career of the judge. Such an interview can document valuable primary source material with rare personal insight. The Society regularly conducts and facilitates the production and preservation of judicial oral histories in a variety of formats, from a variety of sources.
Initiating a Judicial Oral History Program
Producing oral histories is one of the Society’s main endeavors. This work is conducted through the various branches. Although there is no universal format — the process is a collaboration between the Judge and the Society — the ultimate goal of the project is to preserve the history of our Courts. Anyone interested in supporting this cause in any way is encouraged to get involved in their branch. The branches are principally tasked with prioritizing, arranging, and conducting the interviews. The Society supports its various branches and, where possible, centralizes those interviews in a place where they can be viewed by the general public. The resources on the left side of this page contain material for those interested in becoming involved in this process.
