All I see everywhere[law reports/websites/legal softwares etc.] are legal judgments delivered by judges in various cases.
But is there a way to access the arguments made by lawyers in those cases word for word?
As a lawyer, it's far more important to understand how arguments are structured. Studying the styles and strategies of different lawyers across a range of cases can provide valuable insights.
This is challenging to do in most state and local trial courts, because full trial court transcripts are usually only made available to the parties to a case being appealed and appellate judges, and because state trial court filings are often hard to access.
Most non-sealed documents in state and local trial courts in non-juvenile cases are a matter of public record and can be obtained upon request from the clerk of the relevant court (lawyers can look directly through the state e-filing system, but sometimes have to pay a fee to do so), although you typically have to go in person to request them and don't have an index of records available to you to review before asking for them. There is also typically a research and copying fee to have the clerk of the court provide them for you.
But the PACER system of the federal courts makes all non-sealed court filings available to the general public, including motions and briefs that articulate the legal reasoning of the lawyers in writing. Oral in court proceedings in U.S. District Courts, however, are usually available only by being present in person to watch them.
U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments are available in audio form (but without video) shortly after they are made.
I don't know the practice in other U.S. states, but in Colorado, all oral arguments in the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court are live streamed in audio-visual format and can be streamed after the fact as well.
You can also just walk into a courtroom for almost any court case and sit in the gallery and watch the proceedings. This is true for almost every single kind of court case except juvenile cases, trade secret cases, and national security cases. There is rarely a shortage of space, or a line you have to wait in, to do this, except for trial of the century type criminal cases and for the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. This isn't done very often now, but in the 19th century and early 20th century, before television was invented, a surprising number of people did this for entertainment. These days, the privilege of doings so is exercised mostly by journalists, by students interested in law, by friends and families of the parties, and by people waiting until their own hearings come up. You have to identify yourself, because people who have to testify later in the case are excluded from the proceedings, but this is usually no big deal.
Sometimes it is possible to observe live streams of state trial court proceedings in Colorado via WebEx, with each courtroom having a link, but again, with the requirement that you identify yourself. These are not available for streaming after the fact.
Before civil trials occur, lawyers (or pro se parties) file with the court written submissions where they articulate their arguments.
Trials (or hearings) then take place with the primary purpose to hear evidence from witnesses, and also to give opportunity to the lawyers to add more to their already submitted arguments.
is there a way to access the arguments made by lawyers in those cases word for word?
The written submissions can be accessed by applying to the court to see the case documents. What was said orally during the trial can also be obtained by applying to see the transcript.
In any event, the parties' view as to whether the records can be released will be taken into account. Seeing these records is never a matter of absolute right.
You may be able to inspect statements of case by paying a fee, in accordance with CPR 5.4. See also CPR PD 5A for more details. Statements of case would include the particulars of claim, defence, and reply to the defence. These typically contain factual arguments rather than legal arguments. i.e. they will set out a party's position but without a lot of analysis of the law.
If you want legal arguments then you'd need access to skeleton arguments (a written summary of what the lawyer will argue in court) or a court transcript (a word for word accounting of what was said in court). Skeleton arguments require applying to court for permission to access them. The parties to the case will have an opportunity to object to the application and the court will decide on balance whether the principle of open justice requires providing the document. You can also apply for a transcript.
Most of these mechanisms are neither free nor straightforward (in the sense that obtaining a judgment is straightforward). This is why you will rarely come across anything other than the judgment. In many judgments however, especially those of higher courts or involving complex legal issues, the court will start by summarising the parties' arguments before moving on to its own analysis. While not the same as seeing exactly how the arguments were worded, it can still provide insight into the reasoning and why the court ultimately accepted or rejected that reasoning.
Another option is to attend hearings and watch the arguments for yourself. In the case of the Supreme Court, many decided cases have video recordings of the trial available to watch online.
You can also try: https://www.courtlistener.com/
