Accessibility — Fifth Circuit

Our approach

Accessibility is treated as an ongoing effort rather than a finished task. As pages and features are built or revised, the Court consults the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium, as a reference for design and development decisions.

These guidelines inform the work; they are used as a practical standard of reference and not as a representation about any particular page. Website technology, content, and the guidelines themselves continue to change, and the Court expects to keep adjusting its practices accordingly.

Steps taken in building this site

In developing this website, the Court has worked to incorporate practices including the following.

Descriptive page titles and headings arranged in a consistent order.
Text alternatives for images that convey information.
Navigation, forms, and interactive controls that can be operated with a keyboard.
A visible indicator showing which item on the page currently has keyboard focus.
A "skip to main content" link at the start of each page.
Text and background color combinations chosen with contrast in mind.
Layouts that adjust to different screen sizes and to enlarged text.
Reduced animation for visitors whose devices are set to minimize motion.
Information conveyed by means other than color alone.

Material that may not be fully accessible

Some material available through this website may not meet current accessibility guidelines. This includes, among other things:

Documents filed by parties. Briefs, appendices, motions, and similar filings are prepared and submitted by the parties. Their form and content are not created or controlled by the Court.
Older documents and scanned images. Archived material and documents that were scanned from paper may not contain machine-readable text.
Content from other sources. Some pages contain or link to material hosted or produced by other entities, including other components of the federal judiciary, government agencies, and third-party services.
Audio recordings. Recordings of oral argument are published as recorded and are generally not accompanied by a transcript.

If you have difficulty using this site

If you encounter a page or document on this website that you are unable to access, you may contact the Clerk's Office. When reporting a difficulty, it is helpful to include:

The web address of the page, or the title of the document.
A description of the difficulty you encountered.
The browser, device, and any assistive technology you were using.
How you prefer to be contacted, if a response is needed.

Information about this website that is not accessible to you may be available in another form. You may contact the Clerk's Office to ask what alternatives exist for the material you need.

Accommodations for court proceedings

This page concerns the accessibility of this website. Requests relating to a case, a scheduled proceeding, or access to the courthouse — including requests for assistive listening devices, sign language interpretation, or other accommodations — are handled separately and should be directed to the Clerk's Office. Such requests should be made as far in advance of the proceeding as possible.

Parties and counsel with a matter pending before the Court should also review the applicable Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and this Court's local rules.

Links to other websites

This website links to sites maintained by other organizations, including other federal courts and government agencies. The Court does not control those sites and cannot address their accessibility. Questions about another site should be directed to the organization that maintains it.