Overview
This guide will get you started with many different aspects of legal research and will introduce you to some of the most important resources.
"But to live outside the law you must be honest"
- Bob Dylan, "Absolutely Sweet Marie"
Selected Reference Sources
Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and LibertiesCall Number: Ref KF4748 .E53 2006ISBN: 0313327580
Black's Law Dictionary, Standard Ninth Edition by Call Number: Ref. KF 156 .B53 2009ISBN: 9780314199492Publication Date: 2009
Encyclopedia of American Law and Criminal Justice - 2 vols. by Call Number: Ref. KF 154 .E528 2012ISBN: 9780816081455Publication Date: 2012
Databases
- Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new windowNexis Uni features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790—with an intuitive interface that offers quick discovery across all content types, personalization features such as Alerts and saved searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.
- Legal Research through Nexis UniThis link takes you directly to the Law Reviews & Journals search screen. Find an array of legal resources, including state and federal case law, patent law, and law school directories.
- Westlaw Next This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive database of legal materials, including state and federal court cases, statutes and regulations, plus the legal encyclopedia American Jurisprudence (2nd edition) and the publication American Law Reports.
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new windowCovers the international literature of sociology, social work, and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Publications from 1952 - present.
Legal Websites
- Supreme Court of the United StatesThe official web site of the Supreme Court, with current and historic court opinions and other information about the workings of the Court.
- Law Library of CongressProvides access to court cases, legal information, and legislative resources - from the Library of Congress.
- The U. S. Constitution, AnnotatedAnalysis and interpretation of the Constitution by the Library of Congress.
- PACER: Public Access to Court Electronic RecordsPublic Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information online from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts, and the PACER Case Locator.
- Cornell's Legal Information InstituteThis link takes you to the Supreme Court section of Cornell's site. This is a good current awareness tool, with an archive of cases going back to 1990. Links to related resources, like court briefs and oral arguments, are included.
- Public Library of LawThis free resource contains:
Cases from the U.S. Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals
Cases from all 50 states back to 1997
Federal statutory law and codes from all 50 states
Regulations, court rules, constitutions, and more!
PLoL also includes free links to paid content on Fastcase. - Public LegalA categorized index of select web sites, as well as thousands legal forms and documents, this site was established to serve as a resource of the information available on the Internet concerning law and the legal profession, with an emphasis on the United States of America.
- WashLawLegal research on the web, from the Washburn University School of Law.
- GovInfoGPO's GovInfo provides free public access to Government information submitted by Congress and Federal agencies and preserved as technology changes.
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Research Help
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How to Find Court Cases
The fastest method is to use Westlaw Next (see above)
THE QUICK METHOD -
From the Browse menu, select Cases.
In the menu box on the top of the page, type in the citation or the names of the parties for the case you want.
Here is one example:
Citizens United v. FEC 588 U.S. 310
There will be many results for this citation, but the Supreme Court decision will be the first one on the list,
- You can also find cases using NEXIS Uni (see above) - click on Cases and then chose either Federal Cases or State Cases to begin searching.
- United States Reports (570 volumes, so far)
- Ref. JK 1561 .U5 (these volumes are located in the compact shelving on the Ground Floor)
This is the official compilation of U. S. Supreme Court opinions. Recent opinions are available on the Supreme Court's web page.
- Ref. JK 1561 .U5 (these volumes are located in the compact shelving on the Ground Floor)
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