Finding the Answers to Legal Questions
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    • Foundation: Ch 3 & 4
    • Preparation: Ch 5 & 6
    • Information: Ch 7 - 14
    • Collection: Ch 17
  • Appendices
    • Appendix A: Glossary
    • Appendix B: Online Resources
    • Appendix C: State Law Resources
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Chapter Resources
Part I: Foundation


Ch 3 - Finding Federal Law
General Secondary Sources for Federal Law
American Law Reports — Federal
  • American Law Reports—Federal, ALR Fed.
    • In print and in Westlaw or Lexis.
Practice and Procedure Treatises and Form Books
  • American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms Annotated. 2010. Rochester, NY: Lawyers Co-operative.
  • Moore, James William, et al. 2002. Moore’s Manual: Federal Practice Forms. Albany, NY: Matthew Bender.
    • Also on LexisNexis.
  • Moore, James William, Coquillette, Daniel R., et al. 2009. Moore’s Federal Practice. New York: Matthew Bender.
    • Also on WestlawNext.
  • West’s Federal Forms. 2009. St. Paul, MN: West Group.
  • Wright, Charles Alan, Arthur R. Miller, and Mary Kay Kane. 2010. Federal Practice and Procedure. St. Paul, MN: West Group.
Free Web Sources for Federal Law
Government Sites
  • Government Printing Office (GPO)
    • From the Library of Congress.
  • FDsys
  • govinfo
  • USA.gov
Educational Institutions' Sites
  • Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “Law by Source: Federal”
Primary Law: U.S. Constitution
Secondary Sources on Constitutional Law
  • Nowak, John E., and Ronald D. Rotunda. 5th edition 2012-2016. Treatise on Constitutional Law: Substance and Procedure. St. Paul, MN: Thomson West.
  • Tribe, Laurence H. 2000. American Constitutional Law. New York: Foundation Press.
General Sources — Print
  • U.S. Code (USC)
  • U.S. Code Annotated (USCA)
  • U.S. Code Service (USCS)
General Sources — Websites
  • Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “United States Constitution”
  • Law Library of Congress
  • National Archives, “The Charters of Freedom”
  • University of Chicago, “The Founders’ Constitution”
Primary Law: Federal Statutes
Pending Legislation
  • U.S. Congress
Current Statutes and Court Rules - Print
  • U.S. Code (USC)
  • U.S. Code Annotated (USCA)
  • U.S. Code Service (USCS)
Current Statutes and Court Rules - Websites
  • GPO FDsys
    • If you have a statutory cite.
  • Office of the Law Revision Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives
    • If you have no cite or public law number but a topic in mind.
  • Office of the Law Revision Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives
    • If you have a public law number.
  • Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “U.S. Code”
    • For federal statues by topic, using statutory title numbers to search.
Primary Law: Federal Cases
U.S. Supreme Court - Print
 Reporters
  • Supreme Court Reporter
    • Abbreviated S. Ct. in case citations.
  • Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition
    • Usually abbreviated L.Ed.2d in case citations.
  • United States Law Week
    • A loose-leaf reporter.
  • United States Reports
    • Abbreviated U.S. in case citations.
 Digests
  • Federal Practice Digest
  • United States Supreme Court Digest
U.S. Supreme Court — Websites
  • Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “Supreme Court Collection”
  • Oyez, “The Oyez Project: U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments, Case Abstracts, and More"
  • Supreme Court of the United States, “Opinions"
    • Official website for Supreme Court opinions.
U.S. Courts of Appeal — Print
 Reporters
  • Federal Reporter, First through Third series
 Digests
  • Federal Practice Digest, Fifth Series
U.S. Courts of Appeal — Websites
  • United States Courts, “Court Locator"
    • To find the mandatory authority for your location. Each circuit has its own official website that publishes some of its opinions. Look there first.
  • Justia, “U.S. Court of Appeals Cases and Opinions”
  • Open Jurist
  • Public Library of Law
U.S. District Courts — Print
​ Reporters
  • Federal Supplement
  • Federal Supplement, Second Series
  • Federal Supplement, Third Series
Digests
  • Federal Practice Digest
U.S. District Courts — Websites
  • Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “Federal Law Collection"
    • First, follow the sites listed previously for finding the right federal circuit/district court for your area.
Other Federal Courts: Bankruptcy — Print
  • West’s Bankruptcy Digest
  • West’s Bankruptcy Reporter
Other Federal Courts: Bankruptcy — Websites
  • Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “Federal Law Collection"
    • First, try locating the bankruptcy court’s website for your geographic area.
Primary Law: Regulations (Administrative Law)
General
  To find the federal agency that might concern your topic. 
  • Washburn University School of Law , “Federal Agencies”
  • Federal Government site
Print
  • Code of Federal Regulations
  • Federal Register
Websites
  • Georgetown Law Library, “Administrative Law Research Tutorial”
    • Tutorial about administrative process and how to research this material.
  • GPO FDsys
    • Online access to the CFR.
  • Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “Code of Federal Regulations”
    • Online access to the CFR.
  • GPO FDsys “Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, e-CFR”
    • Governmental, but experimental and unofficial electronic site, integrating new regulations into the existing CFR.
  • GPO FDsys, “The Federal Register: Main Page”
    • Online access to the Federal Register.
  • U.S. Government Manual
    • Overview of federal administrative agencies and their processes.
  • Law Librarians’ Society of the District of Columbia, “Research Guide to the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations”
    • Guide to federal administrative materials.
  • Law Library of Congress, “Administrative Law Guide”
    • Guide to federal administrative materials.
Primary Law: Federal Court Rules
Print
  • Federal Local Court Rules, 4th 2009-2016. Thomson Reuters.
    • Provides the local rules for all of the federal courts in the United States.
  • U.S. Code Annotated (USCA)
    • Also on WestlawNext.
  • U.S. Code Service (USCS)
    • Also on LexisNexis.
  • Moore, James William, Daniel R. Coquillette, et al. 2009. Moore’s Federal Practice. New York: Matthew Bender.
    • Also on LexisNexis.
  • Wright, Charles Alan, Arthur R. Miller, and Mary Kay Kane. 2010. Federal Practice and Procedure. St. Paul, MN: West Group.
    • Also on WestLawNext.
Websites
  Find a U.S. district court website with the rules. It is likely your local U.S. district court will have a similar page of links to these rules as well as its own local rules.
  • Western District of Texas, “Appellate, Federal, and Local Court Rules”
  • United States Courts site for rules

​Ch 4 - Finding State and Local Law
All-in-One Websites

State and Local Law
  Most of these sites will give you a list of the names of states; click on the name and you will find a list of links to a specific state’s primary law, and more, such as a listing of the state administrative agencies.
  • Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “Listing by Jurisdiction”
  • Gavel2Gavel, “State Laws, Codes, and Statutes”
  • Governments on the Web
  • Justia
  • Public Library of Law
  • Washburn University School of Law
State Constitutions
Hard Copy or Pay-for-View
  Use the annotated code for your state as your first resource.
Hard Copy
  • Columbia University, Legislative Drafting Research Fund. 1974/2009. Constitutions of the United States, National and State. 2nd ed. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications.
Online
  • The NBER/Maryland State Constitutions Project
State Statutes, Session Laws, and Citations to Court Decisions Interpreting Statutes
Hard Copy or Pay-for-View
  Use the annotated code for your state and any advance sheets or legislative service pamphlets for that code as your first resources. For citations to court decisions interpreting statutes, aside from the annotated codes, use state statutory code citators.
Online
  • Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “Topical Index: State Statutes”
State Administrative Law, Administrative Codes, and Registers
General
  For court decisions interpreting administrative rules and regulations, use the citator for the state administrative code. Or use the citation to the regulation you are researching as a search query in the case law database of Westlaw Next or LexisNexis.
Print
  • Nyberg, Cheryl Rae. 2000. State Administrative Law Bibliography: Print and Electronic Sources. Twin Falls, ID: Carol Boast and Cheryl Rae Nyberg.
Online
  • National Association of Secretaries of State, Administrative Codes and Registers Section.
    • For access to administrative codes and registers for each state.
State Court Decisions
Online
  Court decisions from the appellate courts of a particular state may be published in hard copy by the state government in an “official state reporter,” or they may be published only by a private company, or your state may have both. Court decisions from your appellate courts will also be published in hard copy in the regional reporter from West. To find citations to court decisions by topic, consult your state’s digest of case law or the digest for the regional reporter system.
  • Wikipedia, “National Reporter System”
    • To determine which regional reporter prints your state’s court opinions.
  • National Center for State Courts, “State Court Web Sites”
    • To find links to state case law sites online.
State Court Rules
Online Directory
  • National Center for State Courts, “State Court Web Sites”
    • To find a particular court's website.
State Executive Materials
Online Directory
  • Governments on the Web: United States of America, “State Institutions”
    • To find the main website for each state government.
Local Law
Primary Sources
  Because of the very localized nature of the materials, your local county law library or public library or city or county building may be the best place to start. Also, the clerk’s office of the city or county in question is a place to begin your query, either in person, on the phone, or on the web. Some of this material—charters, ordinances, regulations—may be published in print and be available at local libraries or governmental agencies.
  • MuniCode
    • Click on “Library.” You can search code by code and do not have to subscribe.
Tribal Law and Federal Indian Law
Primary Sources
  • National Indian Law Library (NILL). n.d. “Tribal Law Gateway.” 
  • USA.gov. “Legal Resources for Native Americans.”
  • Canby, William C. 2014. American Indian Law in a Nutshell. 6th ed. St. Paul, MN: West Academic Publishing.
  • Selden, David, and Monica Martens. 2008. “Basic Indian Law Research Tips— Part I: Federal Indian Law.” Update of article appearing in The Colorado Lawyer 34 (2005).
  • Selden, David. “Researching American Indian Tribal Law.” The Colorado Lawyer 43 (2014).
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​Chapter Resources
  • Part I: Foundation - Chapters 3 and 4
  • Part II: Preparation - Chapters 5 and 6
  • Part III: Information - Chapters 7 - 14
  • Part IV: Collection - Chapter 17​
Appendices
  • Appendix A: Glossary
  • Appendix B: Online Recommended Resources
  • Appendix C: State Law Resources Online (only available online)
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  • Home
  • Chapter Resources
    • Foundation: Ch 3 & 4
    • Preparation: Ch 5 & 6
    • Information: Ch 7 - 14
    • Collection: Ch 17
  • Appendices
    • Appendix A: Glossary
    • Appendix B: Online Resources
    • Appendix C: State Law Resources
  • About
  • Disclaimer