Legal Reference and Research Tools
(These are part of the materials from the
Fundamentals of Federal Legal
Research
course.
Some of the linked files are in pdf format (marked
(PDF)), which
requires Adobe Acrobat, a free download. Click
here to download Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™.)
Fundamentals of Federal Legal
Research
INTERNET RESOURCES
The Constitution of the United
States of America, Analysis and Interpretation
Senate Document No. 103-6, and the 1996 Supplement, Senate Document
No. 104-14, is the GPO ACCESS online version of the entire printed
document, as prepared by editors Johnny Killian and George Costello of
the Congressional Research Service.
The Constitution and Annotations
with links to full text Supreme Court opinions from 1906 to June 29,
1992, is available via FINDLAW. This version of Senate Document No.
103-6 excludes preliminary matter, appendices, tables and the index
available in the GPO version. Its research value is in its search
capabilities and links to Supreme Court opinions.
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United States Code
(U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision
Counsel) - Offers
introductory material to the Code and access to a search engine.
The database reflects the current edition and supplements of the United States Code as printed by the U.S.
Government Printing Office (January 5, 1999).
- United States Code
(U.S.
Government Printing Office, GPO Access) - Provides a search engine for
searching the 1994 editions, plus supplement 4 (January 5, 1999
for titles 1-41)
- United States Code
(Cornell Legal Information Institute) - Provides an updated
interface to the U.S. Code, with links to notes and legislative
activity through THOMAS.
- Popular
Names - from American Law
Sources Online
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- United States Public Laws
(U.S.
Government Printing Office, GPO Access) - Provides access to United
States Public laws enacted since the 104th Congress, 1st Session
(January 1995).
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United States Public Laws
(U.S. National
Archives and Records Administration)
- THOMAS
(Legislative
Information from the Library of Congress)
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The Federal Court System and Decisions |
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All Circuits Search
(Via Findlaw)
Search all Circuit Courts of
Appeal
(Via Cornell)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal
Circuit
(Emory University School of Law)
- (August 1995 - present)
- Search; list by
first /
second party; in HTML, with
WordPerfect options
U.S. Court of Appeals, District
of Columbia Circuit
(Georgetown
University Law Center)
- (1995 - present)
- Search; in HTML and PDF options
U.S. Court of Appeals, First
Circuit
(Emory University School of Law)
- (November 1995 - present)
- Search; list by
first /
second party; in HTML, with
WordPerfect options
- Jurisdiction: Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second
Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third
Circuit
(Villanova
University School of Law Library)
- (May 1994 - present)
- Search; in HTML
- Jurisdiction:
Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Virgin Islands.
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth
Circuit
(Emory
University School of Law)
- (January 1995
- present)
- Search; list by first /
second party; in HTML
- Jurisdiction:
Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West
Virginia
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth
Circuit
(U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fifth Circuit)
- (1985 - present)
-
Search; in HTML
- Jurisdiction:
Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and, previously, the U.S. Canal
Zone
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth
Circuit
(Emory University School of Law)
- (January 1995 to
June 1999)
- Search; list by
first /
second party; in HTML
- Jurisdiction:
Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth
Circuit
(U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit)
- (1994 - present)
-
Opinion search
- Jurisdiction:
Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh
Circuit
(U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit)
- Jurisdiction:
Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth
Circuit
(U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Eighth Circuit)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth
Circuit
(U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
- (January 1990 - present)
- Search
- Jurisdiction:
Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon,
Washington, Guam, and the North Mariana Islands.
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth
Circuit
(Emory University School of Law)
- (August 1995 -
October 1997)
- Search; list by
first /
second party; in HTML
- Jurisdiction:
Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth
Circuit
(Washburn University Law School)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh
Circuit
(Emory
University School of Law)
- (November 1994 - present)
- Search; list by first /
second party; in HTML with
WordPerfect options
- Jurisdiction:
Alabama, Florida, and Georgia
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| U.S. Executive
Agencies and Regulations
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The following
are Internet sites that provide access to law journals. Journals
may be abstracted, indexed or full text.
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NEWSLETTERS and LISTSERVS
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"The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation,"
by Harvard Law Review (2005).
"Let's be honest. A lot of people felt that Bluebook had fallen off. After that award show confrontation with ALWD and the concealed weapons charges, Bluebook looked like they were on the ropes. That only makes this 18th edition more triumphant for the Bluebook. A stunning return to the form that made them such an irresistible bunch of ragamuffins to begin with, Bluebook has a sure answer to the naysayers who thought they couldn't adapt to the electronic movement--a blistering tribute to Internet citation." - an Amazon reader
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"The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style,"
by Bryan A. Garner, Jeff Newman, Tiger Jackson (West 2006).
The Redbook provides a comprehensive guide to the essential rules of legal writing. Unlike most style or grammar guides, it focuses on the special needs of legal writers, answering a wide spectrum of questions about grammar and style – both rules as well as exceptions. The Redbook also gives detailed, authoritative advice on punctuation, capitalization, spelling, footnotes, and citations, with illustrations in legal context. Designed for law students, law professors, practicing lawyers and judges, the work emphasizes the ways in which legal writing differs from other styles of technical writing. The "how-to" sections deal with editing and proofreading, numbers and symbols, and overall document design.
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Quick
DC Links - Washington Essentials
URL: www.TheCapitol.Net/Recommended/legalFTL.htm
Last updated:
June 29, 2008 |
