(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.)

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Fundamentals of Federal Legal Research

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.

Pocket Constitution

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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).
  • Download the United States Code     
  • Search the United States Code     
  • Search Prior Versions of the U.S. Code - beginning with the 1988 ed., suppl. II
  • United States Code Classification Tables - sorted by Congress, then by either Public Law or U.S. Code section. Updated within one to two days of federal legislation enacted into law.
• 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)
  • Description
  • General Searching Instructions
  • United States Code - Helpful Hints
    
• 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.
  • Find US Code Materials by Title and Section
  • List of Titles   
  • Search Engine   
  • Table of Popular Names 
    
• Popular Names - from American Law Sources Online

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• United States Statutes at Large
  (Law Library / National Digital Library Program) The seventeen volumes presented in this online collection cover the laws of the first forty-two Congresses, 1789-1873.
  • Vol. I (1st-5th Cong.)
  • Vol. II (6th-12th Cong.)
  • Vol. III (13th-17th Cong.)
  • Vol. IV (18th-23rd Cong.)
  • Vol. V (24th-28th Cong.)
  • Vol. VI (private acts: 1st-28th Cong.)
  • Vol. VII (Indian Treaties:1st-28th Cong.)
  • Vol. VIII (Foreign Treaties 1st-28th Cong.)
  • Vol. IX (29th-31st Cong.)
  • Vol. X (32nd-33rd Cong.)
  • Vol. XI (34th-35th Cong.)
  • Vol. XII (36th-37th Cong.)
  • Vol. XIII (38th Cong.
  • Vol. XIV (39th Cong.)
  • Vol. XV (40th Cong.)
  • Vol. XVI (41st Cong.)
  • Vol. XVII (42nd Cong.)

  The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School: Selected Statutes of the United States 

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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).
  • Catalogs of Public Laws: 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th
  • Public Laws - Helpful Hints
  • History of Line Item Veto Notices
• United States Public Laws
  (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
  • Laws from Current Session
  • Receive E-mail Notification of New Laws
• THOMAS
  (Legislative Information from the Library of Congress)

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About the Supreme Court 
(U.S. Supreme Court)

History of the Federal Judiciary 
(Federal Judiciary Center)

Understanding the Federal Courts  (PDF file)
(Administrative Office of the United States Courts) - Offers a structured introduction to the U.S. federal court system. Discusses the relationship between the U.S. federal court system and the various states.

U.S. Supreme Court: Information on the Court's Organization, Authority, and Jurisdiction 
(Cornell Legal Information Institute, Supreme Court Collection)

JURIST Topical Guide: Supreme Court of the US
(JURIST, The Legal Education Network)

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Supreme Court - Opinions 
(U.S. Supreme Court)

• (October 1999 Term - present)
• Links include: 2003 Term Opinions of the Court, Information about Opinions, Where to Obtain Supreme Court Opinions (PDF) and Sliplists


FLITE: Supreme Court Decisions
(GPO Access)

• (1937-1975)
• Prepared from Volumes 300 - 422 of U.S. Reports


LII: Supreme Court Collection
(Cornell Legal Information Institute)

• (1990 - present)
• Searchable; HTML with PDF options
LII: Supreme Court Collection: Historic Decisions
(Cornell Legal Information Institute)
• - Over 610 "historic" decisions
Findlaw: Supreme Court Opinions 
(FindLaw)
• (1893 - present)
• Searchable; citation, party names, and full text.


USSC+ Current Term (usscplus.com)

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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)

• (October 1995  - present) 
• Search keyword / case number; date; party
• Jurisdiction: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

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) 

• (October 1, 1997 - present) 
• Word Search; list by party; number; filing date
• Jurisdiction: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming

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. Courts - Links 
(Administrative Office of the United States Courts)


LII: Federal Law Materials - U.S. District Courts
(Cornell Legal Information Institute) 

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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces - Opinions and Digest 
(U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces)
• (October 1, 1996 -  )
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
(U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims)
• (1989 -  )
• Search; docket number search
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
• (July 3, 1997 -  )
U.S. Court of International Trade: Slip Opinions
(U.S. Court of International Trade)
• (September 9, 1999 -  )
• Available in PDF
U.S. Tax Court 
(U.S. Tax Court)
• (January 1, 1999 -  )

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• Code of Federal Regulations
  (GPO Access)
  (April 1996 -   )
• Code of Federal Regulations 
  (Cornell Legal Information Institute) 
  Current version
• e-CFR 
  The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations is a prototype of a currently updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations. The e-CFR prototype is a demonstration project. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR. The e-CFR prototype is authorized and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Printing Office (GPO). The OFR updates the material in the e-CFR on a frequent basis.
• Federal Register 
  Vol. 59 (1994) no field/identifiers
  Vol. 60 (1995 -  )
• List of CFR Sections Affected 
  (GPO Access)
  (January 1997 -   )
• Semiannual Regulatory Agenda (Unified Agenda)
  (GPO Access) 
  (1994 -   )
• Export Administration Regulations 
  (GPO Access) 

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• Administrative Decisions Resources on GPO Access 
  (GPO Access) 
• Executive Branch Resources on GPO Access
  (U.S. Government Printing Office) 
• Official US Executive Branch Web Sites
  (Library of Congress)
• Regulatory Resources on GPO Access 
  (U.S. Government Printing Office)
• U.S. Federal Government Agencies Directory
  (Louisiana State University Libraries) 

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• Executive Orders
  • Code of Federal Regulations - Title 3
    (GPO Access) 1997, 1998, 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003  2004
  • Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders 
    (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) April 13, 1945 - January 20, 1989
  • Executive Orders 
    (White House)
  • Executive Orders Disposition Tables
    (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) January 24, 1953 to present
  • Federal Register 
    (GPO Access) 
  • Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States 
    (GPO Access) 
  • Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 
    (GPO Access)
• United States Government Manual 
  (GPO Access)
• White House

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• Full text state statutes and legislation  (links)
• U.S. House Internet Law Library, state and territorial laws 
  (hosted by Lawguru.com)
• Legal Information Institute Topical Index to state statutes 
  (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
• Interstate Compacts
  (compiled by the Council of State Governments

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• The State Court Locator
  (via NCSC)
• StateLaw
  (via Washburn Law School)
• U.S. State Law 
  (Hieros Gamos)

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LAW JOURNALS

The following are Internet sites that provide access to law journals. Journals may be abstracted, indexed or full text.

• Law Journals Available via Cornell Law School

• Law Journals Available via Findlaw (searchable) 

• Findlaw all journal search

• Internet Legal Resource Guide, Law Journals  (searchable) 

• Law Journals, Newsletters & Bulletins via Hieros Gamos

• Law Jounals Available via University of Southern California Law School

 

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Cornell Law Library: Finding the Law   (Legal Resources in all formats)

FedLaw  
(The Center for Regulatory Efectiveness) - Fedlaw has assembled references of use in doing Federal legal research. 

Legal Research Guides 
(University of Washington School of Law)

Findlaw Newsletter Subscription Center 
(Weekly and daily topical and opinion summaries)

LawGuru Mailing List Manager  
(LawGuru.com) - Simplifies the process of subscribing to mailing lists. 

LIIBULLETIN - Supreme Court opinions   
(Legal Information Institute at Cornell) - Receive email bulletins on Supreme Court opinions. 

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Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure  (PDF)
(U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary) in PDF

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure  (PDF)
(U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary) in PDF; see also Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Cornell Legal Information Institute) in HTML

Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure  (PDF)
(U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary) in PDF

Federal Rules of Evidence  (PDF)
(U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary) in PDF; see also Federal Rules of Evidence (Cornell Legal Information Institute) in HTML

Information USA - Judicial Branch (U.S. Department of State) LII: Federal Law Materials - Judicial Opinions (Cornell Legal Information Institute)

U.S. Courts 
(Administrative Office of the United States Courts) Includes Links

U.S. Federal Courts Finder  
(Emory University School of Law) - Provides a map and text links to online collections of decisions of the courts of the U.S. federal system described above. 

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Quick DC Links - Washington Essentials

URL:  www.TheCapitol.Net/Research/legalFTL.htm