Contents
[hidetoc]This guide is designed to introduce you to the basic types of legal materials. Items listed are in the order you would use them if you knew nothing about legal research. Sources with call numbers are print materials found in collections in the University Library.
WWW SITES
- Lexis
Nexis Academic Complete legal research source including federal, state
laws and regulations, full text legal periodicals and legal news sources.
For
help searching see Lexis Nexis Legal
Sources Instructions - ABA's Law Link Includes national, international, and state law associations
- American Bar Association Look at Topics A-Z at top of page
- FindLaw Excellent subject directory for all aspects of legal research
- GovEngine.com Consolidation of links to federal, state and local government sites
- Guide to Law Online From the US Law Library of Congress. Includes other nations' laws, and international law as well as US law sites
- Hieros Gamos Very comprehensive business legal site
- Internet Law Library Originally from the U.S. House of Representatives to provide free access to documents of U.S. law, it is now maintained by one of its successor sites, the 'Lectric Law Library.
- Internet Legal Research Group
- Law Library of Congress
- LawGuru Search more than 500 legal search engines and tools for State, Federal, and International Law
- Legal Information Institute From Cornell University, comprehensive site to Federal, State and International Law
- National Immigration Law Center
- Nolo.com Covers information on a variety of legal topics
- WashLaw From Washburn School of Law; Search or browse Federal, State or International Law as well as other legal topics
- Zimmerman's Research Guide Online encyclopedia and links
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias and Handbooks
- Everybody's Legal Glossary from Nolo.com
- Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (LII 2006 edition) by Peter W. Martin
- Help With Legal Research General guide to doing legal research from Nolo.com
- Popular Names of Constitutional Provisions From the University of Washington School of Law, identifies many of the popular names and includes the text of the relevant provisions of the U.S. Constitution
- U.S. Code Collection of Popular Names
- WEX A collaboratively built legal dictionary and encyclopedia from Cornell Legal Information Institute
- Dictionaries and Thesauri: Law and Legislative
- Law and legislative dictionaries are available from Credo
Reference (formerly XreferPlus)
Print Sources Available in the University Library
- 1001 Legal Words You Need to Know REF KF156. A113
- Black's Law Dictionary REF KF156 .B53
- Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation REF KF245 .B58
- Burton's Legal Thesaurus REF KF156 .B865
- Lawyer's Desk Book REF KF386 .L394
- Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law REF KF240 . L417
- Nolo's Encyclopedia of Everyday Law REF KF387 .N65
- Oxford Companion to American Law REF KF154 .O96
- Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names, Federal and State REF KF80 .S5 The place to start when you have only the popular name for law. Lists citations to the United States Code Service and the Statutes at Large. Includes state laws
DEFINITION OF THE LAW
The body of law consists of four parts.- The Federal Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land.
- Legislation is the law passed by Congress.
- Regulations, derived from government agencies, administer the legislation by spelling out procedures and specifications. For example, the law says food packages must list ingredients. Regulations would specify that ingredients must be in English and in legible print.
- Court cases force the courts to interpret the meaning of laws and regulations.
CONSTITUTION
- The Constitution of the United States of America
- First Amendment Center
- US State Constitutions
- Wisconsin Constitution
- World Constitutions
Print Sources Available in the University Library
- Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2002 REF KF4557 .V555
LEGISLATION
Federal
- Congressional Research Tutorials From the University of California-Berkeley library, flash demos on finding congressional bills, hearings and debates
- Thomas. Legislative Information on the Internet
- Legislative Branch from Federal Web Locator
- Legislative Indexing Vocabulary A thesaurus of over 5,000 authorized terms used for searching the Thomas Bill Summary and Status files and the Library of Congress Federal legislation files
- Public Laws From GPO
- U.S. House of Representatives
- U.S. Senate
- United States Code Public laws are organized into 50 sections or titles so that all related public laws are grouped together
Print Sources Available in the University Library
- United States Statutes at Large REF KF50 .A29 U5x The text of legislation or public law as it was passed by Congress. Arranged by public law number, e.g. PL98-142
- Environmental Statutes REF KF3775.A29 U55
- Handbook on Disability Discrimination Law REF KF480.Z9 P37
- Monograph on State Disability Discrimination Laws REF KF480.Z95 P37
- Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws REF KF3091.9 .P37
Bills
- For bills currently before the federal legislatures, use Thomas. Legislative Information on the Internet
- For text of discussions that occurred in the legislatures, use Congressional Record
State
- Legal Web Site Directory: State Resource Center From Lexisone
- State and Local Government on the Net Includes all states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories.
- Legal Research - Wisconsin
- Minnesota Statutes, Session Laws and Rules Includes the Minnesota Constitution.
Print Sources Available in the University Library
- Laws of Wisconsin REF KFW2425 .A2x The text of Wisconsin laws as passed by the legislature
- National Survey of State Laws REF KF386 .N38
- Wisconsin Statutes The "State" Set REF KFW2430 .A2x
- West's Wisconsin Statutes Annotated REF KFW2430 .A4 W4x Has the same general organization as the United States Code Service. Updated by pocket parts inside back covers of bound volumes and by paperback volumes
REGULATIONS
Federal
- Federal Register "The official daily publication for the rules, proposed rules and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as executive orders and other presidential documents." Includes many but not all departmental and agency regulations. See:
- Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by executive departments and agencies of the U.S. government. Divided into 50 titles representing broad areas subject to Federal regulation, each volume of CFR is updated once each calendar year and is issued quarterly."
- Federal Register Tutorial: What Is It and How to Use It available to view or to print
State
- State of Wisconsin Information Server
- Legal Research - Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Administrative Code and Register REF JK6043 .W52x Regulations of state agencies organized by issuing agency. Subject index in the last volume, tables of contents for the set located in front of the first volume
Local
Municode.com Municipal codes for more than 1500 local governments from the Municipal Code Corporation. Does not include Menomonie, WI.
Print Sources Available in the University Library
- City Code of Menomonie, Wisconsin REF KFX1841.M422 A35x Outlines city regulations and penalties. Subject index in back
COURT CASES
Federal
- Great American Court Cases In Credo
Reference (formerly XreferPlus) select Law.
- U.S. Courts From the Federal Judiciary, links to Federal Courts, including the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, District Courts and Bankruptcy Courts
- Supreme Court Collection From Legal Information Institutes
- Supreme Court of the US
- Supreme Court Decisions 1937-1975
- Supreme Court Opinions 1893-present Findlaw's searchable database by citation by keyword, citation and party name.
- 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin
- 7th Circuit Court of Appeals: Legal Brief System
- 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota
- Federal Courts Finder From Emory Law. Includes links to US Courts of Appeals and District Courts
- Free and Fee Based Appellate Court Briefs Online by Michael Whiteman
State
- National Center for State Courts For all states' court web sites
- State Courts by Jurisdiction Opinions. From Cornell Legal Information Institute.
Print Sources Available in the University Library
- ALR reports and annotates the opinions of selected cases from
throughout the country that are good illustrations of points of law. The
5th is the current and ongoing series.
- ALR Index to Annotations REF KF132.6 .I53
- ALR Digest of Decision... REF KF132.1 .A45
- American Law Reports (ALR) 3rd, 4th, 5th, REF KF132 .A53 through REF KF 132.1 A58
- A Digest of Supreme Court Cases Affecting Education REF KF4114 .Z57
- Family Law Reporter REF KF503.4 .B8 Reports of cases on family law
- Historic U.S. Court Cases: an encyclopedia REF KF352.Z9 H57
- Landmark Supreme Court Cases REF KF8742 .H37
- Medicine on Trial REF KF3821 .C39
- Occupational Safety and Health Reporter REF KF3569.36 .O25x Vol. 4 gives full text of court decisions on occupational safety and health
- Product Safety and Liability Reporter REF KF3945.A73 P7 Reports of cases on product safety and liability
- We the Students: Supreme Court Cases For and About Students REF KF4150.A7 .R37
- Yearbook of Education Law REF LB2514 .Y432x
INDEXES AND DATABASES
For discussions of and commentaries on all three types of law which are of national public interest, use the Indexes and Databases page.
- Lexis Nexis: Academic (Legal)
- CSA: Criminal Justice Abstracts
- EbscoHost:
- Academic Search
- Masterfile
- ERIC
- Professional Development Collection
- Newsbank Newsfile
- Proquest:
- ABI/Inform
- ProQuest Newspapers
- WilsonWeb:
- Education Full Text
- Social Sciences Full Text
- OmniFile Full Text
- CQ Researcher Full text online version published by Congressional Quarterly
- Free Library Includes a massive collection of periodicals from hundreds of leading publications
- Google Scholar Set preferences to Stout to search for full text available through the UW-Stout Library
INTERNATIONAL LAW
- American Society of International Law
- Constitution Finder For nations of the world
- Global Legal Information Network Searchable database
- Nations of the World (Nations and Associated Jurisdictions) From the Law Library of Congress; links to laws, regulations and court decisions organized by country
- Research Guide to International Law on the Internet From the University of Bologna
Print Sources Available in the University Library
- Handbook of International Law REF KZ3410 .A97
OTHER SOURCES
Reference tools such as directories and handbooks are also useful.
Print Sources Available in the University Library
- Affirmative Action REF KF3464 .K73
- Complete Book of Personal Legal Forms REF KF170 .W366
- Deskbook Encyclopedia of American School Law REF KF4114 .D46
- Juvenile Justice and Children's Law REF KF 9780 .J37
- Legal Guide for Women REF KF390.W6 A46
- Marriage on Trial REF KF510.Z9 W36
- Special Education and the Law REF KF4209.3 .O82
- Step-by-Step Legal Forms and Agreements REF KF170 .C444
- Student Rights: A Reference Handbook REF KF4150 .H56
PERIODICALS
Current developments in the legislative, judicial, and executive bodies of government can be reviewed in specialized periodicals.
- Congressional Record Thomas Legislative Information on the Internet
- University Law Review Project Full text search of law review journals on the Web
Print Sources Available in the University Library
- Congressional Digest PERIODICALS COLLECTION
STOUT LIBRARY CATALOG
Use the Stout Library Catalog to identify books and audiovisual materials about your topic. Use a keyword guided search. When you have identified a useful item, click on Long View. You can then explore any of the listed subject headings by selecting the link.
WWW Search Engines
The search engines that are available on the WWW vary in depth and coverage. Explore the search options to find relevant WWW sites. For a list of available search engines and WWW directories, e.g. Google or Yahoo, use Searching the Web from the Library Home Page.
Citations
To cite online resources in appropriate bibliographic style see: Citing Resources
To organize citations and create bibliographies and papers in APA, MLA and other styles see: RefWorks and Other Citation Management Tools
Last Updated: 04/28/2008 and Last Revised: 11/09/2007
Contact Denise Madland for more information or help on this topic.