Legal Studies
Primary Sources
Cases, codes, and regulations are Primary sources. You can usually access a free version of cases and codes through government resources such as Congress.gov, Regulations.gov, or FDsys. You can also access them through a subscription database such as Nexis Uni. Nexis Uni has "added value" information such as annotations, summaries, headnotes, and notes on case treatment to understand and further navigate legal information. I typically use the United States Code and Code of Federal Regulations through the FDsys (it is browsable) and Nexis Uni for news and law review articles.
Table of Contents: Primary Sources
Bills
- Congress.govFind the status and history of bills in the current or prior legislature of Congress. Includes Committee Reports, Roll Call votes, Public Laws, U.S. Code, Congressional Record, etc.
- New York State Legislature: Bills and LawsSearch bill text, status, summaries, sponsor memos, and floor vote. Links to search for NYS Legislative Bills, NYS Legislative Resolutions, and the Laws of New York (see also: Nexis Uni for Federal & State Codes - NY Consolidated Law Service).
- GovtrackThis a free non-governmental website that is useful for tracking the status of federal legislation.
Cases
- Nexis Uni: Search for CasesAdvanced Search form for case law searching.
- FCC Encyclopedia: FCC and the Courts, Recent Court Opinions1996+ Fulltext of most cases that involved the FCC listed by year.
- Google Scholar: Case LawIf the cases and codes you need are found here, this search works well with Zotero (downloading into a bibliographic manager). The cases are not annotated with core terms, summary, headnotes, and treatment as are cases in Westlaw and LexisNexis.
- Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)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. Note: Need to create an account to use/ Most cases can be found in NexisUni; Use this for cases that are not yet decided and still in docket form. See Cathy for assistance.
- Caselaw Access ProjectCAP includes all official, book-published United States case law — every volume designated as an official report of decisions by a court within the United States. Our scope includes all state courts, federal courts, and territorial courts for American Samoa, Dakota Territory, Guam, Native American Courts, Navajo Nation, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Our earliest case is from 1658, and our most recent cases are from 2018. --About page
- Supreme Court reporter. byCall Number: Periodicals KF101 .S95Publication Date: 1882+v. 1 (1882) - v. 105 (1984)
Codes
- Nexis Uni: Search for CodesAdvanced Search form for code searching. You can narrow by jurisdiction (Federal, State) in the left menu after searching a topic. The United States Code Service (USCS) is the LexisNexis version of the United States Code.
- GovInfoPortal to documents from the Government Publishing Office (budget, bills, hearings, Constitution, US Code, etc.). Formerly: FDsys, GPO Access
- Congress.govFind the status and history of bills in the current or prior legislature of Congress. Includes Committee Reports, Roll Call votes, Public Laws, U.S. Code, Congressional Record, etc.
- New York Consolidated Laws Service (Nexis Uni)NY Statutes via Nexis Uni.
- New York State Legislature: Bills and LawsSearch bill text, status, summaries, sponsor memos, and floor vote. Links to search for NYS Legislative Bills, NYS Legislative Resolutions, and the Laws of New York (see also: Nexis Uni for Federal & State Codes - NY Consolidated Law Service).
- eCode360 LibraryOnline municipal codes from General Code. Click on the New York map. Includes the City of thaca, the Town of Ithaca, and Tompkins County.
- U.S. Code: Table of Popular NamesIf you have the popular name of an Act but do not know where it is codified in the U.S.C., use this table. Wikipedia is actually helpful with this, too!
Regulations
- Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (Nexis Uni)Search the CFR via Nexis Uni.
- Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)Codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The 50 subject matter titles contain one or more individual volumes, which are updated once each calendar year, on a staggered basis. Each title is divided into chapters, which usually bear the name of the issuing agency. Each chapter is further subdivided into parts that cover specific regulatory areas.
- Federal RegisterPublished by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents
- Administrative Codes & Regulations (Nexis Uni)Search proposed federal administrative regulations and orders via Nexis Uni.
- Regulations.govFind and comment on Federal administrative regulations
- New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR)An unofficial compilation of NY State agency administrative rules and regulations.
- New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR) (Nexis Uni)New York State administrative regulations via Nexis Uni.
- HeinOnline's Gun Regulation and Legislation in AmericaDatabase of gun regulation information gratis from Hein Co.
Hearings, Speeches, Briefings, Reports, etc.
- GovInfoPortal to documents from the Government Publishing Office (budget, bills, hearings, Constitution, US Code, etc.). Formerly: FDsys, GPO Access
- Federal News Service (Nexis Uni)Nexis Uni file containing: White House briefings and Presidential statements. Includes some Congressional hearings, National Press Club Speeches and conferences when they address major topics of current interest
- Government Accountability Office (GAO)The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars.
- EveryCRSreport.comPosts reports by the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan think tank for Congress that analyzes topics of public debate.
- Compilation of Presidential DocumentsThe Compilation of Presidential Documents collection consists of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents which are the official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary. The Compilation of Presidential Documents is published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
- National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) was founded in 1907 to help attorneys general fulfill the responsibilities of their office and to assist in the delivery of high-quality legal services to the states and territorial jurisdictions. - website
- National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)Gathers policy information state-by-state.
