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LEGAL STUDIES 10 - Introduction to Legal Process

FINDING THE LAW

Databases and Help Guides | Federal Cases | California Cases | CA & Federal Statutes | Background Material |

Databases and Help Guides

• Lexis Nexis
  Click on Legal Research to find case law, statutes/codes, and law review articles
• How to Find a Court Case
  Find a court case when you have the case citation or the case name, also shows case reporters in the McHenry library collection
• Government Publications and Law
  Click on Legal Resources for links to state and federal case law, statutes, and municipal codes, and international law sources

Primary Law Sources

Federal Case Law
Find cases decided at the Federal level: Use Lexis Nexis and select Legal Research
It is helpful to know which court heard the case (Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, etc.)

1. When you have a citation (ex: 410 U.S. 113) OR the name of the case (ex: Roe v Wade):
From Lexis Nexis - Legal Research: Select "Get a Case"

2. When you need to find a case on a specific topic:
From Lexis Nexis - Legal Research: Select "Federal Case Law"

• Enter your keywords (use ! to replace letters at the end of a word to get other word variations)
• Select the court (Supreme Court, etc.)
• Change the date on the pull-down menu

Note: You can also pick "Area of Law by Topic" from the Legal Research menu, for a selective list of cases organized by area of law. Scroll down the page to the Tips section for an explanation of the categories.

See also: How To Find a Court Case

California Case Law
Find California cases. Use Lexis Nexis and select Legal Research
It is helpful to know which court heard the case (California Supreme Court aka "High Court", Appellate Court)

1. When you have a citation OR the name of the case :
From Lexis Nexis - Legal Research: Select "Get a Case"

2. When you need to find a case on a specific topic:
From Lexis Nexis - Legal Research : Select "State Case Law", then select "California" from the list of states.

• Enter your keywords [use ! to replace letters at the end of a word to get other word variations]
• Select the court (Supreme Court, etc.)
• Change the date pull-down menu

Federal and State Statutes and Regulations
Federal Codes (statutes):
1. Find by topic or subject:
From Lexis Nexis - Legal Research: Select "Federal Code". Enter keywords that describe your topic

2. Find by code citation: ex: 8 USCS § 1324
From Lexis Nexis - Legal Research: Select "Federal Code".
Select the Guided Search tab and fill out the form as follows:

• At the "Search for box": enter title of code ex: 8
• change the pull down box to CITE
• at the second search box, enter the section number ex: 1324
• change the pull down box to CITE
• Make sure the source box reads "US CODE"

Also available free on the Internet:
US Code www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode [or US Code Annotated in print at Gov Pubs Ref KF62 1927.W45]

Federal Regulations:
From Lexis Nexis - Legal Research: Select "Federal Regulations"
Also available free on the Internet:
Code of Federal Regulations www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr [or in print at McH Ref Law KF70.A3]

California Codes (statutes):
1. Find by topic or subject:
From Lexis-Nexis - Legal Research: Select "State Codes" then select "California" from the list of states. Enter keywords that describe your topic.

2.Find by code citation: ex: California Health & Safety Code § 25532
From Lexis-Nexis - Legal Research: Select "State Codes" then select "California" from the list of states. Select the Guided Search tab and fill out the form as follows:

• At the "Search for box": enter the NAME of code ex: California Health & Safety
• Leave the pull down box as FULL TEXT
• at the second search box, enter the section number ex: 25532
• change the pull down box to CITE
• Make sure the source box reads "CALIFORNIA CODE"

Also available free on the Internet:
California Codes www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html [or West's Annotated California Codes McH Ref Law KFC30.5.W4]
California Constitution www.leginfo.ca.gov/const-toc.html

California Regulations:
California Code of Regulations ccr.oal.ca.gov [or Barclay's California Code of Regulations McH Ref Law KFC35 1990.B3]

Secondary Sources

Background Material

Law Reviews and Legal News Articles
Law review articles provide scholarly interpretations of cases and analyze issues raised in specific cases. Law reviews typically cite numerous court cases to support their points. Legal news articles are gathered from legal publications and provide a general discussion of current court cases and legal issues.
Lexis Nexis - Legal Research: Select either "Legal News" or "Law Reviews"

Legal Encyclopedias/Digests
These sources contain summaries of law arranged by topic. They are helpful for gaining an overview of legal subjets and for developing a list of keywords. McHenry Library has these sets:
American Law Reports - McH Ref Law KF132 .A52 (law from all states)
American Law Reports Federal - McH Ref Law KF105 .A54
American Jurisprudence - McH Ref Law KF154.A42 (all states)
California Jurisprudence - McH Ref Law KFC80.C29
West's California Digest - McH Ref Law KFC47.1.W412

Web Sites - Cases, Codes and More
You'll find the complete text of Federal and State Statutes at these sites, as well as some case law and extras (commentary, news, etc.)
FindLaw: Cases and Codes - Select "Cases and Codes" from menubar
Legal Information Institute (Cornell)
Guide to Law Online (Law Library of Congress)
California Bar Journal

How-To Guides on the Web
How to Read a Court Case - From the University of North Texas
How to Read a Statute - Legal Research page from a legal and business forms database site
Legislative History of US Law
Federal Courts Finder (Emory U.)
How to Select a Court (jurisdiction and venue) - a very brief summary

Created by Sheila O'Hare and Lucia Orlando