Government Publications and Law

Laws and Regulations

Page Contains:

Westlaw Campus: [UCSC on-site or connect via OCA Access] find law reviews, legal encylopedias, federal and state codes, and European legal information
LexisNexis Academic: [UCSC on-site or connect via OCA Access] excellent full-text database. Click on "Legal Research" to search for law review articles, cases, and much more.
Findlaw: Searchable database for legal information, also contains a basic legal dictionary
ALSO (American Law Sources Online): Links to law resources that are available without charge. Includes sources for U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
LexisOne: Sign up for a free password to access databases of cases and some legal forms
Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Locator Service: Searchable directory of lawyers and law firms
Nolo Press: Excellent site for self-help publications available for purchase
Famous Trials: (via Univ. of Missouri Kansas City) provides information on famous trials through history, concentrating mainly on U.S. trials

Annotated U.S. Constitution: (via FindLaw) allows keyword search or scroll down and click on a specific section
United States Code: Law of the U.S. Government
Code of Federal Regulations: "General and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the Executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government."
Federal Register: "Official daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive Orders and other Presidential Documents."
Federal Register Tutorial: (via NARA (National Archives and Records Administration)) provides information about the purpose of Federal Register, how to use it, and how the regulatory process works
Administrative Decisions and other actions by government agency
: links to administrative actions that fall outside the scope of the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations. Also provides links to FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) electronic reading rooms.
LexisNexis Academic: [UCSC on-site or connect via OCA Access]

U.S. Supreme Court: The official web page of the U.S. Supreme Court; includes oral arguments
Findlaw Constitutional Law Center: Includes an annotated Constitution, a history of the Constitution, landmark decisions regarding civil rights with the full opinions, a summary and analysis of criminal law, and "Hot Topics"
Supreme Court Center: Contains many resources for researching the U.S. Supreme Court, including Supreme Court briefs from 1999-pressent
Supreme Court decisions: From 1937-present; find cases by browsing volumes, citation, party names, or full text
LexisNexis Academic: [UCSC on-site or connect via OCA Access]
Supreme Court decisions: (via Cornell Univ.'s Project Hermes) from May 1990-present; find cases from the current term, and find older cases arranged by topic or party name
Oyez (U.S. Supreme Court Media): Access U.S. Supreme Court decisions going back to 1956. Site also contains detailed summaries, oral argument transcripts and audio of select cases.
Web Guide to U.S. Supreme Court research: Excellent guide which brings together free sources of information on the internet
Supreme Court Nomination Hearings: The Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Supreme Court Nomination Hearings transcripts from 1971, most recent are available in their entirety

All circuit court opinions: (via the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Univ. Law School)
Opinions from Circuit Courts of Appeals: (via FindLaw) opinions from 1996-present
Federal circuit case search: (via Emory Univ.)
U.S. Judicial Branch Resources: Site has a hierarchical sequence from the U.S. Constitution -> Code -> Statutes -> Regulations -> Cases for judicial interpretation
LexisNexis Academic: [UCSC on-site or connect via OCA Access]

California Constitution
California law (California codes): Search through the text of California laws
California Code of Regulations
Law Help California: Provides detailed legal resources for common legal problems with links to local resources
Opinions of the California Supreme Court: (via the Judicial Council of California) opinions from 1850 and recently decided court cases "slip opinions"
LexisNexis Academic: [UCSC on-site or connect via OCA Access]
Santa Cruz Online Municipal Code: Search for a section of the City code
Municipal codes online: (via the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) Library at UC Berkeley) scroll down to see list of cities/municipalities

California Courts: Contains general information about California courts
California Courts Self-Help Center: Provided by the State to aid in finding legal assistance, learn about California laws, etc. This site does not provide legal advice.
Opinions from the California Supreme Court and Court of Appeals: Search for opinions from the California Supreme Court and California Court of Appeals
LexisNexis Academic: [UCSC on-site or connect via OCA Access]

Guide to Law Online: U.S. states and territories: (via the Law Library of Congress) search for legal and government information by state or territory
State constitutions: (via FindLaw)
State resources: (via FindLaw)
Internet sites of state legislatures: Contains links to law and legislative information for other states. NOTE: laws are not available for all states
State Agency Databases: Contains links to databases of state agencies for each US state
State Blue Books: Contains links to blue books (almanacs of government affairs and statistics) for each US state
Legal Information Institute: (via Cornell Univ. Law School) search for court information by state
LegalEngine.com: The section on "State Caselaw" covers courts in other states
LexisNexis Academic: [UCSC on-site or connect via OCA Access]
State legislatures, laws and regulations: (via the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, DC)
State legal resources on the web: (via the Univ. of Michigan Documents Center)

GATT Digital Library (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade): Find documents, information and resources about GATT
Office of the United States Trade Representative: Includes full-text global, regional, and bilateral trade agreements
Global Legal Information Network(GLIN): (via the Law Library of Congress) contains searchable legal abstracts. Provides information on national legislation from many other countries.
International Law: (via the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Univ. Law School)
Guide to law online: Nations of the World: (via the Law Library of Congress) search for legal information by country
Guide to law online: International: (via the Law Library of Congress) search for International Legal Information
International Legal Sources: (via FindLaw)
LexisNexis Academic: [UCSC on-site or connect via OCA Access]
Foreign Legal Gazettes: Published by governments worldwide are the means the government can communicate with officials and the general public; listed alphabetically by country

Updated June 18, 2008