Primary Sources of Laws
Laws like U.S. Constitutions, state constitutions, federal and state statues, court cases, administrative codes & regulations are the primary sources of laws. Use the databases to find them.
- Westlaw - Provides access to news and business information and law-related resources.
- Nexis Uni - Provides full-text documents from more than 15,000 news, legal and business sources.
- Google Scholar: Case Law - Case law, Federal courts, Texas courts, Select courts...
- Library Law Guide - Laws and other legal resources
Secondary Sources of Laws
One could use secondary sources to find laws. Anything that interprets, discusses or explains the actual laws. Secondary sources of law provide helpful background information and citations to the relevant laws. They could be in the form of books, journal articles, legal dictionaries, treatises, restatements or other types of materials. The following are some good starting points to find law reviews or other background information.
- HeinOnline (probably the best law reviews source. The main box will search across 1500+ law periodicals.)
- Westlaw - (go to its Secondary Sources and then do a search. One could also search within American Law Reports. In Secondary Sources > Under BY TYPE >American Law Reports. A.R.L provides In-depth topical articles on all legal subjects.)
- Nexis Uni - (Guided Search > Law Reviews; Advanced Search> Legal> Law Reviews & Journals / Restatement / Treatises ...)
- Legal Collection (EBSCO) - a legal articles database that the library subscribes.
- Google Scholar - Select the radio button "Case Law" or use the interface with ALL courts displayed.
Steps of Searching
- CHECKING - Check the secondary sources first to find the relevant background information or cases cited.
- SEARCHING - With the case citation numbers or party names, find the laws with Westlaw or Nexis Uni.
- VERIFYING - Laws are changing fast. Use tools like Shepard's Citation or KeyCite to verify if the laws are still good laws. In other words, they haven't been reversed by any appeals or overruled by other courts.
What Is a Citation?
A reference system to identify the past judicial decisions on cases or other information. With a citation, one can quickly locate the full text of the case. See citation format and examples below:Case Citation Format in Reporters or Law Reports:
Plaintiff | Defendant |Volume | Reporter |Page |Court |Year
Blackburn v. Fisk 433 F.2d 121 (6th Cir. 1971)
Finding the Legal Issues - When Reading a Case
- Get the FACTS first, and then ask WHAT THE ISSUES ARE to find out what the principles the case stands for.
- Then read carefully to find out how the court RESOLVED THE ISSUES & THEIR REASONING.
TIPS:
FACTS - Read the Synopsis and or the Background of a case: the parties involved, why it was appealed and court's ruling.
LEGAL ISSUES - Read the Headnotes which trace the discussion of specific points of law or fact through the use of headnote numbers.
Citing Legal Documents