How to Find the Law:
Introduction to Basic Legal Reference

Cases

Federal U.S. Supreme Court Cases

• U.S. Supreme Court - official site, opinions from October 1999
• Findlaw.com - from 1893, search by citation, party name or full-text
• Legal Information Institute (Cornell) - from 1990, searchable, provides collection of historical decisions
• LexisOne - search caselaw for free (last five years)



Federal Circuit, District and Bankruptcy Court Cases

• Findlaw.com - links to Circuit, District and Bankruptcy opinions
• Legal Information Institute (Cornell) - links to Circuit, District and Bankruptcy Court opinions
• U.S. Federal Courts Finder (Emory) - links to Circuit Court Opinions, map of circuits
• LexisOne - search caselaw for free (last five years)

New Jersey Cases

• New Jersey Court Opinions - hosted by Rutgers-Camden; Supreme Court opinions since March 1994; Appellate Division and Tax Court opinions from September 1995
• New Jersey Current Reported Opinions - current and last week's Supreme Court & Appellate Division opinions, posted by the New Jersey Judiciary
• US District for the District of New Jersey - hosted by Rutgers-Camden; from October 1998

Courts & Court Rules

State Courts & Court Rules

• New Jersey Judiciary Home Page
• New Jersey Municipal Courts Direct - pay your traffic and parking tickets online
• New Jersey Court Rules - posted at the NJ judiciary web site
• NJ Court Rules (Gann Online Free Content) - court rules publisher provides free access to unannotated court rules
• National Center for State Courts: Court Web Sites - links to state, federal and international court web sites
• County Courts address/telephone - for all states

Federal Courts & Court Rules

• U.S. Supreme Court Home Page
• Federal Courts Home Page - information about the federal judiciary
• Federal Courts Finder (Emory)
• History of the Federal Judiciary - history of the federal courts; biographies of federal judges since 1789
• Court Rules, Forms & Dockets - links to 1400 state and federal sources, from llrx.com
• Federal Court Rules - includes Rules of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Appellate, Bankruptcy and Local Rules

Statutes & Legislation

State Statutes & Legislation

• New Jersey State Legislature - since 1996-97 session
• New Jersey Legislative Histories - compiled by the State Library, from 1998 forward
• New Jersey Statutes - at the New Jersey Legislature web site, click link to the Statutes on the left side
• NJ Statutes (Gann Online Free Content) - access to NJ Statutes, full text, unannotated
• State Legislatures, State Laws and State Regulations: Web Site Links and Telephone Numbers

Federal Statutes & Legislation

• THOMAS - U.S. Congress on the Internet - full text and status of all bills, public laws, and legislation; Congressional Record, committee reports, voting records, etc.
• U.S. Code (House of Rep.) - official version, current as of 1/3/07(Titles 1-37) and 1/2/06 (Titles 38-50); has update feature
• U.S. Code (Cornell) - generated from House version; easy to search

Administrative Law

State Administrative Law

• New Jersey Government Departments & Agencies
• New Jersey Register - proposed and adopted New Jersey regulations appear here first; provided free by Lexis as part of publishing contract
• New Jersey Administrative Code- organization of New Jersey regulations by agency; provided free by Lexis as part of publishing contract
• Executive Orders of the Governor - from 1/18/90 to present
• Executive Orders of the Governor - 1941 to January 1990
• New Jersey Administrative Law Decisions - hosted by Rutgers-Camden; from October 1997 to present
• New Jersey Administrative Reports (First Series) - 1979-1991
• State and Local Government on the Net - links to state agencies by state

Federal Administrative Law

• U.S. Government Departments & Agencies - A-Z index
• LSU Libraries Federal Agency Directory - searchable database of federal administrative agencies
• Today's Federal Register (GPO Access) - today's table of contents
• Federal Register (GPO Access) - search full Federal Register back to 1994
• Code of Federal Regulations (GPO Access)
• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (GPO Access) - beta test site for new & improved CFR interface
• Regulations.gov - your one stop site to comment on federal regulations

Legal Publications & Information for the Public

• Legal Services of New Jersey - excellent web site for those seeking legal assistance; designed for those with little Internet experience and who might not have good reading skills. Provides self-help tips and practical advice for many civil legal problems such as a dispute with a landlord, divorce or bankruptcy.
• Representing Yourself in Court (NJ) - forms and instructions for pro se litigants in New Jersey
• A Consumer's Guide to Legal Help on the Internet (ABA)
• Researching a Legal Problem - pamphlet available for sale; published by the American Association of Law Libraries
• Self Help pamphlets - Legal Services of New Jersey - available free in PDF and Word formats. Some available in English and Spanish. Current titles include: Tenants' Rights in New Jersey, Termination of Parental Rights, Your Right to Unemployment Benefits, Know Your Welfare Rights and Clearing Your Record.
• Publications - New Jersey State Bar Foundation - available in PDFs, some in Spanish as well. Topics include consumer issues, disability law, education issues, AIDS, domestic violence and more.
• Consumer's Guide to the New Jersey Lemon Law
• New Jersey Division of Civil Rights Fact Sheets - discussions of various types of discrimination
• Women's Guide to Rights and Resources in New Jersey - from the League of Women Voters
• Nolo Press - California-based publisher of self help legal materials for sale and at no cost

Legal Reference Materials

• Nolo's Legal Dictionary
• Nolo's Legal Encyclopedia - Nolopedia
• Manual of Style for Legal Citation in New Jersey - published on the web by the New Jersey judiciary
• Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
• Legal Abbreviations - common abbreviations
• Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Locator - national lawyer & law firm directory, also at www.lawyers.com
• Martindale-Hubbell Law Digest - legal topics and summary of laws for all states
• Findlaw West Legal Directory - another lawyer directory

Law & Government Meta Sites

• Internet Law Guide (Rutgers) - great links to New Jersey and other legal materials
• Findlaw - a comprehensive web site of law-related links; well organized and user friendly
• Hieros Gamos - a comprehensive law and government portal
• Washlaw Web - an extensive set of links from Washburn University's Law Library
• LawGuru/Internet Law Library
• GPO Access - online access to Government Printing Office publications, including legislative, executive, judicial and regulatory materials
• USA.gov - "your first click to the U.S. government"
• State and Local Government on the Net - links to all states, very current
• Cornell's Legal Information Institute - collection of primary legal materials (federal, New York); topical libraries

Other Legal Materials

• New Jersey State Board of Bar Examiners - bar exam results, exam dates, etc.
• New Jersey Bartender - ethics complaints against New Jersey attorneys
• New Jersey Ethics Opinions - opinions of the New Jersey Supreme Court's Ethics Committees; involving professional ethics of attorneys

  Legal News & Current Events

  • New Jersey Law Journal - New Jersey legal newspaper, some full-text articles available
  • Findlaw Legal News - see also Special Coverage and Featured Documents for coverage of newsworthy events
  • The Smoking Gun - web site that posts legal documents involving high-profile individuals and current events

  Legal Forms

  • New Jersey State Court Forms - for civil, family and appellate courts
  • Findlaw Legal Forms - links to court forms for federal and state courts; see links at bottom of page for consumer, corporate and other forms
  • LexisOne - free forms available
  • LLRX.com - links to state and federal court forms
  • Washlaw Web - links to all types of legal forms

  Law-Related Associations

  • New Jersey State Bar Association
  • New Jersey State Bar Foundation
  • New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE)
  • National & Specialty Legal Associations
  • State & Local Bar Associations

  New Jersey Law Libraries

  • Rutgers Law Library - Newark
  • Rutgers Law Library - Camden
  • Seton Hall Law Library  

  New Jersey Municipal Codes

  Selected New Jersey Municipal Codes are available at the following sites. Using a search engine is also recommended.
  • NJ Municipal & County Ordinances Links - posted at Rutgers Internet Law Guide
  • General Code Publisher's E-Codes
  • Coded Systems Corporation

Legal Research Guides

How to do Legal Research

• Research Guides - Georgetown University Law Library
• Research Statutes & Cases - from Nolo Press
• Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioner's Guide
• A Research Guide to the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations
• Zimmerman's Research Guide - legal and nonlegal research guide
• Legal Reference Guide for Public Librarians in New Jersey - dated but still useful

Legal Research by Topic of Law

• Findlaw by Subject
• Hieros Gamos Areas of Practice
• Martindale-Hubbell Law Digest - legal topics and summary of laws for all states
• Wex Legal Encyclopedia - at Cornell's Legal Information Institute
• Nolopedia (Nolo) - everyday legal topics, designed for the lay person
• In- Depth Research Guides - from Georgetown University Law Library

Law Librarian Resources

• Law Library Resource Exchange - news, articles, current trends in law librarianship, searchable archive of law-lib
• Zimmerman's Research Guide - an excellent "how-to" guide for legal and nonlegal research
• The Virtual Chase - created by law librarian Genie Tyburski; tips on conducting research on the Internet
• NJ Law Librarians Association (NJLLA) - association information, news, listserv instructions, etc.
• Legal Databases:
  • LexisNexis - pay as you go by credit card. Legal information includes case law, Shepards, codes, legislation & law reviews for $9.00 each.
  • Westlaw - with credit card. Per document (ex. case by citation, title, docket number), $12.00 each + tax. KeyCite (making sure case is good law) is $4.25 + tax for each citation.
  • Law Office Information Service (LOIS) - full-text legal database; lower-priced competitor of Lexis & Westlaw, can customize subscription
  • Versus Law - full-text legal database; lower-priced competitor of Lexis & Westlaw, offers very reasonable subscription plans

Lawyer Referrals

• New Jersey Lawyer Referral Services - contact information for county referral services
• Legal Services/Legal Aid - services for low-income residents of New Jersey with civil legal problems

Internet links presentation by Kathy Taggart, Computer Services Librarian, Lowenstein Sandler