Los Angeles Valley College Library: Legal Research: Legal Research

How Laws Become Laws aka Legal Research is Complex

Finding Federal, State, Local Laws

Federal: United States

Constitution

U.S. Constitution Annotated
Text of the US Constitution with explanations. Each explanation interprets the text and includes links to relevant Supreme Court opinions, the U.S. Code, and the Code of Federal Regulations, as well as enhancing navigation through search, breadcrumbs, linked footnotes and tables of contents.
U.S. Constitution
Original text and transcript (archives.gov, from the U.S. National Archives)

Legislative

United States Code (U.S.C.)
The codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States.
United States Statutes at Large
The United States Statutes at Large, typically referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress.
Public and Private Laws (Slip Laws)
Public and private laws are also known as slip laws. A slip law is an official publication of the law and is competent evidence admissible in all state and Federal courts and tribunals of the United States. Public laws affect society as a whole, while private laws affect an individual, family, or small group.

Judicial

U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 1760 (via FindLaw)
--If you don't know the name of the parties in the case, switch to "free text search"
--put phrases in quotation marks, e.g. "search and seizure"
U.S. Supreme Court decisions, opinions, oral arguments (via Oyez)
Oyez offers transcript-synchronized and searchable audio for oral arguments 1955-present, plain-English case summaries, illustrated decision information, and full-text Supreme Court opinions (through Justia)
U.S. Federal Appellate and District Courts Opinions
Browse by specific appellate/district court. If you don't know the specific court, do an advanced keyword search and select "United States Courts Opinions"

Executive (Administrative)

Code of Federal Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) annual edition is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government

State: California

Constitution

California Constitution
Browsable. To search the CA constitution, click the Text Search tab and select "California Constitution - CONS"

Legislative

California Code
Searchable/Browsable by specific code (Penal, Education, etc)

Judicial

CA Supreme Court decisions since 1934 (via FindLaw)
--If you don't know the name of the parties in the case, switch to "free text search"
--put phrases in quotation marks, e.g. "search and seizure"
CA Court of Appeal Decisions since 1934 (via FindLaw)
--If you don't know the name of the parties in the case, switch to "free text search"
--put phrases in quotation marks, e.g. "search and seizure"
Official Reports Opinions from CA Supreme and Appellate Courts (Searchable 1850-Present)
are the searchable, citable, published opinions that reflect post filing corrections. This no-fee service is provided by LexisNexis.
YOU MUST UNBLOCK POPUPS/REDIRECTS BEFORE USING

Executive (Administrative)

California Code of Regulations
(WestlawNext, from Thomson Reuters)

Local

Finding Federal, State Laws In Progress

Federal: United States

Legislative

U.S. Congress - Legislation (via congress.gov)
records for every bill and resolution introduced in the U.S. Congress since 1973 (93rd Congress), and every amendment introduced or submitted since 1981 (97th Congress).
Congressional Record
Proceedings and debates of the U.S. Congress.
Browsable: 1989-present (101st Congress-present)
Searchable: 1995-present (104th Congress - present)

Judicial

U.S. Supreme Court decisions, opinions, oral arguments (via Oyez)
Oyez offers transcript-synchronized and searchable audio for oral arguments 1955-present, plain-English case summaries, illustrated decision information, and full-text Supreme Court opinions (through Justia)

Executive (Administrative)

Federal Register
the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents
--Browse by date, or agency, or search by keyword

State: California

Legislative

Bill Information
full text of bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments, and their status, history, votes, analyses, and veto messages 1999-present
--Browse by Session
--Search by keyword or bill number in upper right

Judicial

CA Supreme and Appeals Courts - Unpublished Opinions (last 60 days)
Unpublished or "non-citable" opinions are opinions that are not certified for publication in Official Reports and generally may not be cited or relied on by other courts or parties in other actions

Executive (Administrative)

California Regulatory Notice Register Online
The California Regulatory Notice Register is published every Friday and includes a variety of notices by state agencies, including Notices of Proposed Actions for rulemakings, decisions not to proceed as well as other announcements or information.

Finding Law Review Articles

Law Review articles are scholarly articles on the law and legal issues. They can be useful in understanding legal issues AND for finding references to relevant law and court decisions relating to legal issues.

Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
To find law review articles, type in your keywords plus "law review" (with the quotation marks) in the search box
Example:
civil rights AND "law review"
JSTOR Archival Journals This link opens in a new window
This resource is better for finding older/historical law review articles
To find law review articles, type in your keywords plus "law review" (with the quotation marks) in the search box
Example:
civil rights AND "law review"

The rest of these links are "open access" (OA) law review resources, freely available online to anyone who can access the Internet.

Law Review Commons
A growing collection of easily browsable and searchable law reviews and legal journals, including many from leading U.S. law schools.
Free Full-Text Online Law Review/Journal Search
From the American Bar Association. Searches the free full-text of over 400 online law reviews and law journals, as well as document repositories hosting academic papers and related publications such as Congressional Research Service reports.
Guide to Law Reviews Online
From the U.S. Library of Congress. Listed by journal title (which often tells you which school publishes the journal).
Digital Commons Network: Law Commons
Sources mainly from academic institutions (worldwide), including published law reviews, theses and dissertations, and other documents.

Books/Websites about the Law and Doing Legal Research

Legal Reference for Librarians by Paul D. Healey
Call Number: e-book (click on book title to access it)
ISBN: 9780838911174
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Black's Law Dictionary by Bryan A. Garner; Henry Campbell Black
Call Number: KF156 .B532 2006
ISBN: 9780314158628
Publication Date: 2006-06-01
Legal Literacy by Archie Zariski
Call Number: e-book (click on book title to access it)
ISBN: 9781927356463
Publication Date: 2014-10-31

Beginner’s Guides to Legal Research
From the U.S. Library of Congress: If you are working in an unfamiliar area of law, and do not know where to begin, our Beginner’s Guide series gives you a great selection of treatises, cases, statutes, and regulations to jump-start your research project.
How Our Laws Are Made
U.S. Government Manual
The official handbook of the Federal Government.
Core Documents of Our Democracy
Cornerstone documents and other resources from the U.S. Government Publishing Office
Guide to Secondary Legal Resources
From the U.S. Library of Congress: Secondary legal sources offer analyses, commentaries or restatements of primary law. Sources such as legal encyclopedias, annotated law reports, legal periodicals, treaties, and restatements are covered.
Free Internet Legal Resources
A comprehensive online guide from the University of South Carolina