Government Publications and Law

Laws and Regulations

Page Contains:

Databases: Statutes, Case Law, Law Reviews

Westlaw Campus
Requires on-site UCSC or OCA access; includes encyclopedias and law reviews, case law, federal and state statutes and regulations, and European Union Law Library
LexisNexis Academic
Requires on-site UCSC or OCA access; Click on "Legal" search tab. Excellent full-text database; includes law reviews and journals, Shepardized case law, patents, Federal and State codes, Canadian and European legal resources
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.
Famous Trials
(via Univ. of Missouri Kansas City) provides information on famous trials through history, concentrating mainly on U.S. trials

Federal Laws and Regulations

Annotated U.S. Constitution
From FindLaw; allows keyword search or scroll down and click on a specific section
United States Code: Federal laws
Public Laws
From THOMAS; 93rd congress to present
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 the 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]

United States Supreme Court

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

Federal Courts

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.)
PACER: Public Access to Court Electronic Records
From the Administrative Office of the US Courts; "allows users to obtain case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and the U.S. Party/Case Index"
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 Laws and Regulations

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"
Legal Opinions of the Attorney General
1986 to current
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

California Courts
Contains general information about California courts
California Rules of Court
From the Judicial Council of California
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]

Other States

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)

International Law

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

Legal Forms & Self-Help

Federal Forms Catalog for Citizens
Catalog of forms for filing with federal agencies including tax forms, social security forms,
California Judicial Council Forms
From the California Courts; court forms, many available in fillable PDF format
California Courts Self-Help Center
Filing instructions and information on family law topics, small claims, traffic court, etc.
EZLegalFile
"EZLegalFile is an interactive (free) program that will help you fill out the forms necessary to request or respond to papers for a variety of legal issues."
I-CAN! Legal
Free service from the Legal Aid Society of Orange County; "I-CAN! modules create properly formatted pleadings; provide court tours; and educate users on the law and the steps needed to pursue their matter."
Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Locator Service
Searchable directory of lawyers and law firms
Nolo Press
Excellent site for self-help publications available for purchase

Updated September 3, 2008

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