Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 December 2011
When faced with a U.S. legal research question, what options does the non-U.S. based researcher have, short of purchasing a subscription to one of the fee-based databases or visiting a major research library? This article will briefly discuss a number of no-cost and low-cost resources in the context of the process required to perform U.S. legal research and will also provide explanations of the different types of primary sources that a legal researcher might encounter.
1 Special thanks to my colleague, Larry Abraham, for this extended metaphor.
3 Copyright Office Circulars: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/
4 Google Books: http://books.google.com
5 Example of Google Books search for secondary source information: http://www.google.com/search?q=products+liability+ and+lighter&tbm=bks&tbo=1
6 Georgetown Law Library's research guide collection: http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/research/index.cfm
7 List of U.S.C. subject titles: http://uscode.house.gov/download/ascii.shtml
8 Title 52, Voting and Elections; Title 53, Small Business; Title 54, National Park System; Title 55, Environment. See here for more information on these proposed titles: http://uscode.house.gov/codification/legislation.shtml
9 For more information on the Office, consult their website: http://uscode.house.gov/about/info.shtml
11 XML version of the U.S.C.: http://uscode.house.gov/beta.shtml
12 Cornell LII version of the U.S.C.: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
13 Popular Name tables can be found from the Office of Law Revision Counsel: http://uscode.house.gov/popularnames/popularnames.htm, and through Cornell Legal Information Institute: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/topn/
14 Public Laws on FDsys: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=PLAW
15 Public Laws on Thomas: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/LegislativeData.php?&n=PublicLaws
16 Information on Statutes at Large: http://www.gpo.gov/help/index.html#about_united_states_statutes_at_large.htm
17 Digitized collection of Statutes at Large: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=GPO&browsePath=United+States+Statutes+at+Large+%28Digitized%29&isCollapsed=false&leafLevelBrowse=false&ycord=0
18 Recent Statutes at Large volumes: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=STATUTE
19 Search for Public Law by citation: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/submitcitation.action?publication=PLAW
20 List of CFR titles: http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text
21 Information on the CFR: http://www.gpo.gov/help/index.html#about_code_of_federal_regulations.htm
22 Titles are revised and updated sequentially: titles 1–16 are republished every year on January 1; titles 17–27 on April 1; titles 28–41 on July 1, and titles 42–50 on October 1.
24 Cornell LII's version of the CFR: http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/
25 Consult USA gov's list of US Agencies and Departments: http://www.usa.gov/directory/federal/index.shtml
26 See, for example, the EPA's Laws and Regulations page: http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/
27 Information on the Federal Register: http://www.gpo.gov/help/index.html#about_federal_register.htm
28 Federal Register: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=FR
29 List of Sections Affected: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=LSA
30 e-CFR: http://ecfr.gpo.gov/
31 Regulations.gov not only provides text of the Federal Register but also allows users to track, review and submit comments on proposed rules that are open to comment; allows you to locate all related documentation to a single rule by searching the rule's docket number: http://www.regulations.gov
32 Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/ (be sure to select “Legal Opinions”)
33 Court websites can be identified using the following site: http://www.uscourts.gov/Court_Locator.aspx
34 Prices for KeyCiting varyhttp://creditcard.westlaw.com/default.aspx
35 FDsys: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
36 Cornell LII: http://www.law.cornell.edu/
37 Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com
38 Fastcase: http://www.fastcase.com/
39 Loislaw: http://www.loislaw.com/