INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH
Leah Sandwell-Weiss, Reference Librarian
Search Tools
- Search/Meta-Search Engines
- Uses computer programs to compile databases of web pages & to search search engines
- Subject Directory
- Uses humans to select sites in many topic areas
- Subject Guide
- Uses humans to select sites in one topic area
Suggested Search Strategy
- Analyze your topic to decide features you need
- Distinctive phrase or words, overview, specific or everything
- Pick a tool which provides these features
- If it’s not working, vary approach
- Don’t limit yourself to one tool
- Best Search Tools Chart: www.infopeople.org/search/chart.html
- Research Beyond Google: 119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources: http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/research-beyond-google
Caveat Web Searcher
Always check the source
- Who created the website?
- When was the information last updated?
- Is it real or a bogus spoof site?
Checklist: www.virtualchase.com/quality/checklist_print.html
Starting Points for Research
Begin Researching: www.law.arizona.edu/library/research/index.cfm?page=research
Begin Researching: Research Guides www.law.arizona.edu/Library/Research/guides.cfm?page=research
Begin Researching: Research Guides: Legal Links: www.law.arizona.edu/Library/Research/LegalLinks/legallinks.cfm?page=research
Legal Links
Index Page
- General Legal Reference
- Federal
- Arizona
- State
- International & Foreign
- Legal Subject Links
- Bar Associations & Ethics Materials
General Legal Reference
Legal Research Sites
- Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII): www.law.cornell.edu/
- Findlaw: www.findlaw.com
- Justia: www.justia.com/
- WashLaw Web: www.washlaw.edu/
Federal - General
FirstGov.gov: www.firstgov.gov
Forms.gov: www.forms.gov
Fedstats: www.fedstats.gov
Federal - Judicial
US Supreme Court: www.supremecourt.gov
LII (Cornell) Supreme Court Collection: www.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html
Supreme Court – FindLaw: www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
Constitutional Law Center – FindLaw: http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/resources.html
Justia - US Supreme Court Center (Beta): http://supreme.justia.com/
Federal - Legislative
US Senate: www.senate.gov
US House: www.house.gov
Thomas: thomas.loc.gov
LLSDC's Legislative Source Book: www.llsdc.org/sourcebook
Federal - Executive
White House: www.whitehouse.gov
Federal Register: www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/
- Regulations.gov: www.regulations.gov
Code of Federal Regulations: www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/
Arizona - General
Arizona Home Page: http://az.gov/webapp/portal/
Arizona State Bar: www.azbar.org
Pima County Bar: www.pimacountybar.org/
Pima County Law Library: www.sc.pima.gov/?tabid=60
Arizona - Judicial
US District Court: www.azd.uscourts.gov
Arizona Judicial Branch: www.supreme.state.az.us
Court of Appeals
- Div. 1: www.cofad1.state.az.us
- Div. 2: www.apltwo.ct.state.az.us
Arizona - Legislative
Arizona Legislative Information Service (ALIS): www.azleg.state.az.us
Arizona - Executive
Arizona Governor: www.governor.state.az.us/
Attorney General: www.azag.gov
Secretary of State: www.azsos.gov
- Administrative Code: www.azsos.gov/public_services/Table_of_Contents.htm
- Administrative Register: www.azsos.gov/aar/contents.htm
Arizona – County & City
Pima County: www.pima.gov/
Tucson: www.ci.tucson.az.us
Tucson, Phoenix, & Other Arizona City Codes: www.municode.com/resources/code_list.asp?stateID=3
State
Judicial
- National Center for State Courts: www.ncsconline.org/
General
- State and Local Government on the Net: www.statelocalgov.net
- National Council of State Legislatures: www.ncsl.org/
- Stateline.org: www.stateline.org
International & Foreign
EISEL (Electronic Information for International Law): www.eisil.org/
Foreign Government Resources on the Web: www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/foreign.html
UN Home Page: www.un.org
Bar Associations & Ethics Materials
American Bar Association: www.abanet.org/
Jurist’s Guide to the Legal Profession: www.jurist.law.pitt.edu/sg_prof.htm
LII: American Legal Ethics Library: www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/
New Sources
Westlaw WebPlus Beta & Lexis WebBeta
AltLaw
PreCYdent
Keeping Up To Date
Updating Research
Lexis & Westlaw:
- Shepard's & KeyCite Alerts
- Alerts
Legal News
Mailing Lists, Web Sites, RSS Feeds
FindLaw:
- Legal News website: http://news.findlaw.com/
- Top Legal Headlines Email example
- Breaking Legal Documents email example
- Newsletter sign-up page: http://newsletters.findlaw.com
Law.Com:
- Newswire: www.law.com/newswire/
- Newswire email example
- Newswire sign-up page: http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw
- Newswire RSS feed: www.law.com/rss/rss_newswire.xml
Jurist
- Paper Chase: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/
- Gazette - legal documents in the news: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/gazette/
- Current Awareness: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/currentawareness/
ABA Journal:
- Law News Now: www.abajournal.com/
- RSS feeds: www.abajournal.com/subscribe/
BNA’s Internet Law News:
- Email example
- Sign-up Page: http://ecommercecenter.bna.com/
Congressional Quarterly
- CQ Today Midday Update email example
- CQ Behind the Lines email example
- Sign-up page: http://corporate.cq.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=237
Arizona
- Arizona Supreme Court Opinions sign-up page: www.supreme.state.az.us/clerk/listserv.htm
- Elder Law: www.elder-law.com/issues.html
- eLegal - Automatically get when you join the Arizona State Bar
- Arizona Daily Star RSS feeds: http://azstarnet.com/special/rss
- Tucson Citizen Local News feed: www.tucsoncitizen.com/altdaily/rss/local/
Legal Research
- LLRX email example
- LLRX sign-up page: www.llrx.com/subscribe.htm
- LLRX RSS Feed: www.llrx.com/llrx.xml
- Justia - Federal District Court Filings & Dockets (Beta): http://dockets.justia.com/
- Justia - Regulation Tracker (Beta): http://regulations.justia.com/
Blogs
US Supreme Court
- SCOTUSBlog: www.scotusblog.com/
Arizona
- AZAPP: www.azapp.com/
- Arizona Family Law Blog: www.azfamilylawblog.com/
Law Professors
- Law Profesor Blogs: www.lawprofessorblogs.com/
- Balkinization: http://balkin.blogspot.com/
- Concurring Opinions: www.concurringopinions.com/
- Criminal Law and Policy News and Events for the University of Arizona Community:
http://uacj.typepad.com/university_of_arizona_cri/ - Instapundit: www.instapundit.com/
- Is That Legal?: www.isthatlegal.org/
- Dorf on Law: http://michaeldorf.org/
- Prawfsblawg: http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/
- University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog: http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/faculty/
- The Volokh Conspiracy: http://volokh.com/
Law Librarians & Legal Researchers
- Law Librarian Blog: http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/law_librarian_blog/
- beSpacific: www.bespacific.com/
- WisBlawg: www.law.wisc.edu/blogs/wisblawg/
Attorneys
- Blawg: www.blawg.org/
- Blawg Republic: www.blawgrepublic.com/
- Between Lawyers: http://betweenlawyers.corante.com/
- InterAlia: www.inter-alia.net/
- How Appealing: http://howappealing.law.com/
- Justia BlawgSearch: http://blawgsearch.justia.com/
- Robert Ambrogi's LawSites: www.legaline.com/lawsites.html
News/Politics
- NPR: www.npr.org/
- Stateline.org - Arizona: www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=74&languageId=1&contentId=-1
- ACS Blog: The Blog of the American Constitutional Society: www.acsblog.org/
PodCasts
- Legal Talk Network: www.legaltalknetwork.com/index.php
- Washington College of Law (American University) Podcasts: www.wcl.american.edu/podcast/podcast.cfm
- Rogers College of Law Lecture Series: http://itunes.arizona.edu/
Tips for Keeping Up:
RSS & Aggregators
RSS:
Many definitions, but stands for either Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. It's a method of coding information that allows readers to get notification of new content on a site without having to visit the site itself. Readers use another program, called aggregators or feedreaders or webreaders, to read the information.
Articles
- Cindy Chick, RSS Tutorial: What is RSS?: http://lawlibtech.com/archives/000314.html
- Tom Mighell & Dennis Kennedy, RSS Resources You Can Use: Automated Web Surfing for Lawyers, Law Practice Today (Nov. 2006): www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/articles/slc11061.shtml
- Bonnie Sucha, RSS: Making the Internet Subscribeable, 79 Wis. Law., Aug. 2006, at ___, available at www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=59688&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm
Aggregators
- Can be desktop or web-based.
- For simplicity of use, try Bloglines, www.bloglines.com/
- Google Reader is another free, web-based reader: www.google.com/reader/view/
- Bonnie Sucha, Univ. Wisconsin Law Library, Blogs and Webreaders (Bloglines) PowerPoint Presentation: www.law.arizona.edu/Library/Research/Guides/shuchabloglines.ppt
Page Updated: 19 March 2010