Legal Research On The Internet

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    Legal Research On The Internet - Presentation Transcript

    1. Legal Research on the (Free) Internet Presented by: Kate Fitz Public Services Librarian Sacramento County Public Law Library
    2. Sources of law
      • Primary Sources contain the law
        • Actual statements of the law
        • Codes, Cases, Regulations
        • Generally available online
      • Secondary Sources explain the law
        • Material “about” the law, often starting point for research
        • Limited availability online
    3. Search Techniques on the Internet
        • Boolean, wildcards, “exact phrase,” proximity
        • Always take a peek at the “help” or “search tips”
        • Broken links? Site map, URL trimming, Google’s “site:” search
        • Alternative terms, terms to focus
      Introduction
    4. Primary Sources
    5. Case Law
    6. http://findlaw.com/cacases/
      • 1934 to the present
      • Free, but registration required
      California cases
    7. http://findlaw.com/cacases/ Cases citing this case Pin cite No indication of total hits
    8. http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/ Advanced Search More Search Terms California Courts – Powered by LexisNexis
      • Cases since 1850
      • Registration not required
      • Many search options
    9. Print or email Focus w/in results Validation symbols California Courts http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/
    10. Other State Case Law
      • FindLaw a good source, but varies in coverage
      • Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII): http://www.law.cornell.edu/states/listing.html
      • Check with your local public law library! http://aallnet.org/sis/sccll/membership/libraries.htm
    11. Federal Case Law
      • All Supreme Court, F2d and F3d
      • West Rptr citations w/ pagination
      • Advanced search available
      http://www.precydent.com/
    12. Federal Case Law – other options
      • Altlaw: http:// altlaw.org / . All Supreme Court cases, 40+years of federal appellate cases, most with West Reporter citations, but not pagination. Advanced search functions available.
      • Justia: http:// law.justia.com / Federal and state cases, including some access to current case dockets. Citations, but not pagination. Google search (no built-in advanced search)
    13. Statutes
    14. California statutes http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.htm Click here For CA code
      • Current code only
      • Not annotated
      • Keyword searchable
      NO INDEX!!
    15. Searching the California Codes fence Can my neighbor build a 12-foot high fence next to my property just to annoy me? http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.htm
    16. The plain statement of the law http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.htm
    17. leave keyword blank Browsing Table of Contents Choose a code to view, then… http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.htm
    18. Browsing Table of Contents No way to plug in cites! http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.htm
    19. Other State Statutes
      • FindLaw a good source, but varies in coverage
      • Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII): http://www.law.cornell.edu/states/listing.html
      • Check with your local public law library! http://aallnet.org/sis/sccll/membership/libraries.htm
    20. United States Code
      • U.S. House of Representatives http:// uscode.house.gov/search/criteria.shtml Plug in citations or search text. Many search options including cross-references to a citation. Classification Tables (recently enacted changes). Prior versions of Code.
      • Cornell Legal Information Institute http:// www.law.cornell.edu/uscode / Plug in citations or search text. Table of Popular Names; advanced search options.
    21. Regulations
    22. California Code of Regulations http://www.calregs.com/
      • Regulations of all California agencies
      • Only the current edition is available
      • Title 24 (CA Building Standards Code) is NOT available on the Internet
    23. Click for Table of Contents http://www.calregs.com/ California Code of Regulations Plug in citation Search for words
    24. http://www.calregs.com/ California Code of Regulations What insects can be imported without a permit? import AND insects AND permit
    25. http://www.calregs.com/ California Code of Regulations
    26. Other State Regulations
      • Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII): http://www.law.cornell.edu/states/listing.html
      • Check with your local public law library! http://aallnet.org/sis/sccll/membership/libraries.htm
      • e-CFR: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov
      • Federal Register: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/
      Federal regulations http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
    27. Municipal law
    28. California City & County Codes http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/calcodes.html Also see: California City Websites & City Codes http://law.justia.com/ california/cities/
    29. Other Municipal & County Codes http://tinyurl.com/3rppn
    30. Sacramento City Code Online http://www.qcode.us/codes/sacramento/
    31. Public Records Searching
      • Types of records available varies from County to County and from State to State
    32. Cal. Secretary of State http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/list.html
      • Links to many free public records databases around the U.S.
      • Can limit by state
      • Also many links to pay searches
      www.freeprf.com
    33. Court Records
      • California
        • Many California courts offer online case index
        • More and more offer online documents
        • Find California courts on the Judicial Council site http://courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/find.htm
      • Other States
        • Available records vary
        • Find court websites at Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII): http:// www.law.cornell.edu /
      • Federal dockets and documents: see PACER. Some free at Justia.com and public.resource.org
      http://courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/find.htm
    34. Secondary Sources
      • Secondary sources such as:
      • CEB practice guides
      • Rutter Group materials
      • Matthew Bender pleading and practice guides
      • … are NOT available for free on the Internet
      $215.00 $361.25 $4201.00
    35. Cornell Legal Information Institute: Wex http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex Articles arranged alphabetically Keyword Search
    36. FindLaw: “Learn About the Law” http://public.findlaw.com/ Arranged topically or alphabetically
    37. Nolo.com: Self Help Publisher www.nolo.com Commercial site, but many helpful articles available free
    38. California Judicial Council www.courtinfo.ca.gov Self-Help Center
    39. Local court websites http://www.caeb.uscourts.gov/
      • Info on specific topics and local practice
      • Forms, instructions, samples
      • Links to more resources
      • Find your jurisdiction: www.law.cornell.edu/soj.html
    40. Law Reviews
    41. Washburn Legal Research on the Web www.washlaw.edu/lawjournal/
    42. L aw Review Home Pages ( D’Angelo Law Library) www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/law/lawreviews.html
    43. Google Scholar – article search
      • Links to full text sometimes availalble
      http://scholar.google.com/
    44. Keeping current – Law Blogs
      • Written by practitioners or scholars
      • Regularly updated news, case reports, and commentary on specialized topics
      • RSS feeds can deliver the news to you
    45. Finding blawgs - Justia http://blawgsearch.justia.com/
    46. Law Professor Blogs http://www.lawprofessorblogs.com/
    47. Thank you for coming!
      • [email_address]
      • IM Cat Galileo
      • www.galileolaw.com (coming soon)

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