Note: Information about and access to these resources is subject to change.
| Actual Text of "The Law" | |
| |
Generally available and reliable online if from government sources or well-known organizations such as academic institutions, or if in identical form at multiple sources. | |
Explanations of "The Law"
Generally less available online because proprietary, with reliability dependent on the reputation of the content author/provider; however, various valuable secondary sources do exist online (often in the form of blogs, guides, portals, wikis, etc. several of which appear as links below).
| Name | Notes/Links/Descriptions | No Cost | Low cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| AltLaw | U.S. Supreme Court and Circuit Courts of Appeal searchable by date, keyword, phrase, name. | ✔ |
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| Casemaker | Exclusive partner with state bar associations for providing association members with access to primary legal research authorities, including case law, among other things. | ✔ |
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| Fastcase | Monthly charged, 50-state and federal cases. | ✔ |
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| FindACase | State and federal case law, grouped by state. | ✔ |
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| FindLaw | U.S. Supreme Court, Circuit Courts of Appeal, and District Courts, among others, and state courts - searchable and browsable. | ✔ |
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| Justia | U.S. Supreme Court, Circuit Courts of Appeal, and District Courts, state courts - searchable and browsable. | ✔ |
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| lexisONE | LexisNexis proprietary-quality, but limited coverage: last ten years of state and federal cases - with complete coverage for U.S. Supreme Court. | ✔ |
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| Loislaw | 50-state case; U.S. Supreme Court reports; Circuit Courts of Appeal; U.S. District Courts; U.S. Tax Court; others. | ✔ |
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| OpenJurist | U.S. Supreme Court and Circuit Courts of Appeal - searchable and browsable. | ✔ |
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| PreCYdent | U.S. Supreme Court, Circuit Courts of Appeal, and District Courts, state cases - searchable and browsable. | ✔ |
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| PLOL | Public Library of Law: Access to federal and state cases. | ✔ |
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| VersusLaw | Offering 3 different online legal research monthly plans covering: U.S. Supreme Court; Circuit Courts of Appeal; U.S. District Courts; other federal courts; United States Code (U.S.C.); state appellate courts; "other court content;" Native American tribal courts; and foreign courts. | ✔ |
| Name | Notes/Links/Descriptions | No Cost | Low cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Supreme Court | Browsable "bound volumes" of the United States Reports from 1991 to the present, along with the latest slip opinions and other materials. | ✔ |
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| U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal | Map of circuit courts, leading to links to their individual websites. | ✔ |
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| PACER | Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER): an electronic public access service allowing users to obtain case and docket information from federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts, and the "U.S. Party/Case Index" online, subject to a capped, per-page charge. | ✔ |
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| SCOTUSWiki | Briefs for all U.S. supreme court cases argued from 2007 to date. | ✔ |
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| State courts | A directory of official state, county, and city government websites, leading to links to individual state judicial websites. | ✔ |
| Name | Notes/Links/Descriptions | No cost | Low cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Memory | Library of Congress' linked set of published 18th and 19th century U.S. congressional records. Bills and Resolutions | ✔ |
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| Casemaker | Exclusive partner with state bar associations for providing association members with access to primary legal research authorities, including statutory law, among other things. | ✔ |
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| Fastcase | Monthly charged, 50-state and federal statutes. | ✔ |
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| Federal Digital System (FDsys) | Official U.S. Government information migrated from GPO Access, occurring on a collection-by-collection basis. | ✔ |
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| Founder's Constitution | Anthology 18th and early 19th century documents arranged, among other things, by article, section, and clause of the U.S. Constitution, from the Preamble through Article Seven and continuing through the first 12 Amendments. | ✔ |
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| GPO Access | Official versions of the U.S. Constitution and statutes, along with other legislative materials. |
✔ |
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| Justia | Federal and state statutes - searchable and browsable. | ✔ |
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| Legal Information Institute | U.S. Constitution, U.S.C. collections on Cornell University Law School's respected research and electronic publishing site. |
✔ |
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| Loislaw | 50-state statutes; U.S. Constitution; U.S.C.; Public Laws of the United States. | ✔ |
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| (U.S. House of Representatives) Office of the Law Revision Counsel | Website of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, which prepares and publishes the U.S.C. |
✔ |
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| PreCYdent | Federal and state statutes - searchable and browsable. | ✔ |
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| PLOL | Public Library of Law: Access to federal and state constitutions, statutes. | ✔ |
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| State statutes | A directory of official state, county, and city government websites, leading to links to individual state legislative websites. | ✔ |
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| THOMAS | Library of Congress' contemporary federal legislative portal, searchable back to the 101st Congress (1989-1991). | ✔ |
| Name | Notes/Links/Descriptions | No cost | Low cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| e-CFR | Beta, unofficial version of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.). | ✔ |
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| Casemaker | Exclusive partner with state bar associations for providing association members with access to primary legal research authorities, including and regulatory / administrative law, among other things. | ✔ |
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| Fastcase | Monthly charged, 50-state and federal regulations. | ✔ |
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| Federal Digital System (FDsys) | Official U.S. Government information migrated from GPO Access, occurring on a collection-by-collection basis. | ✔ |
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| GPO Access | Official versions of the C.F.R. and Federal Register (FR), along with other regulatory/administrative materials. |
✔ |
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| Justia | Federal and state regulations - searchable and browsable. | ✔ |
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| Legal Information Institute | C.F.R. collections on Cornell University Law School's respected research and electronic publishing site. |
✔ |
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| Loislaw | 50-state rules and regulations; C.F.R.; FR. | ✔ |
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| PLOL | Public Library of Law: Access to federal and state regulations. | ✔ |
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| Regulations.gov | Source for all regulations (or rulemakings) issued by U.S. Government agencies, including all proposed and final federal rules, as well as notices - as published in the FR - and additional supporting materials, public comments, and federal agency guidance and adjudications. | ✔ |
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| State regulations | A directory of official state, county, and city government websites, leading to links to individual state regulatory / administrative websites. | ✔ |
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| University of Virginia Library | A portal to federal administrative decisions grouped by agency. | ✔ |
Explanations of "The Law"
Generally less available online because proprietary, with reliability dependent on the reputation of the content author / provider; however, various valuable secondary sources do exist online (often in the form of blogs, guides, portals, wikis, etc. - several of which appear as links below).
| Name | Notes/Links/Descriptions | No Cost | Low cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guide to Law Online | The Law Library of Congress' valuable annotated guide to online sources of information on government and law, including selected links to reliable legal information sites. | ✔ |
|
| Georgetown Law Library Research Guides | Georgetown University Law Center's law library research guides by jurisdiction, conveniently covering, among other things, the 50 U.S. states. | ✔ |
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| LLRX | Law Library Resource Xchange (LLRX) provides a collection of research guides submitted by law librarians from a variety of institutions. | ✔ |
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| Legal Information Institute | Cornell University Law School's respected research and electronic publishing site, including federal and state case law, statutes, and regulations, along with law organized by topic. | ✔ |
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| Legal Research Engine | A specialized search engine from Cornell University Law Library for locating research guides on a wide variety of topics; searches guides from over one dozen law schools and LLRX. | ||
| LoisLaw | Treatises and forms by practice area: bankruptcy law; business law; construction law; DUI law; elder law; employment law; estate law; evidence law; family law; general litigation; Internet & E-commerce law; limited liability company Law; personal injury law; product liability law; real estate law. | ✔ |
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| Public.Resource.org | Bulk access to court decisions, statutes and administrative codes, PACER documents, and other materials. | ✔ |
Reference
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