Reference : Legal Research Guide

Legal Resources at the Sprague Library

Court Decisions: U.S. Supreme Court | Federal Courts | State Courts (All) | Shepard's Citations
Laws & Bills, Federal: U.S. Constitution | Federal Laws & Statutes | Popular Names of Acts & Cases (Federal & State) | Federal Regulations | Historic Laws & Documents
Laws & Bills, State: NJ Laws & Statutes | NJ Regulations | NJ Constitution
Laws, Municipal: Municipal & County Ordinances

Law Reviews & Legal Newspapers | Dictionaries & Encyclopedias Legal Citation Guides | Directories: Lawyers & Law Schools | Patents & Intellectual Property | Legal Research Sites & Guides | Law Libraries

Court Decisions

United States Supreme Court

  • United States Supreme Court Reports, 1790-1967 - (Ref. KF 101 .U5)\
  • United States Reports, 1966- (Ref. KF 101 .U52)
  • Supreme Court Reporter, 1987- (Ref. KF 101 .A322)
    These volumes contain the text of every case decided by the United States Supreme Court from 1790 to date.
    The arrangement is chronological by date of decision.
  • U.S. Supreme Court Digest - (Ref. KF 101.1 .U55)
    A subject arrangement of the cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Each decision has been analyzed and a digest paragraph prepared for every point of law covered. Kept up-to-date with annual pocket parts.
  • Federal Court Decisions via LEXIS-NEXIS: MSU Access Only.
  • Supreme Court Decisions (1893-): Findlaw: Free access online
  • Supreme Court Decisions (1937-75) Free access online
  • Web Guide to U.S. Supreme Court Research: A tutorial for those new to finding Supreme Court decisions. By Gail Partin. Free access online

Federal Court Decisions

  • ALR (American Law Reports) Federal (Ref. KF105.A52)
  • ALR Index (Ref. KF132.2 .A5 1999): Index to ALR 2nd-5th and Federal editions.
    Each volume contains articles on specific legal issues, either state or federal and each topic has its own table of contents, list of cited statutes and cases and index.
  • Federal Reporter (Ref. KF 105 .F42)
  • 2d series, Volume 500, 1974 - 3d series, Volume 210, 2000. Paper subscription canceled.
    Cases argued and determined in the United States Court of Appeals are included. Paper subscription canceled.
    Decisions available through LEXIS-NEXIS. MSU Access Only
  • Federal Supplement (Ref. KF 105 .F432)
  • Volume 380, 1975 - 2d series, Volume 95, 2000. Paper subscription canceled.
    These volumes contain cases argued and determined in the United States District Courts.
    Decisions available through LEXIS-NEXIS. MSU Access Only
  • West's Federal Practice Digest 3rd - (Ref. KF 127 .W48 1984)
    A subject arrangement of cases decided by the Federal Courts from 1975-1988.
  • West's Federal Practice Digest 4th - (Ref. KF 127 .W48 1989)
    Continues West's Federal Practice Digest 3d by providing subject access to cases decided by the Federal Courts from 1989 to date. Current material is included in annual pocket parts.
  • Caselaw from FindLaw: US Courts of Appeals, US Trial Courts, Federal courts and other entities outside the Judicial Branch, and State Courts as well. Free access online
  • Federal Court Decisions & Opinions: Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, District & Bankruptcy Courts, and Courts of Special Jurisdiction. Free access online
  • Federal Courts Finder: Provides links to web sites for most Federal Courts. Free access online
  • U.S. Courts: Official web site of the Federal Judiciary. Free access online

New Jersey & Other State Court Decisions

  • ALR, American Law Reports (Ref. KF105.A52)
  • ALR 2nd (Ref. KF105.A53 2ND)
  • ALR 3rd (Ref. KF105.A54 3D)
  • ALR 4th (Ref. KF105.A55 L312 4TH)
  • ALR 5th (Ref. KF132.A55)
  • ALR Index (Ref. KF132.2 .A5 1999): Index to ALR 2nd-5th and Federal editions.
    Each volume contains articles on specific legal issues, either state or federal and each topic has its own table of contents, list of cited statutes and cases and index.
  • Atlantic Reporter - (Ref. KF 135 .A72)
  • Volume 1, 1938 - Volume 748, 2000. Paper subscription canceled.
    Contains cases argued and determined in the courts of Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
    Decisions available through LEXIS-NEXIS. MSU Access Only
  • New Jersey Reports - (Ref. KFN 1845 .A2)
    These volumes contain the text of cases decided by the Supreme Court of New Jersey since 1948. Arrangement is chronological by date of decision.
  • New Jersey Superior Court Reports - (Ref. KFN 1845 .A22)
    Cases decided since 1948 in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, Chancery Division, Law Division and the County Courts are included in these volumes and are arranged chronologically by date of decision.
  • New Jersey Reports and New Jersey Superior Court Reports - Advance Sheets - (Ref. KFN 1845 .A23)
    These pamphlets report cases decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court and the New Jersey Superior Court, but not yet bound into permanent volumes.
  • West's New Jersey Digest, 1st Series - (Ref. KFN 1838 .W4)
    A subject arrangement of cases decided in the New Jersey courts from colonial times to 1954, as well as all federal cases involving New Jersey. Each decision has been analyzed and a digest paragraph prepared for every point of law covered.
  • West's New Jersey Digest, 2d Series - (Ref. KFN 1857 .W47)
    These volumes are arranged by subject and cover state and federal cases decided from 1954 to date. Annual pocket parts contain the most recent information.
  • State Courts via LEXIS-NEXIS: MSU Access Only.
  • New Jersey Judiciary - "NJ Courts Online":
    A comprehensive collection of information about about all New Jersey courts, court calendars, judges. This includes: NJ Rules of Court, Sentencing Guidelines, information about Representing Yourself in Court, and NJMCDirect for paying traffic tickets online.
  • Caselaw from FindLaw: US Courts of Appeals, US Trial Courts, Federal courts and other entities outside the Judicial Branch, and State Courts as well. Free access online
  • The State Court Locator: A tool for searching out decisions of state courts.
    Provided by Villanova University School of Law. Free access online

Shepard's Citations:
These citations are references in a later authority to an earlier authority and tell if legal points raised in an earlier case or statute have been affected by later opinions.

  • Shepard's United States Citations. Statute Edition - (Ref. KF 78 .S57)
  • Shepard's United States Citations. Case Edition - (Ref. KF 101.2 .S54)
  • Shepard's Federal Citations. - (Ref. KF 105.2 .S42)
  • Shepard's New Jersey Citations. Statute Edition - (Ref. KFN 1859 .S56)
  • Shepard's New Jersey Citations. Case Edition - (Ref. KFN 1859 .S45)
  • Shepard's Citations for the U.S. Supreme Court via LEXIS-NEXIS: MSU Access Only.

Popular Names of Federal and State Acts and Cases

  • Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names - Federal and State - (Ref. KF 90 .S538 1999)
    Popular names of federal and state laws and court cases are included with references to the place where the full text of these laws and court cases can be found.
  • U.S. Code: Table of Popular Names: Free access online

U.S. Constitution

  • U.S. Constitution - (Ref KF 62 1927.W45) at the beginning of the US Code (USCA).
  • U.S. Constitution: From the National Archives. Free access online

Federal Laws & Statutes

  • United States Statutes At Large - (Ref. KF 50 .A3)
    Each volume includes the full text of laws passed by a session of Congress. Material is arranged chronologically by the date of passage of the law and public and private laws are included.
  • United States Code Congressional and Administrative News - 1986- (Ref. KF 48 .W48)
    This multi-volume set contains the legislative histories and texts of recently passed public laws.
  • United States Code Annotated - (Ref. KF 62 1927 .W45)
    All laws of the United States of a general and permanent nature and currently in force are published under 50 titles or subjects. This set is kept up-to-date with annual pocket parts and quarterly supplements.
  • Commerce Clearing House. Congressional Index - (Ref. KF 49 .C6)
    For current information, this index gives the status of legislation pending in Congress. Brief summaries of Senate and House bills are included, as well as a list of recently passed federal laws.
  • US Code via LEXIS-NEXIS: MSU Access Only.
  • Thomas: Bills, Public Laws, the Congressional Record, and Committee Information.
    Also information on how laws are made. Free access online
  • U.S. Code Free access online
  • The Congressional Record Free access online
  • Findlaw: Federal Resources Free access online

Historic Federal Laws & Documents

  • A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1875: An impressive collection placed online by The Library of Congress. This contains all available records of Congress from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention through the 43rd Congress. This includes debates, state papers, bills, and more. Free access online
  • The Articles of Confederation, 1777: Free access online
  • Statutes at Large, 1789-1875: Every law, public and private, ever enacted by the Congress is published in the Statutes at Large in order of the date of its passage. Until 1948, all treaties and international agreements approved by the Senate were also published in the set. Free access online
  • Treaties with Indians: Free access online
  • Treaties with Foreign Nations: Free access online

Federal Regulations

  • Code of Federal Regulations - (Ref. KF 70 .A3)
    The CFR contains the general and permanent rules and regulations of the Executive Department and agencies of the Federal Government. It is revised annually and is further updated by the Federal Register.
  • Federal Register - (Ref. KF 70 .A2)
    A daily publication which updates the Code of Federal Regulations. It contains all presidential proclamations, executive orders and regulations of the various departments of the Federal Government.
  • Federal Regulations via LEXIS-NEXIS: Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulations, U.S. Attorney General Opinions. MSU Access Only
  • Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): Free access online

State Laws and Statutes

  • Laws of New Jersey - (Ref. KFN 1825 .A2)
    Each volume includes the full text of laws passed by a session of the New Jersey Legislature. Material is arranged chronologically in chapters by the date of passage of the law.
  • New Jersey Session Law Service - (Ref. KFN 1830 .A23 NJSLS)
    This publication contains those laws passed by a recent session of the New Jersey legislature but not yet bound into a permanent volume.
  • Legislative Index - (Ref. KFN 1810 1913)
    For current information, this index gives the status of legislation pending in the New Jersey Legislature. Brief summaries of Senate and Assembly bills are included, as well as a list of recently passed state laws.
  • State Legal Codes via LEXIS-NEXIS: MSU Access Only.
  • New Jersey Legislature: NJ Bills, legislative calendar, legislator and district information. Free access online
  • NJSA: New Jersey Statutes Annotated: It is much simpler to use this version by browsing to an exact title than Searching by keyword. Free access online

NJ Regulations

  • New Jersey Administrative Code - (Ref. KFN 1835 1969 .A22)
    This publication contains the administrative rules and regulations of all departments and agencies of the State of New Jersey. Each title or section has an index. Kept up-to-date with the New Jersey Register.
  • New Jersey Register - (Ref. KFN 2240 .A86)
    A semi-monthly publication which updates the New Jersey Administrative Code. It publishes all new rules and proposed rules of the departments and agencies of New Jersey.
  • NJ Chapter Laws: Free access online
  • New Jersey Administrative Reports - [First Series](1979-1991): Free access online
  • New Jersey Attorney General Opinions' - (1949-1998): Free access online
  • New Jersey Governors' Executive Orders - 1941-Jan, 1990: Free access online

N.J. Constitution

  • New Jersey Constitution - (Ref. KFN 1830.A23) At end of NJSA.
  • NJ State Constitution: Free access online

Laws, Municipal

Law Reviews & Legal Newspapers

  • Index to Legal Periodicals September, 1970 to date. (Ref. KF8.I5)
    A paper index of citations from over 500 legal periodicals.
  • Law Reviews from LEXIS-NEXIS: Contains the indexing and often the full text of articles from over 500 law reviews. MSU Access Only
  • Legal News from LEXIS-NEXIS: Contains the indexing and often the full text of articles from over 250 sources of legal news. MSU Access Only
  • New Jersey Law Journal
    Paper - Last 5 years in Periodicals Department.
    Microfilm - v.101, 1978 to date.
  • LEXIS-NEXIS 01/04/1990 to present. A weekly publication reporting news of interest to attorneys and others in the legal profession. It includes digests of recent court opinions, texts of new laws and classified advertisements. MSU Access Only
  • University Law Review Project: Joint project listing law reviews. Also offers a free abstract email service, listing of law professors' web pages, and a link to Introduction to Basic Legal Citation. Free access online

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

  • Black's Law Dictionary - (Ref. KF 156 .B53 1999)
    This standard legal dictionary gives classical and modern definitions of terms in all areas of English and American law and includes a list of abbreviations.
  • Real Life Dictionary of the Law - (Ref. KF 156 .H55 1995)
    A current dictionary of terms for law students and legal professionals.
  • Duhaime & Co. Legal Dictionary: Researched and provided free of charge by lawyer Lloyd Duhaime. Free access online

Encyclopedias:

  • West's Encyclopedia of American Law - (Ref. KF 154 .W48 1998)
    A comprehensive, well-illustrated encyclopedia written for the layperson. It covers all aspects of the American legal system and, to some extent, international law. Articles on landmark court cases, trials, historic events, regulatory agencies and government departments are included. The set is kept up-to-date with annual yearbooks.
    The two multi-volume reference sets that follow attempt to describe the entire field of American law by citing relevant federal and state cases.
    Arrangement is alphabetically by broad topic with detailed subject indexes.
  • American Jurisprudence 2d (AM JUR 2d) - (Ref. KF 154 .A42)
  • Corpus Juris Secundum - (Ref. KF 154 .C6)

Legal Citation Guides

  • The Bluebook: a uniform system of citation: (Ref. KF245 .B58 1996 )
    by Harvard Law Review Association.
  • Introduction to Basic Legal Citation: An introduction to legal citation styles it is designed to introduce the reader to what they will find in The Bluebook and The ALWD Citation Manual. by Peter W. Martin. Free access online

Directories: Lawyers & Law Schools

Lawyers:

  • Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory - (REF. KF 190 .M35)
    This annual, multi-volume set contains a geographic listing of law firms, arranged by state and city, and gives brief biographies of lawyers in these firms. In addition, it includes digests of the laws of each state and several foreign countries.
  • Martindale-Hubbell: Directory of Lawyers, Law Firms, and other legal services. Free access online
  • West's Legal Directory: Directory of Lawyers, Law Firms, Government Offices, and Corporate Law Offices in U.S. and Canada. Free access online

Law Schools:

Patents and Intellectual Property

Legal Research Sites & Guides Online

Law Libraries