Portals, guides, key links to Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches, Court rules, decisions, arguments, wirtten and oral, commentary, laws, regulations, publications .
Starting Points
- Portals and specialized search engines
- Federal Law Website Designed by the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness as a legal research tool
- FedWorld Information Network searchable, comprehensive guide to federal government databases.
- FirstGov U.S government’s official web portal. For businesses and on-profits
- Google government search
- Freedom of Information: Dept of Justice | FOI Center. U.of Mo.
- Documents
- University of Michigan Documents Center federal and state resources and data.
- Historical Documents
- The Avalon Project offers electronic versions of important documents relevant to the fields of law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy and government.
- National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) aids to researching historical documents, exhibits, digital classroom.
- Guide to Legal Research from LLRX – directories, articles, guides
Federal Constitution
- United States Constitution @ FindLaw. annotated with links to US Supreme Court cases.
- Constitución de los EUA @ Georgetown: Spanish language version.
Federal Executive Branch
- The White House
- Federal Agencies on the Internet
- Who’s who. The United States Government Manual Who is the Deputy Secretary of Labor? General counsel to the Consumer Products Safety Commission? Where are Department of Labor regions offices, links to regs and websites. Note personnel info may be 6-12 months out of date.
- Documents
- Government Printing Office, includes:
- GPO Access: the mother lode of government documents online, the backbone of the Federal Depository Library Program, provides access to full-text government databases, including searches of the Federal Register, U.S. Code, Congressional bills, and other government publications. List of Federal Depository Libraries
- GAO Reports: searchable database for 1995 et seq.
- Hints for searching GAO Reports
- Uncle Sam – Forms. most frequently asked for gov’t forms.
- Government Printing Office, includes:
- Dollars
- Green Books: Background material/data on programs within the jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means Committee – Social Security, employment, welfare, child support, health insurance, the elderly, families with children, poverty and taxation.
- Budget of the United States Government Fiscal Year 2007 features Budget, full text of the Budget Message and direct links to all of the budget elements, including separate links to each governmental office or department and its budgetary allotments and projections, also analyses the budget in historical context
- Consolidated Federal Funds Report these on-line searchable reports show direct federal expenditures and other federally facilitated programs by program, agency or geography – to a county level.
- The Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers [.pdf, and spreadsheets]. Also, reports back to 1996.
Federal Statutes and Legislative Resources
- Congress
- THOMAS @ Library of Congress: THOMAS, as in Jefferson, provides status of legislation, congressional record and committee info.
- Law Library of Congress. The site offers numerous links to electronic records made available by the Library, primarily through the Guide to Online Law and GLIN, the Global Legal Information Network. The Law Library Web site links information on the laws and legislative institutions of other lands as well, many presented in both native languages and English translations.
- The U.S. Senate
- The U.S. House of Representatives
- Find your Congressperson
- Congressional Record: searchable database from 1995 and hints for searching Congressional Record.
- The Office of the Clerk one-stop shopping for reams of info about House – laws, reports, members
- Directory of Congress with Committee membership and the day’s agenda fromCongress.org
- Biographies of Congressional Representatives from BioGuide
- Congressional Documents
- United States Code
- US Code @House of Representatives.| @GPO Access | @ Cornell |
- Administrative Procedure Act
- Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
- Federal Regulations
- Code of Federal Regulations @GPOAccess | search tips
- e-CFR Frequently updated electronic version of the CFR
- Federal Register @GPOAccess: from 1995 | search tips
- Legal Services Corporation Regulations
Federal Judiciary
- United States Supreme Court
- Web Guide to Supreme Court Research
- U.S. Supreme Court Website
- Decisions
- U.S. Supreme Court Decisions @ FindLaw: searchable database of opinions since 1893 (US Report 150-); browse by year and US Report vol. number and searchable by citation, case title and full text; hyperlinks to other Supreme Court decisions cited in opinions.
- U.S. Supreme Court Decisions @ Legal Information Institute @Cornell: opinions from 1990 to present arrayed by topic and party name, court schedule of oral argument, gallery of justices, background on current cases (subject, questions presented, links to decisions below).
- Selected Historic Decisions: 582 cases: select by topic, party name or opinion author.
- Supreme Court Monitor. From law.com, it is divided into three sections, news, decisions, and cert. granted.
- Court Business
- Court Rules
- Oral Arguments in Text
- The Oyez Project @ NW: multimedia project includes text and RealAudio transcripts of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, links to FindLaw, coverage of current docket with lower court decisions and more.
- Comment
- Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decisions @Law News Network: articles on the current term with links.
- The Current Supreme Court Term. From the NY Times. Key cases, dates for oral arguments, articles evaluating the issues, biographies of the Justices.
- Jurist: The Law Professors’ Network An index of links to Supreme Court resources. Link to the court’s latest decision in full text, major media articles, biography of the opinion author, see what other decisions he/she recently wrote, coming schedule of arguments.
- Other Federal Courts
- Circuit Courts of Appeals
- Third Circuit @ Villanova opinions since May 1994 browse or search by party or keyword
- 3rd U.S. Circuit, official site
- Other Federal Courts
- US District Courts for PA” Eastern District | Middle District | Western District
- PA Bankruptcy Courts: ED | MD (official) MD (unofficial) |
- Locate Federal Courts
- Case Law Summaries by email. Findlaw. Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal
- Directory of Electronic Public Access Services to Federal Courts: PACER Center, comprehensive and current listing of electronic access to all levels of the federal court system.
- Federal Courts Law Review electronic publication of Federal Magistrate Judges Association aims at being a “forum for the publication of legal scholarship relating to federal courts and federal legislation”
- Circuit Courts of Appeals
- Rules
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure @ Cornell
- Federal Rules of Evidence
- Litigator’s Internet Resource Guide: Finding Rules
