Legal Resources: Home

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Black's Law Dictionary.  Latest edition is online from WestlawNext, 7th edition in print KF 156 B53.   The 2nd edition is free online.

Official Guide to ABA (American Bar Association)-Approved JD Programs.  Online from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC).

Burton, William C. Legal Thesaurus.  In print, KF 156 B856.

Schlueter, Linda L. and Niesel, Zoe E. Legal Research Guide: Patterns and Practice.  KF240 .R63 2019.

Tucker, Virginia. Finding the Answers to Legal Questions.

Primary Research Group.  Law Librarian Use of Google and its Apps & Features. 

Healey, Paul D. Legal Reference for Librarians: How and Where to Find the Answers.  Hey, even if you aren't a librarian....

Stein, Stuart. Law on the Web.

Cohen, Morris. Legal Research in a Nutshell.  KF 240 C54 2013

Nolo's Free Dictionary of Law Terms and Legal Definitions.

Legal Terms & Definitions from Law.com.

Garner, Bryan A.  Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage.  KF 156 .G367 2011

Introduction to Legal Research on WestLaw Next (this database is our main legal resource here at NMU).

Levy, Leonard Williams.  Encyclopedia of the American Constitution.  KF 4548 .E53 1986

Oxford Companion to American Law.  Online and print KF 154 .O96 2002.

LexisNexis.  Michigan Law and Practice Encyclopedia.  KFM 4265 M5.  The legal encyclopedia for Michigan law.    

Gale Encyclopedia of American Law.

American Law Reports. Attorney-written articles that cite, summarize, and analyze case law on a particular legal issue. In WestlawNext, click on "Secondary Sources".

Statutes, Laws and Codes

• United States Statutes at Large.  KF 50 A2.  The permanent collection of all laws, public and private, passed by Congress during each session. It also includes concurrent resolutions, reorganization plans, proposed and ratified amendments to the Constitution, and presidential proclamations.  NMU holdings are mostly complete: vols. 1,8,10-11,13-14,16-63,70-present; 1789-present.  Online in their entirety from the Government Publishing Office.  Less so from from constitution.org and from The Library of Congress.
• United States Code Annotated (USCA).  Online from WestlawNext.  The entire body of federal law currently in force, organized into 50 subject divisions (titles).  Includes references to court decisions and articles related to particular laws.  The United States Code (USC) is freely available from the House of Representatives and from the Government Publishing Office, but neither contains the annotated information (court decisions, articles, etc.) found in the USCA. Cornell has an online U.S.C. that is generated from the House version.

Federal Court Decisions

• Supreme Court Reporter.  In addition to providing the complete decisions of the Supreme Court, including dissenting opinions, this resource contains the headnotes of the major points of law for each case.  In WestlawNext.
• United States Reports, v. 389- ; 1967- present    KF 101 A3.  Complete decisions of the Supreme Court, including dissenting opinions.  Does not contain headnotes.  Available online from several sources including the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and FindLaw.  
• Federal Reporter.  Online from WestlawNext.  Contains the complete decisions of cases decided from the U.S. Courts of Appeal and Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals.  The Court of Appeals decisions for each circuit are also available online (date of coverage varies by circuit, but generally is around 1995 to the present).
• Federal Supplement.  Online from WestlawNext.  Contains the complete decisions of selected cases decided in the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Customs Court.  District Court information is available on the Web, but is highly variable from one court to another.  Most courts will provide links to opinions, but some do not.

Administrative Rulings

• Federal Register.  The daily compilation of executive and administrative rules and regulations which have the force of law, available from the National Archives Office of the Federal Register (OFR).  Indexed daily.  The Federal Register is also available on the Government Publishing Office from 1936 to the present, but the OFR is current.  Also available in WestlawNext.
• Code of Federal Regulations.  A cumulation of the Federal Register arranged in 50 subject divisions or titles updated in sections throughout the year and is available as the eCFR from the National Archives.  Volume 1 is a general index.  The Code of Federal Regulations is also  available from the Government Publishing Office from 1996 to the present.  WestlawNext also has this publication available.

Congress

• Congressional Record.  Various holdings in the Olson Library: 1873-1919 in microfilm [KF 35]; 1919-1980 cumulative editions in stacks [KF 35].  This publication is the transcripts of all debates held on the floor of Congress.  Daily editions are indexed every two weeks.  Cumulated for each session of Congress. Indexes by bill or resolution number, name and subject. Indexes also include a section entitled "History of Bills and Resolutions" which gives a legislative history of each bill introduced.  Available online from several resources: The Bound Edition from Government Publishing Office back to 1873, daily edition from the Government Publishing Office (1994-on), Hein Online, from Congress itself. 

Statutes, Laws, and Codes

• Public and Local Acts of the Legislature.  In the library KFM 4225 A2.  The official publication of all laws passed by the Michigan Legislature. An annual publication with laws published complete and in the order in which they were passed.  The Public and Local Acts of the Legislature is available online from 1995.
• Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated (MCLA).  Available in WestlawNext.  The entire current law of Michigan arranged into subject divisions. Contains references to relevant court decisions.
• Michigan Compiled Laws.  KFM 4230 1979 A23.  Same as Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated but does not contain references to court decisions.  The current Michigan Compiled Laws is available on the Web; older copies are in the library.
• Michigan Law and Practice Encyclopedia.  KFM 4265 M5.

Court Decisions

Digests: These are subject indexes to court decisions. A short summary or headnote is provided for the point of law discussed in each case listing.

• WestlawNext.  Indexes Michigan (in addition to national) court cases and Federal cases arising in or appealed from Michigan.  Click on Cases, then select Michigan.
• Michigan Courts: Cases, Opinions & Orders.  Search results include links to PDF copies of unpublished Court of Appeals opinions issued since July 1996, Supreme Court opinions and published Court of Appeals opinions issued since January 2001, Court of Appeals orders issued after January 1, 2005, and Supreme Court orders issued after September 21, 2005.
• North Western Reporter 2nd.  Online in Westlaw Next.  Contains the complete decisions of the Michigan Supreme Court and Michigan Court of Appeals.  The decisions are the same as those that appear in the official editions.  All three sets are indexed in the Michigan Digest.
• Michigan Case law from Justia.  

Citators

• Citators provide access to the judicial history and interpretations of reported court cases, verify the current status of each case, and locate earlier cases that have been cited in later court cases.  WestlawNext has its KeyCite feature (pdf link).  You can use this feature to view the history of a case, statute, administrative decision, or regulation to help determine whether it is good law and to retrieve citing references.

Administrative Rulings

• Michigan Register.  This publication is the state version of the monthly Federal Register.  It contains new and proposed rules issued by state agencies.  Approved rules and regulations are compiled in the online version of the Michigan Administrative Code.  The Michigan Register is available on the Web from 1984 to the present.
• Michigan Administrative Code.  Online from the State of Michigan and WestlawNext.  A compilation of administrative rules and regulations issued by various state agencies and departments. The Michigan Administrative Code, updated daily.

American Federal Tax Reports — series 1, v. 1-52 ; series 2, v. 1-83.    KF 6280 A27

Reports of the United States Tax Court (from the Court itself) or from WestlawNext.

Reports of the United States Board of Tax Appeals.  Available through HeinOnline. 

Tax Court Memorandum Decisions — v.1-31, 1942-1972    KF 6280 A226.

U.S. Tax Cases — v. 1-73, 1913-1973    KF 6280 A232.

United States Tax Reporter

• Internal revenue code  v. 1-2 (loose-leaf)    KF 6277 U5
• Income taxes v. 1-18 (loose-leaf)    KF 6365 U5 

The following mega-sites will be most useful in locating legislative and case law for states other than (but including) Michigan as well as introductory resources.  Although there is overlap between them, the dates of coverage for these resources are limited as is access to cases or other resources cited.  These sites also provide links to law schools, legal organizations or associations, international law, news, law journals, etc.

• FindLaw.com.  A longtime online resource from the same people that bring you WestlawNext.
• Legal Information Institute.  Another longtime online resource from Cornell Law School.  
• PublicLegal, from the Internet Legal Research Group (ILRG).  A socially motivated website that provides information about the law while respecting your rights and privacy. A categorized index of select websites, as well as thousands of legal forms and documents, PublicLegal aims to provide original content while serving as a resource of the information available on the Internet concerning law and the legal profession. Designed for everyone—laypersons, legal scholars, and practitioners alike—it is curated to include only the most helpful legal resources and information.
• Law Guides from the Library of Congress Law Library.  36 subject guides on such topics as American Women History, Asian Studies, Beginners Guides to Law, Foreign Law and Nations of the World.  Resources cited refer to what the Library of Congress has access to--check NMU's holdings instead.
• Law Librarian's Society of Washington, D.C. General Legal Research Sites: Free and Commercial.  A list such as this one you are looking at, but larger.
• Google Scholar (select "case law").
• Southern California Association of Law Libraries. Locating the Law: A Handbook for Non-Law Librarians (Fifth Edition, Revised). pdf download.
• Michigan Legal Help as well as the Law Library of Michigan.
• Gale Legal Information Source, a resource provided to the citizens of Michigan by Mel.org.

The basic citation form for any legal reference you may find is:

Holdings vary for each source listed below.  Consult the links for detailed holdings information.

Law abbreviations are not consistent, but in general the law materials available through the Olson Library are abbreviated in the following selected examples:

For abbreviations not listed above consult some of the following sources: