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American Legal Research Guide

This guide is a checklist of sources (print and electronic) of American law that are available for the use of researchers at the Osgoode Hall Law School Library. The library currently relies mostly on electronic sources as many of the print subscriptions have been discontinued.

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Web Links

Current Awareness

Databases

PRIMARY RESOURCES

CONSTITUTION – The Constitution of the United States of America and those of all the 50 states and 1 district are available in the following databases:

• Constitutions of the Countries of the World Online (Access for York University faculty and students only, this can be accessed through eResources)
• Cornell Legal Information Institute
• LexisNexis/Quicklaw (Access for Osgoode Hall Law School faculty and students only)
• LexisNexis Academic (Access for York University faculty and students only, this can be accessed through eResources)
• Westlaw Canada (Access for Osgoode Hall Law School faculty and students only)

STATUTES AND REGULATIONS

All federal and state statutes, codes and regulations for all the 50 states and 1 district are available in LexisNexis Academic, LexisNexis/Quicklaw and WestlawCanada. The United States Code and U. S. Statutes at Large are available in HeinOnline.

See Figs 1, 2, & 3 on how to research on these databases.

• GPO Access
• LexisNexis/Quicklaw (Access for Osgoode Hall Law School faculty and students only)
• LexisNexis Academic (Access for York University faculty and students only, this can be accessed through eResources)
• Westlaw CANADA (Access for Osgoode Hall Law School faculty and students only)
• HeinOnline US Statutes at Large 1789 – 2006
• HeinOnline Subject Compilations of State Laws 1960 – 2008
• Thomas - Bills, Public Laws

CITATORS

• Shepards United States Citations Lexis Nexis/Quicklaw (Access for Osgoode Hall Law School faculty and students only)

CASELAW

Full text cases of the U.S Supreme Court, State Supreme Courts, Federal Courts of Appeal, Federal and State District Courts, County Courts and Specialized Courts are available in these databases:

• BNA Online(Access limited to Osgoode faculty and students only)
• HeinOnline(Access for York University faculty and students only, check eResources (Law)
• LexisNexis/Quicklaw(Access for Osgoode Hall Law School faculty and students only)
• LexisNexis Academic(Access for York University faculty and students only, this can be accessed through eResources)
• Westlaw CANADA(Access for Osgoode Hall Law School faculty and students only)

 

                                                                                                        Compiled by Yemisi Dina
                                                                                                                Last updated in May, 2010

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