Guide to Legal Resources
in or Accessible from the Mundt Library
Contents: || Statutory
(Legislative) Law || Administrative (Rules
& Regulations) Law || Case (Judicial) Law
||
|| Search Tools for Finding the Law
|| Search
Tools for Finding Legal Articles & Books ||
|| Learn about Legal Concepts, Issues, History
|| Guides to Legal Resources ||
SEE ALSO: How Different
Laws Are Related & Cited
Federal Laws
United States
Code.
DESCRIPTION: Codification is
a way of organizing laws so that they can be found. The laws of the
United States are organized by subject into "Titles." For
example, laws related to public health and welfare are found in Title 42.
FIND US CODE:
Link to
LexisNexis Academic;
click on Legal tab at top; click on "Federal & State Codes" in right
navigation bar. OTHER LOCATIONS:
in Findlaw and
Guide to Law Online
U. S. Public Laws
DESCRIPTION: "Public Laws" typically designate laws
passed by a specific Congress (for example 106th
Congress which met 1999-2000). New public laws are then added to or used to revise
the US Code Annotated. The print volumes called the United
States code congressional and administrative news contain
the public laws enacted during each session of Congress, so a
given volume will reflect laws passed by a given Congress (for
example 105th Congress) during a given session (for
example, First Session) in a given year (for example, 1997). Online Public
Laws are available by law number on the Thomas site and
are searchable by keywords at the NARA site.
FIND US PUBLIC LAWS:
Link to LexisNexis
Congressional ; after connecting to it, click on "Legislative
Histories, Bills & Laws" in the left navigation
area; in the search area,
select "Public Laws."
OTHER LOCATIONS:
GPOAccess and Library
of Congress THOMAS
Internal revenue code.
DESCRIPTION: Laws and regulations related to U.S. taxation.
FIND INTERNAL REVENUE CODE:
Link to
LexisNexis Academic;
click on Legal tab at top; click on "Tax Law" in right navigation bar.
OTHER LOCATIONS:
Findlaw:Tax Law
; in print in library -- REFERENCE KF6276.526 .A2
; and Title 26 of the U.S. Code (which is the
Internal Revenue Code; use any U.S.
Code source to find it)
State Laws
South Dakota codified laws
DESCRIPTION: Codification is a way of organizing laws
passed by the legislature in a way that they can be found. The laws of
South Dakota are organized by subject into "Titles." The Codified Laws provide the official restatement
in convenient form of the general and permanent laws of South
Dakota.
FIND SD CODE :
SD Codified Laws (SD
Legislative Research Council)
OTHER LOCATIONS: in print in library -- REFERENCE KFS3030
.A2 1967.
And in LexisNexis Academic by following these steps:
1) Link to
LexisNexis Academic
2) click on the Source tab at the top
3) use the Browse form to find SD code -- that is, in area 1 of the browse form,
click radio button for "area of law"; in area 2, filter country to "United
States" and then region to "South Dakota"; in area 3 choose "General Legal
Sources"; click the box to select
"SD-South Dakota Codified
Laws, Constitution, Court Rules & ALS, Combined" and then click on the red "OK-
Continue" button
4) enter search on search screen.
Session laws of the state of South Dakota.
DESCRIPTION: Contains the laws enacted during each session of the
SD legislature. Each print volume will provide laws passed during
a given year.
FIND SD SESSION LAWS: online at SD Legislative Research Council --
http://legis.state.sd.us/index.aspx Click on "South Dakota Session Laws."
OTHER LOCATIONS: in print in library -- REFERENCE KFS3025 .A23
Federal
RULES AND REGULATIONS
Code of Federal Regulations (U.S.)
DESCRIPTION: The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
is a codification (an arrangement by subject matter) of the
general and permanent rules published in the Federal
Register by the Executive departments and agencies of the
Federal Government. The CFR is divided into 50 titles which
represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. Each title
is divided into chapters which usually bear the name of the
issuing agency. Each chapter is further subdivided into parts
covering specific regulatory areas. Large parts may be subdivided
into subparts. All parts are organized in sections, and most
citations to the CFR will be provided at the section level.
FIND US CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS:
Link to
LexisNexis Academic;
click on Legal tab at top; click on "Federal & State Codes" in right
navigation bar; in the search area, use the Select Sources dropdown menu to
select "CFR-Code of Federal Regulations"
OTHER LOCATIONS: in
GPOAccess (National Archives and Records
Administration)
Federal Register (U.S.)
DESCRIPTION: The Federal Register is the official
daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices of
Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive Orders
and other Presidential Documents. Search the Federal Register
to discover new regulations that have not yet been included in the Code of
Federal Regulations.
FIND FEDERAL REGISTER:
Link to
LexisNexis Academic;
click on Legal tab at top; click on "Federal & State Codes" in right
navigation bar; in the search area, use the Select Sources dropdown menu to
select "FR-Federal Register"
OTHER LOCATIONS: in
GPOAccess (National Archives and Records
Administration)
State
RULES AND REGULATIONS
South Dakota Administrative Rules
DESCRIPTION: A codification of the rules originally published in
the South Dakota Register by departments &
agencies of South Dakota state government.
FIND SD ADMINISTRATIVE RULES: online at SD Legislative Research Council --
http://legis.state.sd.us/index.aspx .
Choose "Administrative Rules;" then click on "Rules List" or "Rules
Search."
OTHER LOCATIONS: Find in LexisNexis Academic by
following these steps:
1) Link to
LexisNexis Academic
2) click on the Source tab at the top
3) use the Browse form to find SD code -- that is, in area 1 of the browse form,
click radio button for "area of law"; in area 2, filter country to "United
States" and then region to "South Dakota"; in area 3 choose "Administrative
Law"; click the box to select
"SD-South Dakota
Administrative Code" and then click on the red "OK- Continue" button
4) enter search on search screen.
South Dakota Register
DESCRIPTION: Official weekly publication for rules, proposed
rules, etc. of South Dakota agencies and departments.
FIND SD REGISTER: online at SD Legislative Research Council --
http://legis.state.sd.us/index.aspx .
Click on "Administrative Rules"; then click on "Current Register" or on the
"Register Archive."
OTHER
LOCATIONS: Find in LexisNexis Academic by following these steps:
1) Link to
LexisNexis Academic
2) click on the Source tab at the top
3) use the Browse form to find SD code -- that is, in area 1 of the browse form,
click radio button for "area of law"; in area 2, filter country to "United
States" and then region to "South Dakota"; in area 3 choose "Administrative
Law"; click the box to select
"SD-South Dakota
Register" and then click on the red "OK- Continue" button
4) enter search on search screen.
Regulations for other states
DESCRIPTION:
Administrative rules and Registers for other states are also available.
FIND REGULATIONS FOR OTHER STATES: Findlaw: Resources by Jurisdiction:
http://www.findlaw.com/11stategov/index.html
OTHER LOCATIONS: Library of Congress Guide to Law: US States & Territories:
http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/usstates.html;
and in LexisNexis Academic.
Find in
LexisNexis Academic by following these steps:
1) Link to
LexisNexis Academic
2) click on the Source tab at the top
3) use the Browse form to find SD code -- that is, in area 1 of the browse form,
click radio button for "area of law"; in area 2, filter country to "United
States" and then region to the state you want; in area 3 choose "Administrative
Law"; click the box to select
the state's
administrative rules or register; and then click on the red "OK- Continue"
button
4) enter search on search screen.
Case
(Judicial) Law
Sources of Federal case law
FIND FEDERAL CASES:
Link to
LexisNexis Academic;
click on Legal tab at top; click on "Federal & State Codes" in right
navigation bar; in search area, use Select Sources to select desired federal
court or use "Federal Court Cases - combined."
OTHER LOCATIONS:
Guide to Law Online: U.S. Judiciary (Law Library of
Congress): http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/usjudic.html;
OpenJurist:
http://openjurist.org
Sources of State case law
FIND STATE CASES:
Find in LexisNexis Academic by
following these steps:
1) Link to
LexisNexis Academic
2) click on the Source tab at the top
3) use the Browse form to find SD (or another state's) case law -- that is, in
area 1 of the browse form, click radio button for "area of law"; in area 2,
filter country to "United States" and then region to the state you want; in area
3 choose "General Law"; click the box to select
"SD Cases,
Administrative Decisions, Attorney General Opinions-Combined";
and then click on the red "OK- Continue" button
4) enter search on search screen.
OTHER LOCATIONS:
Guide to Law Online: U.S. States & Territories
(Law Library of Congress)- http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/usstates.html
(Click on state and then find Judiciary section);
and use "Opinions" link of the South
Dakota Unified Judicial System to get to SD Supreme Court opinions.
Search Tools
for Finding the Law --
Codes, Regulations, & Cases
Lexis-Nexis Academic
DESCRIPTION: this information service contains a large amount of
legal information in the Legal category, including:
Case Law -- full-text access to Federal &
state legal cases; Decisions from all federal court levels; State high
court & appellate decisions; Cases on a variety of topics
Codes & Regulations -- full-text access
to Federal code, U.S. Constitution & court rules; Federal regulations,
agency opinions & US Attorney General Opinions; Statutory laws, court
rules from all states &Attorneys General opinions from all states;
European Union law; The IRS Bulletin, tax regulations &
more.
Patent Research -- full-text access to All U.S. patents from 1971 to present;
Patent Numbers By Classification;
Manual of Classification
FIND LEXISNEXIS ACADEMIC:
Link to
LexisNexis Academic
(can also link to this information service
by using the "Database Quicklinks" dropdown menu in the upper
right corner of the
library's home page -- http://www.departments.dsu.edu/library)
Guide to Law Online (Law Library of Congress)
DESCRIPTION: For Federal rules and regulations, click on Executive, then find
the Regulatory section. For Federal court cases, click on Judicial. For U.S.
Code, Statutes at Large, and Public Laws, click on Legislative and then on
"Guide to Law Online: United States Law. For State cases, codes, and rules,
click on States.
FIND GUIDE TO LAW ONLINE: http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/index.html
FindLaw
DESCRIPTION: Provides links to all kinds of legal material of interest to legal
professionals. Click "Laws: Cases and Codes" for links to cases,
codes, and regulations.
FIND FINDLAW: http://www.findlaw.com/
Global Legal Information Network (GLIN)
DESCRIPTION: GLIN provides laws, regulations, and other complementary legal
sources for countries around the world. The documents included in the database are contributed by the governments of the members from the original, official texts which are deposited, by agreement of the members, in a server presently located at the Library of Congress of the United States of America.
FIND GLIN: GLIN --
http://www.glin.gov/search.action
. Click on "more search options" to choose a specific
country or limit search in other ways.
Search Tools
for Finding Legal Articles & Books
These resources lead you to books, journal and
magazine articles, law reviews, etc.
Library Catalog
DESCRIPTION: use the Library Catalog to find books, videos,
journals, and other materials about legal topics in the Mundt
Library and in other libraries in South Dakota. A search for
recent books on "law" in the Mundt Library will produce
such titles as Capital punishment in the United States, The
encyclopedia of Native American legal tradition, Legal
guide for starting & running a small business, Neal-Schuman
guide to finding legal and regulatory information on the
Internet,etc.
FIND LIBRARY
CATALOG: Link to
Library
Catalog or select "Library Catalog" from the "Database Quicklinks" dropdown
menu in the upper right corner of the
library's home page -- http://www.departments.dsu.edu/library
Lexis-Nexis Academic
DESCRIPTION: this information service contains a large amount of
legal information in the Legal Research category
FIND LEXISNEXIS ACADEMIC:
FIND LEXISNEXIS ACADEMIC:
Link to
LexisNexis Academic
(can also link to this information service
by using the "Database Quicklinks" dropdown menu in the upper
right corner of the
library's home page -- http://www.departments.dsu.edu/library)
Additional Sources
Articles related to legal issues may also be
found in research databases for specific disciplines.
(for example, Proquest
Education Periodicals for
legal topics in education)
Learn about Legal Concepts, Issues, and
History
West's encyclopedia of American law.
Publisher: Minneapolis/St. Paul : West Publishing,
DESCRIPTION: This multi-volume encyclopedia provides overviews
and explanations of legal concepts and legal history in the U.S.
Biographies of key people are also included.
FIND: online in
Gale Virtual Reference Library and in print in library -- REFERENCE KF154 .W47
Guide to Law Online: United States.
DESCRIPTION: Within the various law guide sections are links to
explanatory material such as "Understanding the Federal Courts"
FIND: Law Library of Congress
-- http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/us.html
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law
LOCATION: FindLaw -- http://dictionary.lp.findlaw.com/
-- Use the dropdown menu to select "legal dictionary" before entering
your search term.
DESCRIPTION: Use this dictionary to find definitions of legal terms online.
Guides to Legal Resources
Cornell Legal Research Encyclopedia
DESCRIPTION: "compilation of United States and
International legal resources to enhance access to and awareness of these
materials in their varied formats."
LOCATION:
http://library2.lawschool.cornell.edu/encyclopedia/
Legal Research: How to Find and
Understand the Law,
by Stephen Elias.
Publisher: Berkeley, CA: Nolo,
2002.
LOCATION: REFERENCE : KF240 .E35 2002
This resource guide is authored by
Risė L. Smith, Digital Design & Access Librarian, Dakota State University. Content last revised
9-12-2007.
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