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This guide is divided into the following sections. Click on a link if you wish to go immediately to that section.
Conducting Legal Research in Olson Library
The law resources in Olson Library can help you to:
- Find the text of federal and state laws and regulations.
- Find interpretations of federal and state laws given in the courts.
- Trace the legislative history of bills
- Keep up-to-date on legislation, court decisions, and administrative rulings in general and specific fields
The law collection covers most federal law, but it is by no means complete. The Library has state court decisions only for Michigan, but you may find more recent decisions for other states by consulting these selected Web resources. Many law books are updated annually with pocket-parts inserted in the back. Make sure to check the pocket-part updates, otherwise you may miss a crucial change in the law.
General Information
| Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools |
Ref KF 273 A86 |
| Black's Law Dictionary |
Ref KF 156 B53 |
| Burton, William C. Legal Thesaurus |
Ref KF 156 B856 |
| Cohen, Morris. How to Find the Law |
Ref KF 240 H6 |
| Cohen, Morris. Legal Research in a Nutshell |
Ref KF 240 C54 |
| Everybody's Legal Dictionary |
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| Real Life Dictionary of the Law |
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Legal Encyclopedias
A legal encyclopedia provides summaries of legal principles and is one of the best initial places to search if you are unfamiliar with a legal topic.
Corpus Juris Secundum
The legal encyclopedia for federal law. |
Ref KF 154 C6 |
| Encyclopedia of the American Constitution |
Ref KF 4548 E53 1986 |
| Guide to American Law |
Ref KF 156 G77 |
Michigan Law and Practice Encyclopedia
The legal encyclopedia for Michigan law. |
Ref KFM 4265 M5 |
U.S. Law
A. Statutes, Laws and Codes
| United States Statutes at Large |
KF 50 A2 |
| v. 1,8,10-11,13-14,16-63,70-present ; 1789-present |
| The official publication of all laws passed during a session of Congress. Statutes are published complete and in the order they were passed. |
|
| United States Code Annotated (USCA) |
Ref KF 62 W4 |
| The entire body of federal law currently in force, organized into 50 subject divisions or titles. Includes references to court decisions which interpret the law. Also available on the Web is the United States Code. The same as U.S. Code Annotated but does not include references to court decisions.
|
| United States Law Week: General Law Section |
Ref KF 25 N5 pt. 1 |
| A weekly service which summarizes new laws, court decisions, and administrative rulings. |
B. Federal Court Decisions
DIGESTS
Digests are subject indexes to court decisions. A short summary or headnote is provided for the point of law discussed in each case listing.
| Modern Federal Practice Digest |
KF 127 M6 |
| Indexes federal court cases for the years 1939-1961. |
| West's Federal Practice Digest 2d |
KF 127 W49 1976 |
| Indexes federal court cases from 1961-1975. |
| West's Federal Practice Digest 3d |
Ref KF 127 W48 1984 |
| Indexes federal court cases from 1975-1989. |
| West's Federal Practice Digest 4th |
Ref KF 127 W48 1989 |
| Indexes federal court cases 1989-present. |
DECISIONS
| Supreme Court Reporter, v. 1-94; 1882-1973 |
KF 101 S9 |
| The Library's earliest set of Supreme Court cases. In addition to providing the complete decisions of the Supreme Court, including dissenting opinions, this set contains the headnotes of the major points of law for each case. |
| |
| United States Reports, v. 389- ; 1967- present |
KF 101 A3 |
| Complete decisions of the Supreme Court, including dissenting opinions. Does not contain headnotes. |
| The decisions of the Supreme Court from 1893 to the present are also available online. |
| |
| United States Law Week: Supreme Court Section |
Ref KF 25 N5 pt. 2 |
| A weekly service which prints complete Supreme Court opinions as issued and includes news releases on the progress of all cases introduced to the Court. A complementary service on the Web that lists cases per month is available from the Legal Information Institute’s Supreme Court Collection. |
| |
| Federal Reporter. Second Series, v. 176-999; 1924-1992 |
KF 105 F42 |
| Federal Reporter. Third Series, v. 1- ; 1993 - present |
| 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, v. 86- ; 1950 - 1998 |
KF 105 F45 |
| Federal Suplement, Second Series, v. 1 - present |
KF 105 F45 |
| 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. |
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.
| Shepard's United States Citations: Statutes and Court Rules |
Ref KF 78 S56 |
| Lists all statutes that have been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| Shepard's United States Citations: Cases |
Ref KF 101.2 S5 |
| Covers cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| Shepard's Federal Citations |
Ref KF 105.2 S42 |
| Covers cases included in the Federal Reporter and Federal Supplement. |
C. Administrative Rulings
| Federal Register - library retains latest 2 years |
Gov Docs AE 2.106: |
| The daily compilation of executive and administrative rules and regulations which have the force of law. Indexed monthly. The Federal Register is also available on the Web from 1995 to the present. |
| Code of Federal Regulations – library retains latest edition |
Ref KF 70 A3 |
| A cumulation of the Federal Register arranged in 50 subject divisions or titles. Volume 1 is a general index. The Code of Federal Regulations is also available on the Web from 1997 to the present (some sections of 1996 are available as well). |
D. Congress
| Congressional Record |
|
1873-1919 in microfilm [KF 35]; 1919-1980 cumulative editions in stacks [KF 35]; 1981-present cumulative editions and current daily issues in Government Documents [X/A: and X 1.1/A).
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. The Congressional Record is also available on the Library of Congress’s Thomas Web site from the 101 Congress (1989) to the present. |
| Congressional Quarterly Weekly |
Ref KF 49 C563 |
| A kind of weekly magazine on Congress, it reports the progress of bills, provides background information on issues, gives political analyses of elections, and lists the voting records of each Congressman and woman on important bills. Indexed, with annual cumulations.The Congressional Quarterly Weekly is available online to NMU students, faculty, & staff. |
Michigan Law
A. Statutes, Laws, and Codes
| Public and Local Acts of the Legislature |
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 1997. |
| Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated |
Ref KFM 4230 1948 A44 |
| The entire current law of Michigan arranged into subject divisions. Contains references to relevant court decisions. |
| Michigan Compiled Laws |
Ref KFM 4230 1979 A23 |
| Same as Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated but does not contain references to court decisions. Michigan Compiled Laws is also available on the Web. |
B. Court Decisions
DIGESTS
Digests are subject indexes to court decisions. A short summary or headnote is provided for the point of law discussed in each case listing.
| Michigan Digest 1836-1932 |
KFM 4257 M5 |
| Indexes Michigan court cases and Federal cases arising in or appealed from Michigan. |
| Michigan Digest 2nd 1932 - present |
Ref KFM 4257 W47 |
| Indexes Michigan court cases and Federal cases arising in or appealed from Michigan. |
DECISIONS
| Michigan Reports, v.1-407; 1849-1980. |
KFM 4245 M5 |
| Official publication of all decisions of Michigan Supreme Court. Cases after 1980 are continued in North Western Reporter 2d. You can also search for Michigan Supreme Court cases on the Web from October 2001 to the present. |
| Michigan Appeals Reports, v.1-93; 1965-1979. |
KFM 4248 A2 |
| Official publication of all decisions of the Michigan Court of Appeals. Cases after 1970 are continued in North Western Reporter 2d. You can also search for Michigan Court of Appeals cases on the Web from August 1996 to the present. |
North Western Reporter 2nd (title on spine: Michigan Reporter)
v.1-214, 287- present; 1942-1974, 1979-present |
KFM 4245 M52 |
| 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. |
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.
| Shepard's Michigan Citations |
Ref KFM 4259 S53 |
| Includes cases decided by the Michigan Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. |
C. Administrative Rulings
| Michigan Register |
Ref KFM 4236 M53 |
| The state version of the Federal Register issued monthly. 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 also available on the Web from 2000 to the present. |
| Michigan Administrative Code |
Ref KFM 4235 1979 A2 |
| A compilation of administrative rules and regulations issued by various state agencies and departments. The Michigan Administrative Code, updated daily, is available on the Web. |
Tax Law
| American Federal Tax Reports — series 1, v. 1-52 ; series 2, v. 1-83 |
Ref KF 6280 A27 |
| Federal Tax Articles: income, estate, gift, excise, employment taxes — 1954-1972 |
KF 6285 C6 |
| Federal Taxes Weekly Alert (RIA) |
Ref KF 6365 R473 (1 binder) |
| Reports of the Tax Court of the United States — v. 1- , 1942 - |
KF 6324 A516 |
| Reports of the United States Board of Tax Appeals — v.1-47, 1924 – 1942 |
KF 6324 A515 |
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) |
Ref KF 6277 U5 |
| Income taxes v. 1-18 (loose-leaf) |
Ref KF 6365 U5 |
To Locate Journal Articles On Law
LegalTrac 1980-present
Index to 1,400 periodicals covering all aspects of law. Full-text articles are available for over 100 of the periodicals.
Index to Legal Periodicals & Books (LegalPeriodical) 1981-present
The Index to Legal Periodicals & Books allows you to find articles in 620 legal journals, yearbooks, institutes, bar association publications, law reviews, and government publications. However, because NMU does not have a law school, only selected publications indexed in ILBP are in available in the Library. Check the Library Catalog to determine if Olson Library owns a particular source.
Web Resources
The following mega-sites will be of most useful in locating legislative and case law for states other than Michigan. Note, however, the dates of coverage for these resources are limited. These sites also provide links to law schools, legal organizations or associations, international law, news, law journals, etc.
Citations and Abbreviations
The basic citation form for any legal reference you may find is:
| 48 |
U.S. |
661 |
| volume number |
source |
page number |
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 in Olson Library are abbreviated as follows:
| A.F.T.R. (RIA) |
American Federal Tax Reports (Research Institute of America) |
Ref KF 6280 A27 |
| A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) |
American Federal Tax Reports, second series (Research Institute of America) |
Ref KF 6280 A27 |
| B.T.A |
Reports of the United States Board of Tax Appeals |
KF 6324 A515 |
| C.F.R. |
Code of Federal Regulations |
Ref KF 70 A3 |
| C.J.S. |
Corpus Juris Secundum |
Ref KF 154 C6 |
| Env't Rep. Cas. (BNA) |
Environment Reporter - Cases (Bureau of National Affairs) |
Ref KF 3775 A6 E49 |
| F.R. |
Federal Register |
Gov Docs AE 2.106: |
| F.2d |
Federal Reporter, Second Series |
KF 105 F42 |
| F.3d |
Federal Reporter, Third Series |
KF 105 F42 |
| F.Supp. |
Federal Supplement |
KF 105 F45 |
| Fed. Tax. Articles (CCH) |
Federal Tax Articles: Income, Estate, Gift, Excise, Employment Taxes (Commerce Clearing House) |
KF 6285 C6 |
| M.C.L. |
Michigan Compiled Laws |
Ref KFM 4230 1979 A23 |
| M.C.L.A. |
Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated |
Ref KFM 4230 1948 A44 |
| Mich. |
Michigan Reports |
KFM 4245 M5 |
| Mich. App. |
Michigan Appeals Reports |
KFM 4248 A2 |
| N.W.2d |
North Western Reporter, Second Series |
KFM 4245 M52 |
| S. Ct. |
Supreme Court Reporter |
KF 101 S9 |
| Stat. |
U.S. Statutes at Large |
KF 50 A2 |
| T.C. |
Reports of the Tax Court of the United States |
KF 6324 A516 |
| T.C.M. (CCH) |
Tax Court Memorandum Decisions (Commerce Clearing House) |
KF 6280 A226 |
| U.S. |
U.S. Reports |
KF 101 A3 |
| U.S.C. |
U.S. Code |
Gov Docs GP 3.22/2:197/ |
| U.S.C.A. |
U.S. Code Annotated |
Ref KF 62 W4 |
U.S.T.C.
U.S. Tax Cas.
(CCH) |
U.S. Tax Cases (Commerce Clearing House) |
KF 6280 A232 |
For abbreviations not listed above consult either of the following sources:
| The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation |
Ref KF 245 B58 |
| Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Citations |
Ref KF 246 P73 |
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