Sacramento City College Library Presents   
Legal Information Resources
LIBR 305
Sat. 3/25/06 | 8:30am - 1:30pm | Course Code
18288

Learn to find legal information online and in print.
Taught by Sandy Warmington
(warmins*scc.losrios.edu - replace * with @ for the full address)
SCC Library Homepage

The Internet and the Invisible or Deep Web | Value Added Legal Information
General Legal Sites | Forms | Lawyer Locator
Federal Sites | California Sites | Sacramento Sites

The Internet and the Invisible or Deep Web

The Internet is becoming increasingly more important as a  source for legal information. 
However there are a few things to keep in mind:
Many of the free sources on the Internet contain material that only goes back as far as the early 1990's.
If you need historical research, you will probably need to go to a law library to access LEXIS.
Because much of the legal information on the web comes from specialized sources and databases, a normal search engine often will not retrieve the information you need to find.  Instead, you'll do better using one of the invisible or deep web resources to find legal information on the Internet:
Incy Wincy - http://www.incywincy.com/ 
 
Invisible Web.net - http://www.invisibleweb.net/
 
Lycos Invisible Web Catalog - http://dir.lycos.com/Reference/Searchable_Databases/
 

 

Value Added Legal Information

The free sources on the Internet will not be annotated with value added information. You will need to go to a law library or access LEXIS or WestLaw if you need to use annotated resources. You may access either of these services on the Internet if you are willing to use your credit card to pay for each document you download.
WesDoc from WestLaw - http://creditcard.westlaw.com/
Lexis-Nexis by credit card - http://web.lexis.com/xchange/forms/uas/catalog.asp
 

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General Legal Sites

Fedlaw is a good general resource http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/default.htm 
FindLaw is one of the most comprehensive legal sources on the Internet. http://www.findlaw.com
The Guide to Law Online from the Law Library of Congress is another good general resource. http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/ 
Hieros Gamos is another good general legal site. http://www.hg.org/ 
Internat Legal Research Group (old name LawRunner) is an excellent way to search the Internet for specific legal information. http://www.ilrg.com/ 
Jurist - The Legal Education Network is another excellent general legal portal. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/ 
Look for the section of resources for librarians.
The Legal Information Institute is a good place to go to find specific resources as well as general information about the law. http://www.law.cornell.edu
Nolo Press is an excellent place to find basic legal information without the legalese. http://www.nolo.com
State and Local Government on the Net is one of the best ways to find legal or government information at a more local level. http://www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm.  The California information is specifically at http://www.statelocalgov.net/state-ca.cfm  Start here if you know what California resource you are looking for. Example: the California Code, CCR, the City of Sacramento.   
 

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Forms

You will be better off using a law library to locate legal forms.  But if you need to find something on the Internet you may want to try:
Findlaw's legal form section is one of the best places to start if you are looking for legal forms on the Internet. http://www.findlaw.com/16forms/index.html
 
 

Lawyer Locator

Martindale.com is a good place to search for a lawyer - http://lawyers.martindale.com/marhub
 
Lawyers.com is another place to search for a lawyer. It also provides other legal information - http://www.lawyers.com/

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Federal Sites

 
Thomas is by far the best site for Legislative information: http://thomas.loc.gov BILLS, ACTS, & STATUTES
   
GPO Access - http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legislative.html
This is another legislative source which includes hearings for legislation.  It also includes the house and senate reports which are the most important resource for determining the intent of a bill.
BILLS, ACTS
The Internet Law Library (ILL) at Lawguru.com is another good source of legal information including: http://www.lawguru.com/ilawlib/ MISC.
   
U.S. Federal Laws - http://www.lawguru.com/ilawlib/2.htm MISC.
   
U.S. Statutes - http://www.lawguru.com/ilawlib/16.htm STATUTES
   
The Office of the Federal Register is the easiest way to access: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html ADMINISTRATIVE
ADMINISTRATIVE
ADMINISTRATIVE
STATUTES
The searchable U.S. Code http://uscode.house.gov/search/criteria.shtml CODES
   
Another searchable U.S. Code from the Legal Information Institute at Cornell http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/  CODES
   
The U.S. Code Table of Popular Names from the Legal Information Institute at Cornell - http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/topn/

CODES

   
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/

CASE LAW

   

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California Sites

   
Law.com California is a large website providing legal information.
You may sign up for a free trial but will need to subscribe and pay for continued access. http://www.callaw.com/
MISC
   
California Ballot Propositions from the Los Angeles County Law Library http://lalaw.lib.ca.us/ballot.html  BILLS, ACTS
   
California Ballot Propositions from Hastings Law Library
http://www.uchastings.edu/library/Research%20Databases/
CA%20Ballot%20Measures/ca_ballot_measures_main.htm
 
BILLS, ACTS
   
The California State Assembly http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/defaulttext.asp BILLS, ACTS
   
The California State Senate http://www.sen.ca.gov BILLS, ACTS
   
The Official California Legislative Information site provides a variety of legislative information including: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/ MISC
   
BILLS, ACTS
CODES
CONSTITUTION
STATUTES
Statutes, Journals and Histories (1849 - early 1990's)
http://192.234.213.35/clerkarchive/   
STATUTES
   
The California Code of Regulations http://ccr.oal.ca.gov ADMINISTRATIVE
   
The California Courts http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov CASE LAW
   

Opinions are specifically at this site: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions

CASE LAW
California Supreme Court and Appellate Court Decisions Archive on
FindLaw (10/96 - Present) http://california.lp.findlaw.com/CA02_caselaw/slip.html
CASE LAW
   
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Sacramento Sites

   
City of Sacramento Home Page - http://www.cityofsacramento.org  
 Sacramento City Codes - http://www.qcode.us/codes/sacramento/  
Sacramento County Home Page - http://www.co.sacramento.ca.us  
   
Sacramento County Bar Association - http://www.sacbar.org  
   
Sacramento Superior Court - http://www.saccourt.com  
   
Sacramento County Public Law Library - http://www.saclaw.lib.ca.us/  
   
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