The
Internet and the Invisible or Deep Web |
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The
Internet is becoming increasingly more important as a
source for legal information.
However there are a few things to keep in mind: |
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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. |
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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: |
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Value Added
Legal Information
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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. |
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WesDoc
from WestLaw - http://creditcard.westlaw.com/ |
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Lexis-Nexis
by credit card - http://web.lexis.com/xchange/forms/uas/catalog.asp |
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to the top of the page. |
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General
Legal Sites |
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Fedlaw
is a good general resource http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/default.htm |
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FindLaw
is one of the most comprehensive
legal sources on the Internet. http://www.findlaw.com |
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The
Guide to Law Online from the Law Library of Congress is
another good general resource. http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/ |
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Hieros
Gamos is another good general legal site. http://www.hg.org/ |
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Internat
Legal Research Group (old name LawRunner) is an excellent way to
search the Internet for specific legal information. http://www.ilrg.com/ |
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Jurist
- The Legal Education
Network is another excellent general legal portal. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/
Look for the section of resources for librarians. |
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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 |
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Nolo
Press is an excellent
place to find basic legal information without the legalese. http://www.nolo.com |
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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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to the top of the page. |
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Forms |
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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: |
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Lawyer
Locator |
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Martindale.com
is a good place to search
for a lawyer - http://lawyers.martindale.com/marhub |
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Lawyers.com
is another place to search for a
lawyer. It also provides other legal information - http://www.lawyers.com/ |
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to the top of the page. |
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Federal
Sites |
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Thomas
is by far the best site for Legislative
information: http://thomas.loc.gov |
BILLS,
ACTS, & STATUTES |
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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 |
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The
Internet Law Library (ILL) at Lawguru.com is
another good source of legal information including: http://www.lawguru.com/ilawlib/ |
MISC. |
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U.S.
Federal Laws - http://www.lawguru.com/ilawlib/2.htm |
MISC. |
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U.S.
Statutes - http://www.lawguru.com/ilawlib/16.htm |
STATUTES |
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The
Office of the Federal Register is the easiest way to access: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html |
ADMINISTRATIVE |
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ADMINISTRATIVE |
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ADMINISTRATIVE |
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STATUTES |
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The
searchable U.S. Code http://uscode.house.gov/search/criteria.shtml |
CODES |
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Another
searchable U.S. Code from the Legal Information Institute
at Cornell http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ |
CODES |
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The
U.S. Code Table of Popular Names from
the Legal Information Institute at Cornell - http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/topn/ |
CODES |
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United
States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ |
CASE LAW |
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to the top
of the page. |
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California
Sites |
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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 |
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California
Ballot Propositions from
the Los Angeles County Law Library http://lalaw.lib.ca.us/ballot.html |
BILLS,
ACTS |
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California
Ballot Propositions from
Hastings Law Library
http://www.uchastings.edu/library/Research%20Databases/
CA%20Ballot%20Measures/ca_ballot_measures_main.htm |
BILLS,
ACTS |
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The
California State Assembly http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/defaulttext.asp |
BILLS,
ACTS |
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The
California State Senate http://www.sen.ca.gov |
BILLS,
ACTS |
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The
Official California Legislative Information site
provides a variety of legislative information including: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/ |
MISC |
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BILLS,
ACTS |
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CODES |
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CONSTITUTION |
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STATUTES |
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Statutes,
Journals and Histories
(1849 - early 1990's)
http://192.234.213.35/clerkarchive/
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STATUTES |
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The
California Code of Regulations http://ccr.oal.ca.gov |
ADMINISTRATIVE |
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The
California Courts http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov |
CASE
LAW |
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Opinions are
specifically at this site: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions
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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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to the top
of the page. |
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Sacramento
Sites |
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City
of Sacramento Home Page - http://www.cityofsacramento.org |
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Sacramento
City Codes - http://www.qcode.us/codes/sacramento/ |
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Sacramento
County Home Page - http://www.co.sacramento.ca.us |
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Sacramento
County Bar Association - http://www.sacbar.org |
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Sacramento
Superior Court - http://www.saccourt.com |
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Sacramento
County Public Law Library - http://www.saclaw.lib.ca.us/ |
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PP/SW
- 03/17/10
- SCC Library
Homepage |