Finding Tools
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ReportersContain court decisions. Will almost exclusively be appellate or court of last resort level cases. We have three primary reporters: Supreme Court Reporter, Federal Reporter (US Court of Appeals), and Northwestern Reporter (IA, MI, MN, NE, ND, SD, WI). United States Reports is the title of the Fed. Govt's publication of US Supreme Court Decisions.
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DigestsWest Key Notes and Nexis Uni Headnotes are distinctive subject heading systems. Preceding the text of each decision the publisher includes the "notes" or subject headings where this decision is categorized. Digests are indexes to corresponding reporters arranged alphabetically by these notes or headings. Thus the Supreme Court Digest entry for "Civil Procedure" will list all decisions using that Key Note in the Supreme Court Reporter. Federal Practice Digest includes Federal Reporter as well as other federal courts.
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ShepardsShepard's Citations allows you to look up cases by citation and it will list other cases that have cited this case. It also uses symbols to indicate the validity of the your initial decision (i.e. has it been overturned). Print volumes correspond with sets of reporters. Nexis Uni provides current Shepard's citation analysis (Shepardizing).
Secondary Sources
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Black's Law Dictionary, Standard Ninth Edition
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Call Number: Ready Reference KF156 .B53 2009Publication Date: 2009 (new edition is on the way) -
Ballentine's Law Dictionary with Pronunciations
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Call Number: Reference KF156 .B3 1969Publication Date: 1969Nexis Uni has newer edition (2010), but I do not think this is being updated. -
Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS)
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Call Number: Reference KF75 .C7Publication Date: 2000-2004Called an encyclopedia, it is written to cover the entire range of law, providing brief entries with basic rules. It does provide extensive references to court decisions, so is useful for finding sources as well as secondary content. -
American Jurisprudence 2d (Am. Jur. 2nd)
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Publication Date: WE DO NOT HAVE THISA competitor to Corpus Juris Secundum, this legal encyclopedia is not owned by our Library, but available in Nexis Uni. -
Index to Legal Periodicals
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Call Number: Reference KF8 .I5Publication Date: 1952-2003This is primarily an index to law review articles although some books are mentioned as well. It is located in the main Reference Collection, not with other indexes near Periodicals. Law review articles cover a wide range of topics and provide numerous references to cases and statutes. Nexis Uni and EBSCO's Legal Source are contemporary online sources of law review articles for our Library. -
American Law Reports
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Call Number: KF105 .A54 with some variationsPublication Date: 1920?-2010American Law Reports are collections of focused articles, called annotations, that summarize cases from disparate jurisdictions to explain a legal concept. While they look similar to law review articles, they do not address larger social issues or provide criticism. The extensive citations provided also serve as a finding aid to cases on specific issues. ALR Fed focuses exclusively on federal legal issues. -
Treatises
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Call Number: Ref and Gen collectionPublication Date: VariesTreatises are formal works providing a systematic discussion of broad areas of law. They are well respected and often written or associated with highly regarded legal scholars. We have very few in our library, but a few outdated examples exist the Reference and General Collections. -
Restatements of the Law
Call Number: Reference VariesPublication Date: VariesRestatements are legal rules or principles derived from a review of court cases across disparate jurisdictions. The rules are usually followed by comments which explain limitations and in some cases justifications. They also provide examples called illustrations. These are the most respected of the documents noted here and are frequently used by courts in their decisions. We have very few sets in the Library.
Other Sources
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Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowUse to find court cases, law review articles, and many other legal resources. Also includes American Jurisprudence legal encyclopedia, Ballentines Legal Dictionary, and allows shepardizing of court decisions.
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Legal Research in a Nutshell
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Call Number: KF240 .C54 2007Publication Date: 2007-06-05This book covers all of the sources mentioned and was very useful in creating this guide.
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Court Hierarchy SlidesHere are a quick couple of slides explaining court hierarchy and the corresponding reporters that contain their decisions.