LibGuides: HIST 599: Law and Modern Civil Rights: Legal Research

U.S. Law Resources

Oyez.org
A multimedia archive devoded to the Supreme Court of the United States and its work. The site aims at being a complete and authoritative source for all audio recorded in the Court since the installation of a recording system in October 1955.
Court Locator
Locate a U.S. Court.
Opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court
"A “slip” opinion consists of the majority or principal opinion, any concurring or dissenting opinions written by the Justices, and a prefatory syllabus prepared by the Reporter’s Office that summarizes the decision.
SCOTUSblog
Legal blog that tracks cases before the U.S. Supreme Court from the certiorari stage through the merits stage, and provides live blogs of SCOTUS opinions. The site comprehensively covers all of the cases before the court since 2002 and maintains an archive of the briefing and other documents in each case.
Supreme Court Landmark Cases
Read through Supreme Court landmark cases and decisions.

How a Bill Becomes a Law
This PDF from the Government Publishing Office shows a diagram of how a bill becomes a law.
The Policy Surveillance Program: A LawAtlas Project
Search policy by topic area. This program is provided by Temple University.
FindLaw
Caselaw Access Project
Open data for U.S. court decisions, digitized from the collection of the Harvard Law Library. Several sample projects illustrate use of APIs. *Additional use requires knowledge of APIs and/or bulk data download.

How a Bill Becomes a Law in Kansas
Flowchart illustrating how a bill becomes a law in Kansas state government.
Kansas Statutes
Kansas Statutes online. Click "Bills and Laws" in the main menu at top for Senate and House Bills, Resolutions, and the state constitution.
State Officials and Their Records (State Archives - Kansas)
Holdings include the inactive unpublished records of state government with enduring historical value. Click the Catalog link to search for records.
Kansas: Library of Congress Guide to Law Online
Law Library of Congress guide for Kansas law and courts.

For additional journal articles and research databases, see the Research Databases page of this guide.

HeinOnline: Government, Politics and Law This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Journals, Congressional Record, Congressional Serial Set, U.S Reports, constitutions of every country, U.S. Treaties, Federal Register.
Trial ends October 2018. Purchased in Nov 2018
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Legal news, case law, Supreme Court cases, and related information (formerly LexisNexis Academic). Want to "Shepardize" a case? Click here for instructions.
Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Articles from hundreds of journals on criminal justice and criminology.

Journal Titles in Law, Politics and Government
Browse by Subject, select Law, Politics and Government. Then click on a subtopic to find all journals held by the WSU Libraries on that subject.
A-Z Databases for Research in Law, Politics & Government
Explore the Library's A-Z list of databases of legal, political, and governmental research.

Finding & Tracking Legislation
Links to resources for Finding & Tracking Legislation on the WSU Government Information library research guide.
Law Librarians' Society of Washington D.C. (LLSDC)
This site provides links to other librarians' research guides that focus on topics such as the Federal Legislative History, the Congressional Serial Set, the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, the U.S. Statutes and U.S. Code, etc.
Law Library of Congress
Learn more about U.S. Federal Law, view digitized documents, and find links to related resources.
Law Library of Congress (Current Topics)
The Law Library of Congress produces reports primarily for members of Congress. These reports are listed by topic. They provide commentary and recommended resources on issues and events. These reports are provided for reference purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.

Legal Reference Sources

Black's Law Dictionary by A. Bryan Garner (Editor-In-Chief)
Call Number: KF156 .B53 2014
ISBN: 9780314613004
Publication Date: 2014
American Law Yearbook by Michael J. Tyrkus
Call Number: EBOOK
Publication Date: 2018
A guide to the major legal cases and developments of 2017.
Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law by Jeffrey Wilson (Editor)
Call Number: EBOOK
Publication Date: 2013
The Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law fills a much-needed gap between legal texts focusing on the theory and history behind the law and more practical guides dealing with the law and its everyday effect upon its citizens. Containing approximately 200 articles, the Gale Encyclopedia Of Everyday Law includes: brief descriptions of each issue's historical background, covering important statutes and cases; profiles of various U.S. laws and regulations; details of how laws and regulations vary from state to state, and; comprehensive bibliographies, including print and Web resources and lists of relevant organizations.
Landmark Legislation 1774-2012 by Stephen W. Stathis
Call Number: EBOOK
Publication Date: 2014
Information about the most important laws and treaties enacted by the U.S. Congress. Each chapter covers one of the numbered Congresses with a historical essay, followed by the major acts of that Congress arranged in chronological order of passage - with each act summarized.
Encyclopedia of American Law and Criminal Justice by David Schultz
Call Number: EBOOK
Publication Date: 2012-03-01
Now in two volumes, this A-to-Z encyclopedia covers a wide range of relevant topics, including police, courts, corrections, laws, and famous criminals, as well as such timely and controversial subjects as bullying, cameras in public places, cyber crime, juvenile death penalty and much more. A primary resources section contains documents that are vital to understanding this important subject.