General Online Resources
Legal Research: Background & Basics
Finding Cases
Finding Statutes
Legal Periodicals

UC Irvine Libraries Homepage: Start here to get information about the library (hours, policies, etc.) and to access library databases -- including

ANTPAC (UCI Library Catalog), Lexis-Nexis, LegalTrac, and more.

UC Irvine Libraries Legal Research Tutorials: Two self-paced legal research tutorials adapted from Georgetown University Law Library for use at UC Irvine. Concentrate on print materials (published by West Group) but mention utility of online databases and the Internet.

• Finding Cases (using Digests)
• Finding Statutes

California Government Information Subject Guide: See especially the section on "Legislation/laws/regulations/legislators." California's (free) legislative information website is among the best.
 

LEGAL RESEARCH: BACKGROUND & BASICS

SOME IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS: Primary authority: "any law that the court can rely on in reaching its decision. Examples include statutes, administrative regulations, constitutional provisions, executive orders, charters, ordinances, treaties, and other court opinions" (Statsky, p. 547). "statutes, constitutions, administrative regulations issues pursuant to enabling legislation, and case law. Primary authority may be either mandatory or persuasive. All other legal writings are secondary authority and are never binding on courts." (Jacobstein, et al, p. 2) Secondary authority: "any nonlaw that the court can rely on in reaching its decision. Examples include legal and nonlegal periodical literature, legal and nonlegal encyclopedias, legal and nonlegal dictionaries, legal and nonlegal treatises." (Statsky, p. 547)

Legal Dictionaries (online)

Black's Law Dictionary, 7th edition (1999): Langson Library Reference Desk: KF156 .B532 1999

Your textbook makes the following useful distinctions among different legal research tools, which we will use in this workshop and presentation:

• Full-text Legal Resources
• Locator Resources
• Resources to Explain the Law
• Resources to Determine the Validity of the Law

Finding Cases by Citation or Party Name

• Lexis-Nexis Academic:  [Locator; Full-text]
• Get a case
• Legal Research
• West (Print) Products: [Locator; Full-text]
• West's California Reporter: Langson Bound Periodicals (Basement): KFC 45 W4
• 190 P. 455 (190 = volume number; P. = reporter name (Pacific Reporter); 455 = page number)
• Table of Cases; West's California digest, 2d: Langson Reference: KFC 57 W477

• Lexis-Nexis Academic 
• California Blue and White Book: Langson Reference: KFC 47.4 C341
• Shepards Citations Service  [Locator; Links to Full-text; Determine the Validity of the Law]

Shepards Citations Service:  [Locator; Links to Full-text; Determine the Validity of the Law]

Federal Law

• Legislative Information: Lexis-Nexis Congressional:  [Locator; Full-text]
• United States Code Service
• Bill tracking
• Congressional Record
• Committee Reports, Prints
• Lexis-Nexis Academic  (United States Code Service): [Locator; Full-text]
• United States Code Annotated: Langson Reference: KF 62 1927 W45  [Locator; Full-text]

California Law

• California Legislative Information: [Locator; Full-text]
• Lexis-Nexis Academic  (Deering's Annotated Codes): [Locator; Full-text]
• Legal Research - State Codes
• Code of Civil Procedure in HEADING
• 1174.2 in SECTION
• West's Annotated California Codes: Langson Reference: KFC 30.5 W4

Legal Trac:  [Locator of secondary source material; Explain the Law]

• Keyword search (example): support and minor child and california

Lexis-Nexis -- Legal Research -- Secondary Sources (law reviews and other legal periodicals): [Locator; Full-text; Explain the Law]