Cases

Federal U.S. Supreme Court Cases

• • • U.S. Supreme Court – official site, opinions from October 1999
    • Findlaw.com – from 1893, search by citation, party name or full-text
    • Legal Information Institute (Cornell) – from 1990, searchable, provides collection of historical decisions

Federal Circuit, District and Bankruptcy Court Cases

• Findlaw.com – links to Circuit, District and Bankruptcy opinions
• Legal Information Institute (Cornell) – links to Circuit, District and Bankruptcy Court opinions

New Jersey Cases

• New Jersey Court Opinions – hosted by Rutgers; Supreme Court opinions since March 1994; Appellate Division and Tax Court opinions from September 1995

• New Jersey Current Reported Opinions – current and last week’s Supreme Court & Appellate Division opinions, posted by the New Jersey Judiciary

• Third Circuit Court of Appeals

Courts & Court Rules

State Courts & Court Rules

• • • New Jersey Judiciary Home Page
    • New Jersey Municipal Courts Direct – pay your traffic and parking tickets online
    • New Jersey Court Rules – posted at the NJ judiciary web site
    • National Center for State Courts: Court Web Sites – links to state court web sites

Federal Courts & Court Rules

• • U.S. Supreme Court Home Page
  • Federal Courts Home Page – information about the federal judiciary
  • Federal Courts Finder
  • History of the Federal Judiciary – history of the federal courts; biographies of federal judges since 1789
  • Court Rules, Forms & Dockets – links to 1400 state and federal sources, from llrx.com
  • Federal Court Rules – includes Rules of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Appellate, Bankruptcy and Local Rules Federal Courts & Court Rules

Statutes & Legislation

State Statutes & Legislation

• • • New Jersey State Legislature – since 1996-97 session
    • New Jersey Legislative Histories – compiled by the State Library, from 1998 forward
    • New Jersey Statutes – at the New Jersey Legislature web site, click link to the Statutes on the left side
    • State Legislatures, State Laws and State Regulations: Web Site Links and Telephone Numbers

Federal Statutes & Legislation

• • Congress.gov — U.S. Congress on the Internet – full text and status of all bills, public laws, and legislation; Congressional Record, committee reports, voting records, etc.
  • U.S. Code (House of Rep.) – official version but always check the currency; has update feature
  • U.S. Code (Cornell) – generated from House version; easy to search
  • U.S. Senate Home Page
  • U.S. House of Representatives Home Page

Administrative Law

State Administrative Law

• • • New Jersey Government Departments & Agencies
    • New Jersey Register – proposed and adopted New Jersey regulations appear here first; provided free by Lexis as part of publishing contract
    • New Jersey Administrative Code– organization of New Jersey regulations by agency; provided free by Lexis as part of publishing contract
    • Executive Orders of the Governor – from 1/18/90 to present
    • Executive Orders of the Governor – 1941 to January 1990
    • New Jersey Administrative Law Decisions – hosted by Rutgers; from October 1997 to present
    • New Jersey Administrative Reports (First Series) – 1979-1991
    • State and Local Government on the Net – links to state agencies by state

Federal Administrative Law

• • U.S. Government Departments & Agencies – A-Z index
  • Today’s Federal Register 
  • Federal Register – search full Federal Register back to 1994
  • Code of Federal Regulations
  • Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (FDSys) – new & improved CFR interface
  • Regulations.gov – your one stop site to comment on federal regulations Federal Administrative Law

Law & Government Meta Sites

• Internet Law Guide (Rutgers) – great links to New Jersey legal materials
• Findlaw – a comprehensive web site of law-related links; well organized and user friendly
• Hieros Gamos – a comprehensive law and government portal
• Washlaw Web – an extensive set of links from Washburn University’s Law Library
• FDSys (formerly GPO Access) – online access to Government Printing Office publications, including legislative, executive, judicial and regulatory materials
• USA.gov – “your first click to the U.S. government”
• State and Local Government on the Net – links to all states, very current
• Cornell’s Legal Information Institute – collection of primary legal materials (federal, New York); topical libraries

Legal Reference Materials

• Nolo’s Legal Dictionary
• Nolo’s Legal Encyclopedia – Nolopedia
• Manual of Style for Legal Citation in New Jersey – published on the web by the New Jersey judiciary
• Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
• Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Locator – national lawyer & law firm directory, also at www.lawyers.com
• Martindale-Hubbell Legal Library – legal topics and summary of laws for all states
• Findlaw West Legal Directory – another lawyer directory

Legal News & Current Events

• New Jersey Law Journal – New Jersey legal newspaper, some full-text articles available
• Findlaw Legal News – see also Special Coverage and Featured Documents for coverage of newsworthy events

• The Smoking Gun – web site that posts legal documents involving high-profile individuals and current events

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More Legal Materials

• New Jersey State Board of Bar Examiners – bar exam results, exam dates, etc.
• New Jersey Ethics Opinions – opinions of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Ethics Committees; involving professional ethics of attorneys

Legal Forms

• New Jersey State Court Forms – for civil, family and appellate courts
• Findlaw Legal Forms – links to court forms for federal and state courts; see links at bottom of page for consumer, corporate and other forms
• LLRX.com – links to state and federal court forms
• Washlaw Web – links to all types of legal forms

Law-Related Associations

• New Jersey State Bar Association
• New Jersey State Bar Foundation
• New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE)
• National & Specialty Legal Associations
• State & Local Bar Associations

New Jersey Law Libraries

• Rutgers Law Library

• Seton Hall Law Library

Legal Research Guides

How to do Legal Research

• • • Research Guides – Georgetown University Law Library
    • Research Statutes & Cases – from Nolo Press
    • Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioner’s Guide
    • A Research Guide to the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations
    • Zimmerman’s Research Guide – retired legal and nonlegal research guide on the Internet Archive
    • Legal Reference Guide for Public Librarians in New Jersey – dated but still useful

Legal Research by Topic of Law

• • Findlaw by Subject
  • Hieros Gamos Areas of Practice
  • Martindale-Hubbell Legal Library
  • Wex Legal Encyclopedia – at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute
  • Nolopedia (Nolo) – everyday legal topics, designed for the lay person
  • In- Depth Research Guides – from Georgetown University Law Library

Non-Legal Research Resources

General Research

• • • Zimmerman’s Research Guide – retired but still excellent “how-to” guide for legal and nonlegal research
    • New Jersey Law Librarians Association (NJLLA) – start with our recommended internet links

Company Information

• • • Hoovers Online – background information on public and large private companies
    • Google Finance – for stock quotes, news & other public company information
    • Registered Agent Info – guide to locating registered agent information in all states (those who can accept service of process)

Expert Witnesses

• • • ALM Expert Witness Directory
    • Experts.com
    • ExpertLaw

Public Records/People Finders

• • Search Public Records – starting place to find people
  • Virtual Gumshoe – links to investigative and public records resources
  • New Jersey Professional License Databases – from the Division of Consumer Affairs; numerous professions include medical (physicians, nurses), professional (accountants, architects) and many others

Legal Publications & Information for the Public

• Legal Services of New Jersey – excellent web site for those seeking legal assistance; designed for those with little Internet experience and who might not have good reading skills. Provides self-help tips and practical advice for many civil legal problems such as a dispute with a landlord, divorce or bankruptcy.
• Representing Yourself in Court (NJ) – forms and instructions for pro se litigants in New Jersey
• A Consumer’s Guide to Legal Help on the Internet (ABA)
• Self Help pamphlets – Legal Services of New Jersey – available free in PDF and Word formats. Some available in English and Spanish. Current titles include: Tenants’ Rights in New Jersey, Termination of Parental Rights, Your Right to Unemployment Benefits, Know Your Welfare Rights and Clearing Your Record.
• Publications – New Jersey State Bar Foundation – available in PDFs, some in Spanish as well. Topics include consumer issues, disability law, education issues, AIDS, domestic violence and more.
• Consumer’s Guide to the New Jersey Lemon Law
• New Jersey Division of Civil Rights Fact Sheets – discussions of various types of discrimination
• Nolo Press – California-based publisher of self help legal materials for sale and at no cost

Law Librarian Resources

• Law Library Resource Exchange – news, articles, current trends in law librarianship
• Zimmerman’s Research Guide – an excellent “how-to” guide for legal and nonlegal research. Retired Dec. 2015 and archived by the Internet Archive.
• NJ Law Librarians Association (NJLLA) – association information, news, listserv instructions, etc.
• Legal Databases:
  • Lexis Advance
  • Westlaw
  • Versus Law – full-text legal database; lower-priced competitor of Lexis & Westlaw, offers very reasonable subscription plans
  • Fastcase – full-text legal database; lower-priced competitor of Lexis & Westlaw, offers very reasonable subscription plans Lawyer Referrals
• New Jersey Lawyer Referral Services – contact information for county referral services
• Legal Services/Legal Aid – services for low-income residents of New Jersey with civil legal problems

Internet links presentation by Kathy Taggart, Computer Services Librarian, Lowenstein Sandler