Law Resource Guide for MScTRM Students

Using the D'Angelo Law Library

• The D'Angelo Law Library Guide provides an overview of collections, online resources, services and facilities.
• The DLL Call Number Guide provides floor and range location information for specific call numbers.
• D'Angelo Law Library Hours are posted on the D'Angelo Law Library web site.
• Contact Librarians and Library Staff using this directory via telephone or email.
• Ask a Law Librarian email reference service is available during and after library hours.

Basic Law Resources

• Chart of United States Legal System
• Chart of Courts in the United States
• Major Law Title Locator
• Sample Legal Citations
• The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. l8th ed. 2005. The standard guide to legal citation in the United States. Call Number XXKF245.B59 2005 (DLL Reference, Reserve, Stacks)
  • Peter W. Martin, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation
• Black's Law Dictionary. 8th ed. 2004. The standard work for American law abbreviations and terminology. Call Number XXKFl56.B5322 2004, Law Reserve, Law Reference.
• Duhaime's Law Dictionary - A freely-available legal dictionary.
• Wex - Cornell Law School's collaborative legal dictionary and law encyclopedia.
• Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory - A national directory of U.S. lawyers, searchable by name, geographic location, firm, etc. Includes information on areas of practice for attorneys and firms.

Core Law Databases

• LexisNexis Academic - Contains U.S. primary law for federal and the fifty states (court opinions, statutes), federal agency regulations, law reviews.
• GPO Access is the U.S. Government Printing Office's site for primary law, such as the United States Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Register and many congressional documents.
• HeinOnline includes PDFs of most law journals, as well as PDFs for other major law resources such as United States Reports, United States Statutes at Large, the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations and treaty compilations.
• LegalTrac indexes over 1000 legal journals, with coverage beginning in 1980 or later depending on the journal; includes abstracts and very occasional full-text coverage.
• BNA Topical Law Databases - BNA is a major publisher of U.S. legal materials, including topical newsletters that summarize recent case law and other developments in areas such as environment and safety, health care, homeland security, and employment and labor.

Judicial/Court Resources

• Understanding the Federal Courts - This publication provides an introduction to the federal judicial system, its organization and administration, and its relationship to the legislative and executive branches of the government.
• Federal Court Finder - An interactive map which links to the official web sites of each of the Federal courts.
• State court web sites - The National Conference of State Court (NCSC) provides judicial branch links for each state, focusing on the administrative office of the courts, the court of last resort, any intermediate appellate courts, and each trial court level.
• Illinois courts web site - Contain current opinions and archived opinions of the Illinois Supreme and Appellate courts.
• LexisNexis Academic - Contains judicial opinions from all federal and state courts.

Legislative/Statutory Law Resources

• United States Code on GPO Access - The United States Code (U.S.C.) contains those laws of Congress currently in effect. It is arranged by subject.
• THOMAS- This site tracks congressional legislation
• Federal Rulemaking - This web site from the federal judiciary include the major federal court rules including the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
• Illinois Compiled Statutes - The Illinois General Assembly's Legislative Reference Bureau provides the compiled Illinois legislative code at the web site.
• DLL State Law and Government Guide -provides a state by state listing of government web pages with sources of state law.
• LexisNexis Academic - Contains the United States Code and the legislative codes of all 50 states.

Administrative Law Resources

• Federal Register - Includes all federal agency regulations and proposed regulations and all presidential documents.
• Code of Federal Regulations - CFR is a codification of all federal agency regulations currently in force.
• United States Government Manual is a directory of federal government agencies and officials.
• A to Z Index of Federal Agencies - A comprehensive listing of all federal departments and agencies on usa.gov
• Illinois Administrative Code - The Illinois Bar Association maintains this current compilation of Illinois agency regulations.

Homeland Security/Emergency Response/Disaster Management

• Department of Homeland Security
• BNA Homeland Security Briefing
• Homeland Security Digital Library
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA)
• Ready Illinois - Citizen-focused emergency preparedness web site.
• Catastrophe: risk and response / Richard A. Posner. New York : Oxford University Press, 2004. DLL and Regenstein Call Number HV551.2.P675 2004.
• A legal guide to homeland security and emergency management for state and local governments / Ernest B. Abbott and Otto J. Hetzel, editors. Chicago, Ill. : Section of State and Local Government, American Bar Association, 2005. DLL Call Number XXKF4850 .L44 2005.