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Legal Research

A tutorial and resources for Legal Research available at the Sprague Library.

Case Law

The primary tools for finding case law in the Sprague Library will be found within Westlaw, but several other databases do exist.  The library also maintains a collection of primary and secondary resources in print and the list of those can be found at the bottom of the page.


Video above reused with permission from the Marx Law Library at the University of Cincinnati.

Video above reused with permission from the Marx Law Library at the University of Cincinnati.

Video with full transcription.
Video above reused with permission from the Marx Law Library at the University of Cincinnati.

Video with full transcription.
Video above reused with permission from the Marx Law Library at the University of Cincinnati.

Video with full transcription.
Video above reused with permission from the Marx Law Library at the University of Cincinnati.

Video with full transcription.
Video above reused with permission from the Marx Law Library at the University of Cincinnati.

Case Law, Federal

U. S. Supreme Court.
The three publications below contain the text of every decision issued by the court from 1790 to date and are arranged by the date of decision:
Primary Source
      a. United States Reports.   1966 to present.   (U.S.)
            The official publication of reports, published by the US government.
            Legal Reference:  KF101 .U52
      b. United States Supreme Court Reports.   1790-1967.   (L.Ed. | L.Ed.2d)
            Published by LexisNexis.
            Legal Reference:  KF101 .U5
      c. Supreme Court Reporter.   1987 to present.   (S.Ct.)
            Published by West.
            Legal Reference:  KF101 .A322
 
United States Supreme Court Digest.   1754 to present.
Brief commentary on every point of law covered in decisions of the court.
Organized by subject and updated with pocket parts. Published by West.
Legal Reference:  KF101.1 .U55
 
Primary Sources  (Organized Chronology)
Federal Reporter.   1974-2000.  (parts of F.2d & F.3d are available.)
Covers opinions and decisions issued by the 13 circuits of the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
Legal Reference:  KF105 .F42

Federal Supplement 2d.   1975-2000.  (part of F.Supp.2d is available.)
Contains cases ruled upon in the U.S. District Courts.
Legal Reference:  KF105 .F432
 
West's Federal Practice Digest.   1975 to to present.  (3d and 4th)
Subject arrangement of cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, Court of Appeals,
district courts, Claims Court, bankruptcy courts, Court of Military Appeals,
the Courts of Military Review, and other federal courts.
Legal Reference:  KF105 .F432
 
American Law Reports.  (ALR, ALR 2d, ALR 3d, etc.,)
Research briefs written by attorneys about legal decisions handed down from many state and federal courts.
ALR is one of the broader secondary sources available.
Legal Reference:  ALR KF105 .A52 | ALR 2d KF105 .A53 2ND | ALR 3d KF105 .A54 3D
      ALR 4th KF105 .A55 L312 4th | ALR5th Ref. KF132 .A55 | ALR6th KF132.6 .A475
      ALR Fed. KF132.1 .A5 | ALR Index KF132.2 .A5 1999

Atlantic Reporter.   Vol 1, 1938 to Vol 748, 2000.   (Atl. and Atl.2d)
A regional case reporter that includes opinions and decisions from the courts of
CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, NH, NJ, PA, RI and VT.
Legal Reference:   KF135 .A72

Case Law, State

Primary Sources  (Organized Chronologically)

New Jersey Reports.   1948 to present.   (N.J.)
Decisions of the NJ Supreme Court listed in chronological order.
Legal Reference:  KFN1845 .A2

New Jersey Superior Court Reports.   1948 to present.   (N.J. Super.)
Decisions from the Superior Court of NJ, Appellate Division, Chancery Division,
Law Division and the County Courts are listed in chronological order.
Legal Reference:  KFN 1845 .A22

 

Secondary Sources  (Finding aids, organized by subject)

New Jersey Digest. (1st and 2d | Updated with pocket parts.)
Cases decided in the NJ courts, as well as all federal cases involving NJ.
Decisions are organized by subject and digests are available for every point of law covered in each.
Legal Reference:  KFN1838 .W4    (colonial times to 1954)
Legal Reference:  KFN1857 .W47   (2d: 1954 to date)

American Law Reports. (ALR, ALR 2d, ALR 3d, etc.,)
Research briefs written by attorneys about legal decisions handed down from many state and federal courts.
ALR is one of the broader secondary sources available.
Legal Reference:  ALR KF105 .A52 | ALR 2d KF105 .A53 2ND | ALR 3d KF105 .A54 3D
     ALR 4th KF105 .A55 L312 4th | ALR5th Ref. KF132 .A55 | ALR6th KF132.6 .A475
     ALR Fed. KF132.1 .A5 | ALR Index KF132.2 .A5 1999

Atlantic Reporter.   Vol 1, 1938 to Vol 748, 2000.   (Atl. and Atl.2d)
A regional case reporter that includes opinions and decisions from the courts of
CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, NH, NJ, PA, RI and VT.
Legal Reference:  KF135 .A72

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