HOW TO FIND BACKGROUND MATERIAL ON LAWS & COURT CASES

Most materials in the Government Information & Law Department consist of the actual texts of laws and court decisions, rather than summaries or analytical material. Most of the online titles listed below can be accessed through the library web page, Research by Subject, Government under the Indexes or Online Texts tabs.

GENERAL

West’s Encyclopedia of American Law. Gov’t & Law Ref KF 154 .W47 1998 v.1-12

Short articles on legal topics and major laws and court decisions. Use index volume to find specific topics and laws. Index volume also includes a Table of Cases Cited section to find mentions of specific court cases.

Oxford Companion to American Law. King Ref KF 154 .O94 2002

Major cases and laws may be mentioned in relevant subject entries.

LAWS

CQ Almanac. King Reference JK 1 .C66 (Gov’t & Law Ref also has 1966- , same call number)

In-depth annual review of Congress’ activities, including overview and background on major laws.

CQ Weekly Online, 1983-. http://library.cqpress.com/cqweekly/

Weekly coverage of congressional activities.

Major Acts of Congress. King Ref KF 154 .M35 v.1-3

LexisNexis Congressional. (Library web page, Research by Subject, Government)

“Legislative Histories” menu options in the “Laws” category identifies congressional committee hearings, reports, and debate for individual laws since 1970.

COURT CASES

Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court. Gov’t & Law Ref KF 8742 .W567 1997 v.1-2

Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions. King Ref KF 4548 .O97 1999

The Supreme Court Yearbook. 1989/90- . King KF 8742 .S955 (Latest in King Reference)

U.S. Constitution Annotated. Gov’t & Law US Ref Serial Set 14152 (Beginning of US Ref area)

Extensive commentary on each article and amendment of the Constitution with references to Supreme Court decisions.

United States Law Week. Gov’t & Law – Law K 25 .N47

General law volume summarizes significant cases and legal news each week. Supreme Court volume includes articles previewing the upcoming term and reviewing the previous term. Index at the end of each volume. There is no overall index. Covers 1966- .

BOOKS, JOURNALS & NEWSPAPERS

LexisNexis Legal Research. Library web page, Research by Subject, Government.

Law reviews (journals) are the default search setting. See also Legal News sources by choosing the "Sources" tab. Click on the "Legal News" category, scroll to the titles beginning "Legal News" to select group files. Approximate coverage is 1980’s on.

LexisNexis News (Guided Search). Library web page, Research by Subject, Newspaper

Full text general news sources. Approximate coverage is 1980’s on.

Hein Online. Library web page, Research by Subject, Government

Full text, historical runs of law journals.

New York Times Historical. Library web page, Research by Subject, Newspaper

Covers 1851- .

Library Catalog

The King reference and book collection contain many books on constitutional law, on the Supreme Court, and on other specific law topics that may discuss major laws and court decisions. Check the library catalog for these. (For example, books on constitutional law will often discuss Supreme Court cases).

Journal Article Indexes

Journal articles also discuss law topics and major decisions. Select Research by Subject from the MiamiLINK home page. Besides the "Law" subject area, many other subject areas may be relevant. Consider "General Periodical," “Political Science,” “Historical Catalogues,” “History,” and any field that may be affected by the decision or law such as "Education" or "Communication." Search any indexes listed under these topics.