Core Law Databases
- Nexis Uni AcademicContains U.S. primary law for federal and the fifty states (court opinions, statutes), federal agency regulations, law reviews. Formerly Lexis Nexis Academic.
- ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new windowProvides access to bills, statutes, regulations, policies & issues, and legislative directories for the United States Congress. Includes full text of congressional reports, documents, prints, bills and the Congressional Record, as well as indexes to other congressional publications.
- govInfo This link opens in a new window
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowA general starting point for free, caselaw available on the Internet and to search for articles in legal journals available in HeinOnline, JStor and some other databases licensed by the University of Chicago Library.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowIncludes 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.
- Criminal Justice Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Basic Law Resources
- Sample Legal CitationsHow to read citations for cases, statutes and law review articles.
- Introduction to Basic Legal CitationBy Peter W. Martin
- Duhaime's Law DictionaryA freely-available legal dictionary.
- WexCornell Law School's collaborative legal dictionary and law encyclopedia.
- Martindale-Hubbell Law DirectoryA national directory of U.S. lawyers, searchable by name, geographic location, firm, etc. Includes information on areas of practice for attorneys and firms.
- The Bluebook : a uniform system of citationThe standard guide to legal citation in the United States.
- Black's Law DictionaryBryan A. Garner, editor in chief
The standard work for American law abbreviations and terminology.
Judicial/Court Resources
- Understanding the Federal CourtsThis 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 FinderAn interactive map which links to the official web sites of each of the Federal courts.
- State court web sitesThe National Center for State Courts (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 siteContains current opinions and archived opinions of the Illinois Supreme and Appellate courts.
- Nexis Uni AcademicContains judicial opinions from all federal and state courts. Formerly Lexis Nexis Academic.
Legislative/Statutory Law Resources
- United States CodeVia FDsys - The United States Code (U.S.C.) contains those laws of Congress currently in effect. It is arranged by subject.
- THOMASThis site tracks congressional legislation.
- Illinois Compiled StatutesThe Illinois General Assembly's Legislative Reference Bureau provides the compiled Illinois legislative code at the web site.
- Federal RulemakingThis 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.
- DLL State Law and Government Guideprovides a state by state listing of government web pages with sources of state law.
- Nexis Uni AcademicContains the United States Code and the legislative codes of all 50 states. Formerly LexisNexis Academic.
- ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Administrative Law Resources
- Federal RegisterIncludes all federal agency regulations and proposed regulations and all presidential documents.
- Code of Federal RegulationsCFR is a codification of all federal agency regulations currently in force
- United States Government ManualA directory of federal government agencies and officials.
- A to Z Index of Federal AgenciesA comprehensive listing of all federal departments and agencies.
- Illinois Administrative Code This link opens in a new windowThe Illinois Bar Association maintains this current compilation of Illinois agency regulations.
Homeland Security/Emergency Response/Disaster Management
- Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new window
- Ready IllinoisCitizen-focused emergency preparedness web site.
- Catastrophe : risk and response (E-BooK)by Richard A. Posner
Find a print copy in the Library - Homeland Security and Emergency Management : a legal guide for state and local governmentsErnest B. Abbott and Otto J. Hetzel, editors.
