Legal Resources at RIT Library
RIT Library maintains a collection of primary and secondary legal sources
for research. Most of these sources are available in Wallace in
paper form. If the source is available electronically this will
be noted. Laws, Regulations and Case Law are available on site for
New York State and the United States only. Use LexisNexis or Westlaw
for other state laws and cases. State regulations are not on LexisNexis
but are on Westlaw.
Primary Sources
Primary sources are those sources which are the actual text of
laws, regulations and cases.
Laws
Film 1539 1824-1995; LexisNexis 1985- ; GPO
Access on the Web 1994-
Congressional Record.
Verbatim text of U. S. House and Senate floor debates, amendments
to bill text proposed on the floor and votes on the bills. Published
daily.
REF KF62.A3W44 1964- ; on Westlaw by citation but not on LexisNexis
U. S. Code, Congressional & Administrative News. (USCCAN)
Text of U.S. laws as passed in order by P.L.(Public Law) or Stat.(Statutes at Large) citation.
These are followed by their Legislative History, ie, committee/conference reports and background information.
Each Congress has two sessions. Updated by pamphlets. Cumulative volumes published at end of session.
REF KFN5025.N48 1986-
N.Y. CLS: NY Statutes - Session Laws.
Text of N. Y. laws as passed in order by Chapter number. Updated by pamphlets. Cumulative volumes published at end of session.
REF KFN5025.M3 1968-1985
McKinney's Session Laws of New York.
Earlier years of above, published by West Publ. Co.
REF KF62 1972.L38 current code; Westlaw and LexisNexis current code, GPO
Access on the Web current code
United States Code Service. (USCS)
Text of U.S. laws by broad subjects (Titles), subdivided by chapters and sections.
Each section of law is followed by a history of the action on that section,
references to relevant regulations, court decisions and secondary sources.
Updated by pocket parts. Volume is reissued incorporating all changes, when
pocket parts become too big. Separate yearly subject indexes and popular
name tables are published.
REF KFN5030 1976.A23 current edition; Westlaw and LexisNexis current statutes,
Laws of New York or Findlaw
on the web
N.Y.CLS Annotated Statutes with Forms. (NY chapter title)
Text of N.Y. laws by broad subjects (Chapters), subdivided by articles and sections.
Each section of law is followed by a history of that section, related research
sources, court decisions and any practical forms relevant to that section.
Updated by pocket parts. Volume is reissued incorporating all changes, when
pocket parts become too big. Separate yearly subject indexes are published.
Regulations
Not available in Wallace in print form; Westlaw and LexisNexis 1980- ; GPO
Access on the Web 1994-
Federal Register. (FR)
Text of new and ammended U.S. rules and regulations, proposed regulations, and
legal notices of federal agencies, including announcements of contracts and
grants available, requests for information and scheduled meetings. Published
daily.
REF KF70.A3 current code; Westlaw & LexisNexis current code; GPO
Access on the Web current code
Code of Federal Regulations. (CFR)
Annual compilation by subject of text of all U. S. rules and regulations created
to administer certain laws. Subjects (Titles) are subdivided by chapters, subchapters,
parts and sections. The Authority (law authorizing the creation of these regulations)
is given and the Federal Register citation for when the regulation went into
effect. Volumes are replaced by an updated volume on a rotating schedule. There
is a separate index volume.
REF KFN5005.N49 current edition; on Westlaw but not available on LexisNexis
Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of New York. (NYCRR)
Loose-leaf compilation by subject of regulations created by the state agencies
and departments and filed with the Department of State. There is a separate
index volume.
Court Decisions
REF KF101.A313 1790- ; on Westlaw 1945- & LexisNexis 1790- ; thru Findlaw
on the web from 1893-
United States Supreme Court Reports - Lawyer's Edition. (L.Ed. & L.Ed 2d)
Text of cases argued and decided in the U.S. Supreme Court. There are two series.
L. Ed. covers 1790-1955 and L. Ed. 2d covers 1956-date. Annotations include
references to governing law (USCS) or agency (CFR) and any related court decisions.
There are interpretive essays and summaries by opposing lawyers, if written,
in the back of each volume. There is also a subject index and table of cases in each volume.
The index to the whole set is the "Supreme Court Digest" (REF KF127.D5). This is a
multi-volume subject index, updated by pocket parts. There is a several volume word
index and a several volume table of cases.
INDEX KF132.A47 and following 3 series thru 2000; on Westlaw (includes also
ALR 2nd) but none on LexisNexis
American Law Reports (ALR Fed; ALR 3rd; ALR 4th; ALR 5th)
This is a combination primary and secondary source. This includes the text of
"significant" U.S. Supreme Court cases and an accompanying encyclopedic essay
on its significance. The first set is called ALR Federal. RIT Library does
not own ALR 2d, but does own the 3rd, 4th & 5th or current series. The ALR Index
is a 6 volume word index to the series. There is also an ALR Digest which is
an encyclopedic index to subjects in ALR.
REF KFN5045.A333 1938- ; on Westlaw 1945- and LexisNexis 1880-
New York Supplement, 2nd Series. (NYS 2d)
Text of decisions from all levels of New York courts which were selected for
inclusion. Citations include parallel references to state publications.
Subject index in the back of each volume. The index to the whole set is "West's
New York Digest", 3rd (REF KFN5057.A2 1961-1978) and 4th (REF KFN 5070.A2 1979-date).
These are multi-volume topical indexes updated by pocket parts. There are
word index and table of cases volumes for both.
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources are sources which discuss or explain a primary source. These
can include treatises, encyclopedias, handbooks, monographs and journal articles.
Some selected sources are listed below.
REF KF154.A42 and on Westlaw
American Jurisprudence 2d. (AmJur 2d)
Multi-volume set which provides a non-critical, modern text statement of
American law arranged under more than 430 topics. These discussions are
supported by controlling cases that interpret and construe the law. Cases are
summarized and cited in footnotes. Updated by pocket parts. There is also a
several volume word index.
REF KFN5065.N48
New York Jurisprudence 2d. (NY Jur 2d)
Same format as American Jurisprudence, only covering New York law.
Also updated by pocket parts and having a multi-volume word index.
INDEX K33.C87 1986-2001
Current Law Index.
Index to journal articles covering law and criminal justice.
INDEX K9.N32 1958-1985; Available on FirstSearch 1981-
Index to Legal Periodicals.
Print index to journal articles for years earlier than above set. Current online.
REF KF154 .W47 1998 plus yearbooks
West's encyclopedia of American law.
12 volume encyclopedia to topics in law updated with yearbooks covering current
topics.
REF JK1.C65 last 3years; current issues on Current Magazine Shelves; earlier
years in PER area
Congressional Digest.
Each monthly issue is devoted to one particular topic. The historical context
and excerpts from pro and con Congressional floor debates are included.
REF JK1.C15 current year; prior years on FILM 1537
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports.
Weekly summary of what is happening in Congress, with 6 month and yearly indexes.
Finding Aids
There are several tools that are useful in finding cases, laws and regulations.
Most of the sets of primary source material listed above have a volume which is a
guide to the set. Other selected aids are listed below.
REF KF245.U5 2000
The Bluebook: a Uniform System of Citation.
Contains "general standards of citation and style to be used throughout legal
writing and specific rules of citation for cases, statutes, books, periodicals,
foreign and international materials."
REF J9.5.G37 1993
The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources: a manual
for writers & librarians.
How to set up bibliographic entries for all kinds of government documents.
Includes a chapter on citing electronic formats of government sources.
REF KF156 .B53 1999
Black's Law Dictionary.
For looking up that legal term that you don't understand.
REF KF240.J32 1994
Fundamentals of Legal Research.
Considered a "basic text for students learning to do legal research." Extensive
coverage, explanation, and examples of the sources in this guide and many more
not available in RIT Library.
REF KF80.S5
Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Name: Federal and State.
Compilation of popular names by which federal and state acts and cases have
been referred. The official statute reference or case name and citation are
given.
Directories
REF KF5406.A15F4 current edition
Federal Regulatory Directory.
Contains an overview of the history and purpose of each agency, along with
contact information. Included is a list of laws administered by each agency.
REF JK421.A3 current edition
United States Government Manual.
Overview of U.S. government, giving purpose of department or agency,
organization, personnel, and contact information.
REF JK3430.N46 current edition
New York State Directory.
Contact information for all state departments and related agencies. Includes
information on political parties, lobbies and political action committees in
New York.
Compiled by Linda
Coppola
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