James Madison University
Libraries and Educational Technologies

The range of legal resources available in the Carrier Library is quite large. This selective bibliography includes the major reference sources both within the Reference  Collection , Government Documents, and Periodicals as well as in electronic form. The sources below contain legal definitions, journal citations, laws, and court decisions. For  sources on the Web see  Law Internet Resources.

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Table of Contents

• Handbooks
• Directory
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Guides
• Journal Index
• Laws and Regulations
  • Federal Laws
  • Federal Regulations
  • State Laws
  • State Regulations
  • Local Laws
• Court Cases
  • Federal (Including Supreme Court)
    • Reports
    • Locating a Supreme Court or other Federal Court Case
  • State
  • Reports
  • Locating Appeals Court Cases for Various States
• Legal Abbreviations and References
• Outline of Legal Sources

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Handbooks

Guides to legal research, bibliography, sources, and methodology.

Prinece's Dictionary of Legal Citations. Prince, Mary Miles. William Hein and Company, 2006.
(Ref KF246 P73 2006)

Contains legal sources, bibliography and the "Blue Pages " from The Bluebook below..

A Uniform System of Citation. 16th edition. . Harvard Law School Association, 2005.
(Ref KF246 U5 2005)

A style manual for legal citation and a source list of abbreviations used in legal research. Also known as The Blue Book or Bluebook

Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations Used in American Law Books. William Hein and Company, 1985.
(Ref KF246 B46 1985)

Comprehensive list of abbreviations and their sources.Still relevant over twenty years later.

Effective Legal Research. Price, Miles O. and Harry Bitner. 1969.
(Ref KF240 P7)

(Reprint of 1953 edition) An in-depth treatment of research in law. It contains a "Bibliographical Manual," (p. 381ff) which is one of the best legal bibliographies available, to the edition date of 1953. The third edition (also published in 1969) is a condensed and revised edition for students, but lacks the bibliography.) These are classic works of legal bibliography still useful in locating older material not available online.

How to Find the Law. Cohen, Morris. West Publishing, 1989.
((Ref KF240 H6 1989)

Textbook on the methodology and resources of Legal research.

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Directory

Guides to names, addresses, and services.

Find a Lawyer. FindLaw.

A state-by-state listing of lawyers, law firms and the legal specialty (criminal, corporate, etc.) and rating of each.

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Dictionaries

These are sources of definitions for legal words and phrases.

Ballentine's Law Dictionary. Ballentine, James A.. Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., 1969.
(Ref KF164 B3 1969)

Definitions for the lay person and non-specialist.

 

 Black's Law Dictionary. Black, Henry Campbell. 8th edition. Thomson/West., 2004.
(Ref KF156 B53 2004)

A more scholarly treatment of legal terms than the above. Also contains the "Code of Professional Responsibility."

Bouvier's Law Dictionary.  William Hein and Co., 1914 (reprinted 1984).
(Ref KF156 B669 1914a)

Provides early 20th century definitions and can be used with case material of the same period.

 

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Encyclopedias

Sources of information on the scope of legal topics with reference to other sources such as statutes, court cases and law reviews.

Corpus Juris Secundum. (CJS) West Group, 1936- .
Ref KF154 C65

Exhaustive articles, arranged by subject, copiously footnoted, explain the various points of law involved in each topic covered. Principally covers American case law.

 

Virginia Forms. Michie Co.
Ref KFV2468 V3

A four volume set containing fill-in-the-blank forms for use in civil litigation, criminal law, and real estate in the State of Virginia.

 

Michie's Jurisprudence of Virginia and West Virginia. Michie Co., 1948- .
Ref KFV2465 M5

A encyclopedia of case and statutory law in Virginia and West Virginia.

West Encyclopedia of American Law. Thomson/Gale Co., 2005.
(Ref KF154 W47 2005)

Comprehensive coverage of the law for the lay person.

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Guides

Intended to serve as an overview, these are excellent sources to begin your research because the provide context and perspective.

 

American Justice. Salem Press, 1996 .
(Ref KF154 A44 1996 M5)

A highly readable encyclopedia of American law.  

 

An Introduction to the United States Legal System :Cases and Comments . Carolina Academic Press , 2006.
(Ref KF385.A4 B397 2006 )

Discusses landmark cases in American 

Magill's Legal Guide. Salem Press, 2000.
(Ref KF385 M35 2000)

Discusses legal concepts, cases, and significance in a nontechnical way.

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Journals

Lexis-Nexis Legal Research  
(Carrier Library Home Page: Research Databases and Resources)

Access to full text scholarly law review articles.

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Laws and Regulations

Laws or statutes are acts in the form they are passed by legislative bodies. Regulations are rules generated by administrative agencies. Codes are subject arrangements of laws in force or a similar arrangement for regulations.

Lexis-Nexis Legal Research
(Carrier Library Home Page: Research Databases)

Provides the full text of state and federal codes.

Federal Laws

 

"Slip laws of the United States."
(Reference Area: Locked Files)

All laws enacted by Congress as they are passed; in pamphlet form. Referenced by Public Law number. e.g. PL 94-142.

United States Statutes at Large. (STAT) U.S. Government Printing Office.
(REF KF50 U52)

A compilation of all laws enacted by Congress during a session. Also referenced by Public Law number, e.g. PL 94-142. Microfiche, 1789-1972 bound vols., 1971 (Vol. 87) - to date.

 

United States Code. (USC) U.S. Government Printing Office, 2006.
(REF KF62 2006 A2)

A compilation by subject of relevant laws in force in the United States. Also online, 1994 editions forward.

When the name of a specific law is known such as the Passport ServicesEnhancement Act of 2005 then go to the "Popular Names," volume of the United States Code which gives the following information: Pub. L. 109-167, Jan. 10, 2006, 117 Stat. 3578+ (22 U.S.C. 211a note)

These abbreviations are references to this particular law.

Pub. L. 105-277	This is not a location but simply a way to identify the law. Pub. L. is Public Law,  P.L.109 is the one hundredseventh Congress, the 167th law passed.
Jan. 10, 2005	Date the act was signed into law.
117 Stat.3578	United States Statutes at Large vol. 117, starting on page 3578
Title 22 U.S.C. 211a note	United States Code  Title 22 , section 211a in the footnote.

If the subject but not the name of the law is known it is best to consult the "General Index" of the U.S. Code  since this are arranged by broad topics. Laws may also be found in Lexis-Nexis Legal Research.

Federal Regulations

Federal Register   (FR) (Government Documents: Online via GPO Access)

The first phase of publication of rules of general application. Serves as a daily supplement to the Code of Federal Regulations . A microform version is available in Government Documents at AE 2.106. Also online, 1994 editions forward.

 

Code of Federal Regulations   (CFR)

           Government Documents AND Online via GPO Access)

This set is the cumulation of rules in force of federal administrative agencies, of general application, most of which were first published in the Federal Register . Also online, 1994 issues forward.

 

 

State Laws

Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia. 1962- .
(Virginia Documents)

Bound volumes covering all laws enacted by the General Assembly in any given session.

Code of Virginia. 1950- . Michie Co., 1949- .
(Ref KFV 2430 1950 A25)

An up-to-date compilation by subject of relevant laws in force in Virginia.

   

State Regulations

The Virginia Register Oct 1984-2003 . Va. Documents
(COD 3/R26)

Publication of rules of general application in Virginia. The monthly issues do not cumulate. Indexed each year. Currently online as The Virginia Register of Regulations.

Local Laws

The Code of the City of Harrisonburg, Virginia: the Charter and the General Ordinances. Municipal Code Corp., 1979. Updated on an irregular basis.
(REF: KFX1456 .H37 1979)

A compilation by subject of all ordinances in force in Harrisonburg.

The Code of the County of Rockingham, Virginia: the General Ordinances. Municipal Code Corp. 1991.
(REF: KFV2999.R7 A35 1988)

A subject compilation of all ordinances in force in Rockingham County.

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Court Cases

These are located in sources called "reports" or "reporters" which reproduce and sometimes annotate significant court decisions for selected appellate courts. Transcripts are not included. Digests are subject/case name indexes to reported cases and include brief summaries.

Lexis-Nexis Legal Research
(Carrier Library Home Page: Research Databases)

Provides the full text of state and federal cases .

Federal (Including Supreme Court)

 

Reports

United States Reports. (US) U.S. Government Printing Office, 1754- .
(Ref KF 101 U58)

The official report of Supreme Court decisions. The most recent decisions are to be found in the "Slip Opinions" in the Reference Area locked files. (Library has 1971, vol. 406 to date). Earlier volumes (prior to 1972) are on microfiche.

U.S. Law Week: Supreme Court 1974- .
(Ref KF 105 U54SC)(Most recent 5 years are in Reference)

"Proceedings of the Supreme Court -Summary of Orders of the Court - Cases Docketed and Summary of Cases Recently Filed - Calendar of Hearings scheduled and special articles on the Supreme Court's work, including summaries of arguments in important cases, periodical reports on cases argued and awaiting decision."

If the name of the case is known such as Bush v. Palm Beach County Cavassing Board then go to the alphabetical list of cases in the "Table of Cases" volumes of West's Federal Practice Digest which will give the following abbreviations: 99 SCT 2655, 433 US 76, 61 LEd2d 382.

These are references to the three sources which contain the text of that opinion.

1121 S. Ct. 471	Supreme Court Reporter Ignore this one. Carrier Library does not own it.
531 U.S. 70	United States Reports vol. 531, staring on page 70
148 L. Ed. 2d 366	United States Supreme Court Reports Ignore this one. Carrier Library does not own it

These are called "parallel citations" because they are references to the same case in three different or parallel sources. In instances where the case is federal but not Supreme Court the references will be to the Federal Reporter (F2d or F3d) or the Federal Supplement (FSupp) with the volume number given in front of the abbreviation and the starting page number after. Although Carrier Library does not have F2d and FSupp, cases in these two sources will be found in Lexis-Nexis Legal Research.

State

 

Reports

Virginia Court of Appeals Reports. (Va. App.) Commonwealth of Virginia, 1985- .
(Virginia Documents)

Reports opinions handed down in the Virginia Court of Appeals.

 

Legal Abbreviations and References

It is common practice in legal briefs and legal literature to use extensive abbreviations as a shorthand way of referring to sources. Normally the abbreviation for the source is in the middle preceded by the volume number and followed by the page such as 61 LEd2D 382 where LEd2d represents the U.S. Supreme Court Reports , volume 61, page 382. In the instance of various codes such as the U.S. Code , 2 USC 381 refers to title 2, section 381.

The following are abbreviations to legal resources.

ALR	American Law Reports
ALR Fed	American Law Reports Federal
AmJur2d	American Jurisprudence 2nd ed.
CFR	Code of Federal Regulations
CJS	Corpus Juris Secundum
F2d, F3d	Federal Reporter 2nd Series, 3rd Series
FR	Federal Register
FSupp	Federal Supplement
LEd2d	U.S. Supreme Court Reports. Lawyer's ed.
NE2d	Northeastern Reporter 2nd Series
PL	Public Law (not a source in and of itself)
SE2d	Southeastern Reporter 2nd Series
Stat	U.S. Statutes at Large
US	U.S. Reports
USC	U.S. Code
USCS	U.S. Code Service
Va	Virginia Reports
Va Cir	Va. Circuit Court Opinions

OTHER COMMON LAW REPORTER ABBREVIATIONS:

A & A2d	Atlantic Reporter
NW & NW2d	Northwestern Reporter
NY & NY2d	New York Reporter
NYS & NYS2d	New York Supplement
P & P2d	Pacific Reporter
S CT	Supreme Court Reporter
So & So2d	Southern Reporter
SW & SW2d	Southwestern Reporter

PLEASE CONSULT A REFERENCE LIBRARIAN FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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Outline of Legal Sources

Directory

Find a Lawyer. FindLaw.

Dictionaries

Ballentine's Law Dictionary (REF KF164 B3 1969)

Black's Law Dictionary (REF KF156 B53 1999)

Encyclopedias

Corpus Juris Secundum - CJS - REF KF154 C65

Virginia Forms REF  KFV2468 V3

Michie's Jurisprudence of Virginia and West Virginia REF KFV2465 M5

Journal Index

            Lexis-Nexis Legal Research

Laws and Regulations

United States Statutes at Large - STAT - (REF KF50 U52)

United States Code - USC - (REF KF62 1994 A2)

Federal Register  Available online via GPO Access.

Federal Register - FR - (Gov. Doc. Microfiche AE2.106)

Code of Federal Regulations - CFR - (Govt. Doc.)

Acts of Assembly (VA) (Virginia Documents)

Code of Virginia (REF KFV2430 1950 A25)

Virginia Register (Virginia Documents:  COD 3/R26) and

           The Virginia Register of Regulations

Federal Court Cases

Lexis-NexisLegal Research

United States Reports - US - (REF KF101 U58)

State Court Cases

Lexis-Nexis Legal Research

Virginia Reports - Va - (Virginia Documents)

Virginia Court of Appeals Report - Va App - (Virginia Documents)

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This page last reviewed by Gerald Gill on 04/08/2009