U.S. Constitution
- The Constitution of the United StatesThe Libraries' comprehensive guide to resources on the U.S. Constution
Federal Statutes
A statute is the law as passed by the U.S. Congress, a State Legislature, or local government. At the local level statutes are often called ordinances. In most cases, statutory laws are published in 2 forms: a chronological form — exactly as passed by the legislature and a codified form in which the laws are arranged by topic and all superseded and repealed laws are removed.
Sources of statutory laws include:
Federal Laws
Chronological Versions
- U.S. Statutes at Large (HeinOnline)From 1789-2011. With a link out to FDsys at the Government Publishing Office (GPO) for more recent laws
- Public and Private Laws (from GPO)Chronological from 1995- to date.
United States Statutes at LargeCall Number: Paterno - 2nd Floor - Reference CollectionPublication Date: 1789-to dateChronological version of the Statutes
Codified Laws
- Westlaw Campus Research - Law This link opens in a new windowSearch the U.S. Code Annotated in Westlaw Campus. Listed under statutes and Court Rules
- United States Code Service (Nexis Uni)Click on advanced search options to select just the code. Kept up to date with most recent legislation. Annotated with links to relevant case law, regulations, and historical notes. Available to Penn State Users only
- United States Code (from FDsys)Official version from the Government Printing Office. Republished in its entirity every 6 years with annual supplements
- United States Code (HeinOnline)Official version available to Penn State users only
- United States Code Annotated (West Publishing)Call Number: : Research Hub Reference Collection, 2nd floor Paternocodification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. Obsolete text is removed. Annotated version by West Publishing includes notes on relevant cases, statutory history, related regulations, etc. Kept up to date with pocket parts
Federal Administrative Law
The Executive Branch, federal departments and agencies, are charged with developing regulations to enforce statutes passed by congress. These regulations are referred to as regulatory or administrative law. Like statutes administrative regulations are published in a daily chronological version (the Federal Register) and in a codified version (Code of Federal Regulations).
- ProQuest Regulatory Insight 1936-2016 This link opens in a new windowSearch the Federal Register and CFR by keyword or public law number, executive order numbers, etc. to retrieve a "regulatory history".
Federal Register (FR)
- Federal Register (FR)Official version of the daily publication of new and proposed rules from the U.S. Government Publishing Office.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
- Code of Federal Regulations (Annual Edition)Search the official annual editions of the CFR back to 1996.
- CFR in Nexis UNIUp to date version of the CFR.
- Code of Federal Regulations via HeinOnlineCollection of CFR volumes back to 1938. PDFs.
Federal Courts and Case Law
About the federal courts
- Administrative Office of the U.S. CourtsPrimary website for information on the organization and operations of the federal court system.
Key Databases
- Westlaw Campus Research - Law This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive database of resources for researching U.S. Law.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowPrimary database for Penn State faculty, staff and students to access case law at both the federal and state level.
- U.S. Law WeekPart of the BNA Law Resources suite of database, this is an excellent source for monitoring developing case law across federal and state courts.
U.S. Supreme Court
- Supreme Court of the United StatesThe official website. Includes opinions (1991-to date), briefs, and oral arguments.
Keeping up with the Court
- Supreme Court PreviewDescriptions of upcoming cases before the Supreme Court. From The College of William and Mary. School of Law.
- Preview of United States Supreme Court CasesFrom the American Bar Association.
- SCOTUS BlogA helpful resource for the latest information from the Supreme Court.
Records, Briefs, Oral Arguments
- U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs This link opens in a new windowFull-text searching of court documents from 1832 to 1978
- OyezListen to oral arguments.
Analysis
- Supreme Court Yearbook This link opens in a new windowExcellent summaries of supreme court cases from 1989 on.
- Congressional Research Service Reports related to the SCOTUSCRS produces scholarly reports on topics of interest to Congress. HeinOnline has collected reports related to the Supreme Court in one place.