Legal Research
Basic legal research skills include finding cases, statutes, regulations, and secondary sources.
Secondary sources are often a good place to start because they give you an overview and cite primary sources, which are then easier to find.
Photo: Reference Area
Secondary Sources
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Books for NonlawyersBooks aimed at nonlawyers can provide a good entry to legal topics.
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Congressional Research Service ReportsReports and studies from a division of the Library of Congress.
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Legal Dictionaries [Gallagher Law Library]U.S. legal dictionaries (general and specialized), historical dictionaries (want to know how dictionaries defined your term when a statute was drafted?), bilingual and multilingual legal dictionaries.
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Secondary SourcesOverview of legal secondary sources, including treatises, study aids, periodical articles, encyclopedias, and American Law Reports.
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SSRN [Gallagher Law Library]The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is an open-access repository where authors can post papers and researchers can find and download them.
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Statistics for Law & Policy [Gallagher Law Library]Selective list of statistics sources.
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Staying Current [Gallagher Law Library]Resources include newsletters, blogs, online alerts.
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Study Aids for Law Students [Gallagher Law Library]Books and other materials related to law school classes and law school success.
Constitutions
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U.S. Constitution & Related SourcesResearch guide. Includes material for history of the Constitution (e.g., Federalist Papers).
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Washington State Constitution Research [Gallagher Law Library]Materials include The Journal of the Washington State Constitutional Convention, 1889, law review articles, and newspaper articles from 1889. Links to state constitutions that influenced Washington's framers.
Cases
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Court ReportersFederal, state, and regional reporters. Digests.
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Judicial Branch PublicationsFederal court publications. Focus on free online or UW-restricted resources.
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Other States' Primary Law SourcesPrimary law from states other than Washington.
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Court Briefs & Oral ArgumentsLibrary holdings and online sources for U.S. Supreme Court, 9th Circuit, Washington Supreme Court, and Washington Court of Appeals briefs and oral arguments.
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Tribal Court DecisionsPart of the Indian & Tribal Law guide.
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Civil ProcedureIncludes sources for the rules and rule history. Also: treatises, forms, practice materials.
Statutes & Legislation
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U.S. (Federal) Laws
United States Code and U.S. Statutes at Large. -
Legislative ProcessIncludes bill drafting, lobbying, and statutory interpretation.
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Finding Washington State Laws [Gallagher Law Library]Includes Revised Code of Washington, prior codes, session laws.
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Washington State Legislative HistoryIncludes print sources as well as free and commercial online sources.
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Other States' Primary Law SourcesPrimary law from states other than Washington.
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50-State / Multi-Jurisdiction SurveysProvides information on resources to find laws from multiple states or jurisdictions on a particular legal issue.
Regulations & Administrative Materials
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U.S. Administrative Law Research
Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Agency Decisions. -
Washington State Administrative LawRegulatory process, Washington Administrative Code (WAC), Washington State Register, agency decisions.
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Professional ResponsibilityIncludes Rules of Professional Conduct, ethics opinions, treatises.
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Washington Attorney General OpinionsThis guide discusses how to find Attorney General opinions on the constitutional or legal questions relating to the duties of state officers.
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Washington Governor's Executive Orders & Related DocumentsExecutive orders, directives, proclamations.