Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought 30:
Law, Speech and the Politics of Freedom
Professor Umphrey
Spring 2008
Fulltext Legal Databases:
The Library subscribes to two high powered fulltext legal databases, which include many appellate courts and a smaller percentage of trial court decisions. They both are fulltext and include federal and state appelate cases, some briefs, and some statuatory law (codes). They also have law reviews, which can be a good way to get an overview of a legal topic. Supreme Court decisions go back to 1790.
STRENGTHS:
L-N has an amazingly powerful word search engine. It allows you to look for synonyms, which is very helpful since language changes over time. In addition, you can search for relationships between words (w/p means within the same paragraph, w/100 is within 100 words, etc.) The "Case in Brief" feature (when available) is terrific. L-N also has a very extensive collection of newspapers, mostly 1970 onwards, which can also provide coverage of trials and legislation.
TIPS:
- To find a case by name or citation: Use a name section search to retrieve cases when you know the parties's names. For example, take the following steps to retrieve NEA v. Finley:
- Select the tab labeled "Power Search"
- Click the radio button in front of "Terms and Connectors."
- Type name (arts and finley) in the Enter Search Terms box.
- Select "Federal and State Cases, Combined" from the Select Sources drop-down list.
- Select the date restriction, especially when the names are common (lawrence and texas, for example)
- Click the Search button.
- To find a case by topic, follow all the steps above except instead of name, enter words : (free! w/2 speech) w/100 internet, for ex.
- If you retrieve a lot of cases or articles, try switching to Expanded List instead of the default List to more quickly skim for relevance (it takes you to your search term in the case, and a few words on either side)
- Try switching to relevance as a sort, instead of the default of date, when you have a lot of hits.
- Once you find a case, check out the "Case in Brief"($ -- we pay, you don't have to!) Time-saving, comprehensive research tool. Includes expanded summary, extensive research and analysis, and links to LexisNexis content and available court documents."
- Click on the image next to the case name to explore the treatment of the case, citations in law reviews, etc.
Westlaw Campus (NOTE: To access, you must accept the agreement by clicking at the bottom of the screen to enter the database.)
STRENGTHS:
Westlaw is terrific when you want to see the history and status of a case -- what court it came from, whether it has been overturned by a higher court, etc. It also has an easier interface when you have a citation, and just want to find a known case. If you want an overview of an area of law, Westlaw has the legal encyclopedia American Jurisprudence (for example, see entry for Freedom of Speech) and ALR.
Finding Articles -- Other Library Databases:
- Academic Search Premier and Expanded Academic Interdisciplinary databases from thousands of journals in the social sciences and humanities -- many fulltext.
- CSA Political Science Abstracts
- MLA International Bibliography Critical scholarship on literature, language, and linguistics.
- Hein Online Fulltext database of over 200 law reviews going back to the first volume of each title. Searchable by keyword, author, citation, etc.
- IBSS (International Bibliography of the Social Sciences)
- Philosopher's Index -- Good resource for political and legal theory.
Print Resources -- Not Available Online
- Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States KF 101.9 L3
- Black's Law Dictionary Ref KF 156 B53
- Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations KF 246 B46
Online Reference Sources:
- Oxford Reference: Law : Good overview of key concepts, cases.
- Oxford Reference: Political and Social Science
- Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Useful explanations of cultural theory terms.
- Oxford English Dictionary Premier source on the history of English words.
Other Legal Sources (Free) on the Internet:
- Oyez -- Includes audio files of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. Currently back through 1980, working back to 1955.
- Wex -- an online lexicon from Cornell's Legal Information Institute. It answers questions like "What does stares decisis mean"?
Citing Sources
Be sure to credit the sources you use for a research project -- whether court cases, printed books, online articles, websites, etc. Documentation Guidelines: Citing Sources Within Your Paper and Basic Legal Citation (2006 ed.) are some places to start. The reference desk has additional citation manuals, and people available to help.Questions about research in this course? Contact Susan Edwards (email: seedwards, x2676).