Sources for the Study of U.S. Law
Once a bill is passed into law, it is first published as an unbound pamphlet known as a "slip law". It is given a U.S. Statutes at Large citation and a U.S. Code classification. The Statutes at Large provides a permanent collection of the laws of each session of Congress in bound volumes chronologically arranged exactly as enacted (and the Amherst College has a complete run in Robert Frost Library at call number xKF 50. U52) . The U.S. Code contains a consolidation and codification of U.S. law arranged by subject, and the AC Library only keeps the current code - to see the historic law as passed, you need to use the Statutes at Large. If you have only the popular name of an act you can look it up in Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names (in Robert Frost Library, Reference Dept. at call number KF 90 S52 REF) and find the Statutes at Large citation. Also, Cornel University Law School provides a very useful index of some Popular Names of Acts in the US Code that gives the Statutes at Large and the U.S. Code citation. For more information on the legislative process, see How Our Laws Are Made.
- University of Michigan Government Documents Center
- "...a central reference and referral point for information at all levels of government as well as statistical data."
- State Legal Sources on the Web
- A list maintained by Grace York, Coordinator, Documents Center at The University of Michigan Library.
- Congressional Universe
- Fulltext of laws, bills, and regulations. Dates vary; some go back to 1969 (available through Amherst College subscription).
- United States Code
- Searchable online version at the web site of the U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel.
- United States Code
- Searchable online version at GPO Access (the U.S. Government Printing Office web site).
- Legislative Branch Resources
- via GPO Access (the U.S. Government Printing Office web site).
- United States Code (with supplements)
- In R. Frost Library, Reference Dept. at call number: KF 62 .A2 REF
- United States Code Annotated (with supplements)
- In R. Frost Library: KF 62.5 W5
- United States Statutes at Large
- Volume 1, 1789 to present in R. Frost Library at call number: xKF 50 .U52
- Statutes at Large are updated by "Slip Laws"
- In R. Frost Library, Reference Dept. at call number: KF 50 .U52 REF
- Congressional Bills - 103rd Congress (1993/1994) to present
- To find materials such as hearings and reports, see the Congressional Publications at Amherst College page on this site.
- McKinney, Richard J. Federal Legislative History Documents: Listings of Electronic Sources with Years/Congresses Available; last updated Nov. 2006.
- A compilation (PDF file) of federal legislative history on the web site of the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C.
Judicial
- Understanding the Federal Courts
- A publication of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. A PDF version is also available.
Supreme Court
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Official web site of the court -- current decisions, some transcripts of oral arguments, etc.
- HeinOnline
- 1754 to present (Amherst College subscription).
- LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe
- 1790 to present (Amherst College subscription).
- Westlaw Campus
- (Amherst College subscription).
- Supreme Court Collection
- At a web site maintained by Cornell University Law School. Decisions, from 1989 to the present, are divided into three parts: syllabus, majority opinion, dissent. New decisions are posted within 24 hours.
- Supreme Court Decisions
- A database of the Supreme Court decisions since 1893 at Findlaw.com.
- U.S. Supreme Court Decisions at GPO Access, a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office.
- Decisions from 1937-1975
Decisions from 1992-2000. - United States Reports
- Volume 1 (1790) to the present. In R. Frost Library at call number: KF 101 .A212
- West's Supreme Court Reporter
- Volume 42 (1921) to the present. In R. Frost Library at call number: KF 101 .A322
- Curiae project
- NOTE: "The Curiae project is currently under construction."
- Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Selected cases from 1793 to the present. In R. Frost Library at call number: KF 101. L3
- Oyez Project
- "...a multimedia archive devoted to the Supreme Court of the United States and its work. It aims to be a complete and authoritative source for all audio recorded in the Court since the installation of a recording system in October 1955."
Courts of Appeal
- LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe
- U.S. Courts of Appeal 1789 to date (Amherst College subscription).
- Westlaw Campus
- U.S. Courts of Appeal 1789 to date (Amherst College subscription).
- Cases and Codes
- A searchable database of resources and links for both state and federal laws Findlaw.com
- West's Federal Reporter
- Volume 1 (1880) to the present (with some gaps). In R. Frost Library at call number: KF 105 .F42
District Courts
- West's Federal Supplement
- Amherst College has: 720-999; ser.2:1-86 (Call number: KF 120 F4). This resource is housed at the Amherst College Depository. Use the Depository Request Form to ask for a particular volume to be brought to Frost Library for your research.
- LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe
- Covers 1789 to the present (Amherst College subscription).
- Westlaw Campus
- Covers 1789 to the present (Amherst College subscription).
Presidential
Proclamations and Executive Orders
- Presidential Executive Orders
- From the official web site of the White House.
- Executive Orders Disposition Tables Index
- Maintained by the National Archives, the Disposition Tables list the status of Executive Orders beginning with those signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 8, 1937.
- Code of Federal Regulations
- Maintained by GPO Access, a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office, a searchable version of The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) - "the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government." Covers 1996 through the current year
- Federal Register
- Volume 19 (1954) - Volume 25 (1960) in microcard;
Volume 48 to the present on microfiche at sudoc numbers GS 4.107: and AE 2.106
All microform resources are located on Level 2 in R. Frost Library. - Code of Federal Regulations, Title 3
- The College maintains the current version only. It is available on microfiche at sudoc number AE2.106/3, on Level 2 in R. Frost Library.
- Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
- Volume 1 (1965) to the present. In R. Frost Library at call number: J 80. A284
- Public Papers of the President
- Arranged by presidental term in chronological order, beginning with President Hoover. In R. Frost Library at call number: J 80 .A283
- Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
- A searchable database maintained by GPO Access, a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office, covering 1991 to the present.