Legal Resources

Government Information by Subject

Legal Resources

Hilton M. Briggs Library holds many sources for law and law-related information. These include primary law, such as federal and state constitutions, federal and South Dakota laws and codes, and the decisions of court cases from United States, federal, and state supreme courts. The library also has major secondary sources such as legal encyclopedias, indexes to legal periodicals, and treatises. The library is a depository for United States and South Dakota government documents, and holds many federal and state documents related to the law.

All three branches of the federal government produce law. The Legislative branch (Congress)

produces statutory law; the Executive branch produces administrative law, or rules and regulations; and the Judiciary produces case law, which often interprets statutory law.

Legal Citations:

American Bar Association: Universal Citation Guide (Draft)

Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation

Reference KF245 .B58

LexisNexis Academic: Legal: Citation Help

Martin, P. Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (LII 2007 ed.).

	Cornell University Law School.

Administrative Law:

Code of Federal Regulations- Regulations in force

Government Documents AE 2.106/3:

Federal Register - Federal agencies are required to publish all new

and proposed regulations in the Federal Register (FR).

Government Documents/Microfilm GS 4.107: (v. 38-50)

Government Documents AE 2.106: (v. 51-)

Public papers of the presidents of the United States

Books/Upper Level J 80 .A283

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents - The publication which

includes proclamations, statements, regulations, messages, etc., issued

by the President.

Government Documents AE 2.109:

Judicial Law:

Federal Judicial Center - The research and education agency for federal

courts provides resources on operations, procedures, history, and

educational materials for judges and court employees.

Oyez: U.S. Supreme Court Multimedia - Listen to recordings of all

Supreme Court oral arguments from 1995 to the present. Case abstracts, information about Supreme Court justices, Court news, and other

features are all available on the site. Sponsored by Northwestern University.

United States Reports

Government Documents Ju 6.8:

United States Supreme Court - The highest court of the United States

web site provides links to the docket, opinions, briefs, rules, and guides

for legal professionals and the public.

Legislative Law:

CQ Weekly - Newsletter that reports congressional action. Includes a

listing of public laws and a brief history of each law.

Information Desk 328.73 C764 Latest edition

GPO Access - Search and retrieve Legislative, Executive, and Judicial

information from the US Government Printing Office

LexisNexis Congressional - A subscription-based resources that provides

indexing and abstracting of publications of the U.S. Congress from 1970

to the present. Includes hearing transcripts and submitted testimony, c

ommittee reports, bills and bill tracking, congressional documents, and

electronic access to the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations,

U.S. Code, and public laws.

United States Statutes at Large - This is the official permanent publication

of all laws. This is the source to consult when you want to see the law

exactly as it was passed. The library also receives Slip Laws, or advance s

heets, until receipt of the bound volume.

Government Documents AE 2.111: (1985-)

Government Documents GS 4.111: (1949-85)

Government Documents S 7.9: (1789-1948)

United States Code - The official compilation by the government of all

the laws as they are in force/effect. Organized in a subject arrangement.

Government Documents Index Table Y 1.2/5:

State of South Dakota:

Legislative Research Council - This comprehensive South Dakota

Legislative Research site provides access to session bills, SD Codified

Law, Administrative Rules, elected legislators, and guides to legislative

research.

    Administrative Rules of South Dakota

    Legal/Main Level KFS3036 1978 A26

    Session Laws

    (current session linked from Legislative Research Council main page)

    South Dakota Codified Laws

Unified Judicial System

South Dakota Circuit Courts

South Dakota Supreme Court

South Dakota Public & Legal Notices

Local Resources:

Brookings City Code of Ordinances

Legal Reference Books:

Agricultural law manual [CD-ROM]

Reserve KF1682 .H382

American dictionary of criminal justice

Reference HV7411 .C48 2005

The American Law Dictionary

Reference KF156 .R46 1991

American law yearbook.
Reference KF154 .W472
       
Black's law dictionary. 
Reference KF156 .B53 1999

The bluebook : a uniform system of citation.  
Reference KF245 .B58 Latest ed.

Congress and law-making : researching the legislative process

Reference KF240 .G63 1989
       
The constitutional law dictionary 
Reference KF4548.5 .C47 1985       
           
Consumer's guide to South Dakota law. 
Reference KFS3081 .C66 1996

Copyright law on campus

KF3030.1 .L56 2003
            
Deskbook encyclopedia of American school law. 
Reference KF4114 .D46 Latest ed.

A dictionary of modern legal usage 
Reference KF156 .G367 1995

Dictionary of environmental legal terms
Reference KF3775.A68 L44 1997

Dictionary of American criminal justice : key terms and major

Supreme Court cases

Reference HV7411 .C53 1998
     
Digest of motor laws. 
Reference HE5623.A5 A5d Latest ed.
       
Documents of American constitutional & legal history  
Reference KF4502 .D635 1989

Education law

Reference KF4115 .R36
      
Historic U.S. court cases, 1690-1990 : an encyclopedia
Reference KF385.A4 J64 1992      
      
The international law dictionary

Reference JX1226 .B57 1987

Landmark decisions of the United States Supreme Court 
Reference KF4549 .L37

Law dictionary for non-lawyers
Reference KF156 .O7 1985
      
Legal information : how to find it, how to use it 
Reference KF240 .O365 1999

South Dakota rules of evidence : a trial book for attorneys

Reference KFS3540 .S68

Legal Databases & Internet Sources:

GPO Access

FindLaw.com

Law Library of Congress
LexisNexis Academic Legal Research  (Library database)

LexisNexis Congressional (Library Database)

USA.gov

Documents Home

This guide is only an introduction to locating government materials.
For more in-depth information or for assistance in using these sources, contact the

Government Documents Department.

Vickie Mix, Documents Librarian
Telephone: (605) 688-5958

8 April 2008