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Free and Low-cost Online Legal Research

Free and Low-cost Online Legal Research. Tina S. Ching Reference Librarian. February 28, 2006. Real World Costs of Lexis and Westlaw… sort of. Access in Law School Billing Clients Overhead Costs Rate Increases Examples of Pricing. Pay versus Free. Search Function Annotations

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Free and Low-cost Online Legal Research

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  1. Free and Low-cost Online Legal Research Tina S. Ching Reference Librarian February 28, 2006

  2. Real World Costs of Lexis and Westlaw… sort of • Access in Law School • Billing Clients • Overhead Costs • Rate Increases • Examples of Pricing

  3. Pay versus Free • Search Function • Annotations • Lag Time • Information for your Clients • Not everything is online • Not everything can be bought

  4. Starting Points • Free sites that provide access or links to various types of legal information • Does not always have good searching capabilities • May need to register • May be owned by major publisher

  5. Starting Points - FindLaw Cases Codes News Links Forms Directory Jobs http://www.findlaw.com/

  6. Starting Points - lexisone Cases Codes News Links Forms Directory Jobs http://www.lexisone.com/

  7. Starting Points - LII Cases Codes News Links Directory http://www.law.cornell.edu/

  8. Starting Points - GPO Access Bills Regulations U.S. Code Public Laws Reports http://www.gpoaccess.gov/

  9. Cases • May be able to search multiple states at once • Date ranges of available cases vary • Keyword and Boolean searching may be available • May link to court’s website

  10. Cases - lexisone

  11. Cases - FindLaw Miranda “motion picture” near copyright

  12. Cases - Court Websites http://www.supreme.state.az.us/opin/ http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/

  13. Briefs • Briefs are not always available even with Westlaw • Supreme Court briefs are easier to find for free • Older briefs may only be available in print or microfiche

  14. Briefs http://curiae.law.yale.edu/ http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/resources.html

  15. Court Rules • Court Rules are free  But no annotations  • Check the court’s website for a link to court rules • May have to “register” to access information • Access may be through publisher (i.e. West)

  16. Court Rules - Arizona http://azrules.westgroup.com/home/azrules/default.wl

  17. Court Rules - Ninth Circuit

  18. Court Rules - Federal

  19. Statutes and Bills • Available for free! • No annotations • Not all info may be available • Older materials may not be available

  20. Statutes - U.S. Code http://uscode.house.gov/

  21. Statutes - Arizona http://www.azleg.state.az.us/

  22. Bills - G.P.O.

  23. Bills - Thomas http://thomas.loc.gov/

  24. Bills - Arizona

  25. Regulations • Federal Register has final rules and regulations, proposed rules and notices of administrative actions (such as hearings) • Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is an annual subject compilation of the rules and regulations

  26. Regulations - G.P.O. Access

  27. Regulations – Other Sources

  28. Regulations - Agency Web Site http://www.epa.gov/epahome/lawregs.htm

  29. Arizona Regulations http://www.azsos.gov/public_services/

  30. California Regulations http://www.oal.ca.gov/

  31. Washington Regulations http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/

  32. City Ordinances • Not always available in Print • Usually linked to City’s website

  33. Tempe City Code http://www.tempe.gov/citycode/

  34. Municode

  35. Secondary Sources • Mostly written for the public • Great for clients who want to do some research • Great for attorneys or students who want general information • Limited Information

  36. Secondary Sources - FindLaw

  37. Secondary Sources - Nolo http://www.nolo.com/

  38. Secondary Sources - ABA http://www.abanet.org/public.html

  39. Secondary Sources - State Bar http://www.azbar.org/LegalResources/brochures.cfm

  40. Low Cost Alternatives • More advanced search functions than free resources • Can search multiple databases at once • Access to more secondary resources • Do not expect Lexis or Westlaw

  41. Low Cost Alternatives - LoisLaw http://www.loislaw.com/

  42. http://www.thelaw.net/ http://www.itislaw.com/ https://www.fastcase.com/Corporate/Home.aspx http://www.versuslaw.com/ Other Low Cost Alternatives

  43. http://www.law.asu.edu/Library/researchguides Don’t Forget your Local Law Library • Access to paid databases usually only in the library • Westlaw Patron Access • Academic Universe • Congressional Universe • Research Guides often available online • Portals – links to free and subscription databases

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