How to Search for Primary Legal Sources: Laws, Codes, Regulations, Opinions
Nearly all law sites are arranged in two categories (laws and court opinions) and then by jurisdictional level of the laws or court opinions. So ensure you know what you want before you start:
I want a law, code, or regulation.
Write down your topic Eg. nursing standards of practice
What jurisdictional level of legislative body do you want the law, code or regulation from? Professional, State or Federal body?
Is this state-regulated or is it federal? Can you find it on the website of a professional organization or regulator? Do you need to look at legal sites for this information?
Which Primary Resource website in this guide will have this information accessible to you?
I want a court opinion.
Write down your topic. Eg. Euthanasia
Usually only appellate courts write opinions. There are State appellate courts, Federal appellate courts and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court.
Decide what State and what level of court you want the court opinion from. Is this most likely to be a State Court Opinion or at the Federal Court level?
Which Primary Source website in this guide is a good place to start?
EXAMPLE: Google Scholar: choose Alabama, all state and federal courts who write opinions, then search on hospital to return all Alabama full-text cases or opinions on that topic. Use the limiter on the left column on the search results page to limit the search to a certain year.
