Category Archives: Library of Congress

In Custodia Legis Free Webinar Honeypot

22 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by in Case of First Impression, Federal Law, Legislative History, Library of Congress, Research, U.S. Government

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December 2020 US Law Webinars: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, by Margaret Wood, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2020/11/december-2020-us-law-webinars-these-are-a-few-of-my-favorite-things/?loclr=eaiclb

A CLE honeypot for those who need CLE credits to maintain bar requirements or professional paralegal designations or who simply want to improve their legal research skills. In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, is now giving free one-hour webinars. On December 10, 2020, sign up for a review of the U.S. Code and Statutes at Large. In February, there will be a webinar on case law.

If you are asking yourself why on earth would I need to know anything about the Statutes at Large, or do not know what it is, here is a refresher: https://bit.ly/35TKW0f. If you ever have had to research the legislative intent of a federal statute, this is one of the best research tools to find it.  

I highly recommend signing up to sharpen up your research skills regardless of whether you need the CLE credits. -CCE

Historical Supreme Court Cases Now Free Online.

27 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by in Appellate Law, Case Law, Federal Law, Library of Congress, Research, United States Supreme Court

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Historical Supreme Court cases now online thanks to Library of Congress (and Hein & Co.), by Joe Hodnicki, Law Librarian Blog

https://bit.ly/2GeSxLG

According to the press release, ‘More than 225 years of Supreme Court decisions acquired by the Library of Congress are now publicly available online – free to access in a page image format for the first time. The Library has made available more than 35,000 cases that were published in the printed bound editions of United States Reports. … The digital versions of the U.S. Reports in the new collection were acquired by the Law Library of Congress through a purchase agreement with William S. Hein & Co. Inc. The acquisition is part of the Law Library’s transition to a digital future and in support of its efforts to make historical U.S. public domain legal materials freely and easily available to Congress and the world.’ You can access the collection here.”

Update to Historical Statutes At Large Online.

19 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by in Appellate Law, Federal Law, Library of Congress, Research

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More Historical Statutes at Large Available Online, by Jennifer González, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://bit.ly/2Fdv49P

The individual statutes for congresses 68 through 81 are now available on the Law Library of Congress website. This addition closes the gap for the years for which the Statutes at Large were not available on the Internet. As with the volumes for previous congresses, each of these statutes is tagged with tailored, descriptive metadata to help users search and browse by facets.

The Largest Free Online Law Library On The Internet.

26 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by in Library of Congress, Research

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Guide to Law Online, Library of Congress

https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide.php

The title speaks for itself. The Law Library for the Library of Congress is the world’s biggest free law library. It has international law, federal law, and law for every state in the country.

If you are new to legal research and not quite sure how to start, click on Robert Brammer’s An Index to In Custodia Legis Legal Research Guides. (http://blogs.loc.gov/law/category/research-guide-2/) This is a honey pot of beginner guides for locating free case law on the Internet, constitutional law, consumer protection law, contracts, social security disability, employment/labor law, legal ethics, discovery, evidence, patent law, real estate, small claims, legal writing, and much, much more.

Because there is so much information here, I suggest that you go to the main site and just start browsing. Get acquainted with its structure and note what interests you most. This Guide to Law Online worth a bookmark, regardless of your legal research expertise. -CCE

 

“How To” Research Administrative Law.

30 Monday May 2016

Posted by in Administrative Law, Federal Law, Law Libraries, Library of Congress, Research

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How many people like to research the Code of Federal Regulations? Hands? I thought so. You are not alone. Actually, it’s not as hard as it looks.

Here is a tutorial and some great posts by law librarians that de-mystify researching this area of law. -CCE

Administrative Law Research Tutorial, Georgetown Law Library

https://www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/tutorials/admin/
Administrative Law Research Guide, Georgetown Law Library

http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/adminlaw

Administrative and Regulatory Law Research Guide, Harvard Law School Library (last updated by Claire DeMarco)

http://guides.library.harvard.edu/administrative

Administrative Law, Library School of Law, Loyola University of Chicago

http://lawlibguides.luc.edu/content.php?pid=128348&sid=1101470

Administrative Law Guide: Introduction, C|M|LAW Library

http://guides.law.csuohio.edu/adminlaw

Federal Administrative Law, Duke Law, Goodson Law Library

https://law.duke.edu/lib/researchguides/fedadminlaw/

Beginner’s Guides on Researching Federal Legislative Intent.

13 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by in Federal Law, Legislative History, Library of Congress, Research, U.S. Government

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Presidential Communications: A Beginner’s Guide, co-authored by Robert Brammer and Barbara Bavis, Research Guide, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/category/research-guide-2/

Please keep going after clicking on this link. The following posts are beginner’s guides to locating: (1) congressional documents; (2) a congressional committee print, (3) compiled federal legislative history; and (4) unpublished congressional hearing. Keep going – there is more. If you are interested in honing your research skills, learn how to research legislative intent at the state and federal level. -CCE

Enhancements to Congress.gov and “How To” on Legislative Research From The Law Librarians of Congress.

27 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by in Library of Congress, Research, THOMAS, U.S. Government

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New End of Year Congress.gov Enhancements: Quick Search, Congressional Record Index, and More, by Andrew Weber, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/12/new-end-of-year-congress-gov-enhancements-quick-search-congressional-record-index-and-more/

You may not have heard that THOMAS will be retired by the Library of Congress.  Congress.gov will take its place, and you won’t be disappointed. This post includes more that has been added to Congress.gov, including links to state legislative research. Scroll down the page to see a list of all enhancements thus far to Congress.gov. It is definitely worth a read.

If you are not familiar with how to do legislative research, this Beginner’s Guide will help you. -CCE

Locating a Congressional Committee Print: A Beginner’s Guide, co-authored by Robert Brammer and Barbara Bavis, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/category/research-guide-2/

Congress.gov – With New Features and Improvements.

01 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Federal Law, Library of Congress, Research, U.S. Government

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New Features Added to Congress.gov Based On Your Feedback, by Robert Brammer, Law Librarians of Congress, In Custodia Legis

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/07/new-features-added-to-congress-gov-based-on-your-feedback/

The website describes the enhancements, such as email alerts, in detail with instructions on how to use them. The website requests your continued feedback for future ways to improve the website. -CCE

Since the unveiling of Congress.gov in September of 2012, we have been constantly adding new features with each release, and many of the features in this release are based directly on your feedback. . . .

Continue reading →

Beginner’s Research Guide to Lemon Laws and Consumer Protection Law.

10 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by in Case Law, Consumer Law, Federal Law, Internet, Legal Directories, Lemon Laws, Library of Congress, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Research, State Law, Statutes, Westlaw

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Lemon Laws: A Beginner’s Guide, Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/04/lemon-laws-a-beginners-guide/?loclr=eaiclb

You are really getting two for one (and more) with this post. Please note the hyperlink to consumer protection law in the first sentence. Both posts provide guides on how to research both subjects. Click on “Legal Research” to the left once you are at the website, and you will find the link to all posts at this website on how to research other laws. -CCE

In response to our last post on consumer protection law, we determined there was additional interest in ‘lemon laws.’  Lemon laws are defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as statutes ‘designed to protect a consumer who buys a substandard automobile, usu[ally] by requiring the manufacturer or dealer either to replace the vehicle or to refund the full purchase price.’ So, if you find that the new car of your dreams is actually a waking nightmare, you can use this guide to determine what recourse you might have. Lemon laws vary by state, but this guide should help get you started with your research. . . .

Continue reading →

There’s New Stuff at Congress.gov.

28 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by in Legislation, Library of Congress, Research, THOMAS, U.S. Government

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Treaties, Text, and Timely Updates – Congress.gov Spring Cleaning, by Sabrina I. Pacifici via Andrew Weber, BeSpacific Blog

http://www.bespacific.com/library-of-congress-treaties-text-and-timely-updates/

‘Since introducing Congress.gov in September 2012, we have continued to add the databases from THOMAS to the new system.  We launched with legislation, followed soon thereafter by the Congressional Record, Committee Reports, and nominations.  Today, we are releasing treaty documents.  You can select “All Sources” and search across all of these data sets at once, something that was not possible on THOMAS.  With this, all of the data sets in the left hand navigation of THOMAS are included in Congress.gov.  We have one more data set that was on the legacy system to add, Senate Executive Communications….’

A Compilation of Military Law Resources.

10 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by in Federal Law, Law Libraries, Library of Congress, Military Law, References, Research

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Military Law – An Overview, Cornell University Law Library, Legal Institution Institute

http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/military

Military Index to the Internet, Air University

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc-ndex.htm

Uniform Code of Military Justice

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj.htm

Military Justice Fact Sheets

http://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/135/MJFACTSHTS%5B1%5D.html

Military Legal Resources, The Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/military-legal-resources-home.html

“The U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center & School Library External Link in Charlottesville, VA, holds extensive collections of primary source materials and publications in the field of military law. Selections from these collections are now being made accessible in full text PDF versions via the Library of Congress Federal Research Division (FRD) Web site. As more materials are converted to digital formats, they will be added to this page. . . .”

 Military Law Overview. Military.com

http://www.military.com/benefits/military-legal-matters/military-law-overview.html

“The backbone of the military legal system is the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), which applies to all branches. Most of the issues covered in this document include the bringing of cases to military courts, the different types of court-martial, treatment and apprehension of prisoners, and the trial process. In addition, rules govern military jurisdiction, legal investigations, discharges, the release and revision of military records, post-trial review procedures, and appeals. For more details about court-martials, a commanding officer’s legal authority and pre-trial confinement, see the topics list on the right.

The UCMJ applies to all active-duty, reserve & Guard, and retired military personnel. Violation of any of the articles of the UCMJ can bring punishments ranging from loss of privileges to confinement and discharge. . . .”

 

There’s More To Government Research Than FirstGov.gov.

22 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by in Government, Library of Congress, References, Regulations, Research, U.S. Government

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Finding Government Documents on the Internet, Internet for Lawyers

 http://tinyurl.com/mklz4tq

 

Beginner’s Guide to Municipal Codes.

10 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Library of Congress, Municipal Code, Municipal Law, Research

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Municipal Codes: A Beginner’s Guide, co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, Legal Reference Specialists, Law Library, Library of Congress

http://tinyurl.com/mdjuqk2

Great introduction to current and older municipal codes, where to find them, and secondary sources. – CCE

Updated Collection of Native American Documents at Library of Congress

30 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in Library of Congress, Native American Law, Research

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American Indian Constitutions, by Andrew Weber, a guest post by Jennifer Gonzalez, a Digital Library Technician in the Law Library’s Digital Resources Division, Library of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2013/11/american-indian-constitutions/

In celebration of Native American History Month, we have just added 428 Native American documents containing constitutions, charters, and acts from the years 1830 to 1960 to Law.gov. The collection contains two types of material: constitutions from the 1800s produced by the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek; and constitutions and charters drafted after the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. The latter includes laws produced by the Office of Indian Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior. These materials are divided by region based on the new KI class designations: Arctic-Alaska, US-Northeast Atlantic, US-North Central, US-New Southwest, US-Pacific Northwest, and US-South.