Walker Library: PS 3530: Legal Writing and Research: Home

Federal Law and Legislation -- Library Databases

HeinOnline Academic This link opens in a new window
Full-text, digital legal and historical materials.
Collections included:
ABA Law Library Collection Periodicals
Brennan Center for Justice Publications at NYU School of Law
Business and Legal Aspects of Sports and Entertainment (BLASE)
Criminal Justice & Criminology
Democracy in America
Federal Register Library
Foreign Relations of the United States
Gun Regulation and Legislation in America
History of International Law
History of Supreme Court Nominations
Immigration Law & Policy in the U.S.
John F. Kennedy Assassination Collection
Law Journal Library
Legal Classics
McGill Institute of Air and Space Law Publications
National Survey of State Laws
Pentagon Papers
Prestatehood Legal Materials
Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases
Religion and the Law
Reports of U.S. Presidential Commissions and Other Advisory Bodies
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
U.S. Code
U.S. Congressional Documents Library
U.S. Congressional Serial Set
U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals
U.S. Federal Legislative History Library
U.S. Presidential Library
U.S. Presidential Impeachment Library
U.S. Statutes at Large
U.S. Supreme Court Library
U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library
Women and the Law (Peggy)
World Constitutions Illustrated
Government, Politics & Law Collection (Hein Online) This link opens in a new window
Searchable, image-based government document and legal research database.
Comprehensive coverage from inception of both U.S. statutory materials and more than 2,300 scholarly journals, all of the world’s constitutions, all U.S. treaties, collections of classic treatises and presidential documents, and access to the full text of federal case law powered by Fastcase.
Westlaw Campus Research This link opens in a new window
Business and legal resources, including state and federal laws and court cases.
PACER: Public Access to Court Electronic Records This link opens in a new window
PACER provides online access to federal district and appellate court records and documents. MTSU faculty may request access for themselves or their students using this link.
Index to Legal Periodicals Full Text This link opens in a new window
Legal journals, law reviews, bar association journals, university publications, yearbooks, institutes, and government publications.
CQ Almanac This link opens in a new window
Reference for studying the U.S. Congress, 1945 - 2010.
Preview of the United States Supreme Court Cases This link opens in a new window
Expert analysis of all cases given plenary review by the Supreme Court. Issues published in advance of the Court's seven annual argument sessions, with a final annual review issue. Coverage: 1973 - current.
Eight issues per year. Issues 1-7 precede the Court's seven argument sessions from October to April. Published in July following the close of the Court's term at the end of June, Issue 8 reviews the term using a combination of charts, statistics, case summaries, and essays. Published by American Bar Association.

Discussion of Landmark Supreme Court Cases (videos and text)
Making of Modern Law: American Civil Liberties Union Papers
ACLU records on free speech, citizenship, race, discrimination, and other topics.

Books -- Use the Tabs

Legal Writing in Plain English by Garner (2013)
Call Number: Reserves Desk, 1st Floor -- KF250 .G373 2013
The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts by Garner (2014)
Call Number: Reserves Desk, 1st Floor -- KF251 .G37 2014
The Art of Advocacy: Briefs, Motions, and Writing Strategies of America's Best Lawyers by Messing (2013)
Call Number: Reserves Desk, 1st Floor -- KF250 .M49 2013
Basic Legal Research by Sloan (2015)
Call Number: 2nd Floor -- KF240 .S585 2015
Legal Briefs (video tutorial)
This video explores the basic components of a legal brief: 1. Introduction 2. Legal Authorities 3. Facts of the Case 4. Argument, and 5. Conclusion.
Legal Writing (video tutorial)
How to improve your ability to write clear, concise, and accurate communications.
Legal Research: Where Do I Begin? (video tutorial)
This video explores the foundations of legal research including the use of online legal databases such as Westlaw and Fast Case, as well as how to conduct research at law libraries. Viewers will learn about the IRAC method of organizing research (Issue, Rule of Law, Analyzing, and Conclusion) and be guided through an actual case using the four parts of IRAC.

The Articulate Advocate: Persuasive Skills for Lawyers in Trials, Appeals, Arbitrations, and Motions by Johnson & Hunter (2016)
Call Number: Reserves Desk, 1st Floor -- K2251 .J64 2016
Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail -- Every Place, Every Time by Spence (2006)
Call Number: Reserves Desk, 1st Floor -- BF637.P4 S67 2006
Courtroom Communication Strategies by Malandro (2016)
Call Number: Reserves Desk, 1st Floor -- KF8915 .S590 1985
The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win by Trachtman (2013)
Call Number: Reserves Desk, 1st Floor -- K181 .T73 2013

State Law and Legislation

State Law Search by Topic
Search individual laws of all 50 states by topic.
Tennessee Code Annotated (Westlaw)
Tennessee Code Unannoted (Lexis free public access)
Tennessee State Statutes (HeinOnline)
Current and historical superseded state statutes.
Tennessee Attorney General Opinions
Access to the state's attorney general reports and opinions, which constitute integral elements in the state's framework of governing law.
Tennessee Session Laws
Session laws back to inception and to current laws
Tennessee State Reports
Guide to published court reports and how they interrelate with the National Reporter System, with linking to the full text of historical state reports.
Tennessee Political & Legal History (HeinOnline)
Collection of books and texts covering Tennessee's legal, historical, social, geographic, and economic makeup.
Tennessee Constitution (Lexis free public access)

Law and Legislation -- Free Websites

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window Published opinions of US state appellate and supreme court cases (1950-current), US federal district, appellate, tax and bankruptcy courts (1923-current), and US Supreme Court cases (1971-current). Also includes citations for cases cited by indexed opinions or journal articles which allows you to find influential cases (usually older or international) which are not yet online or publicly available.

Congress.gov House and Senate bills, hearings, debates, and committee reports; public and private laws; and The Congressional Record.
FDsys (Federal Digital System) U.S. Code, Supreme Court decisions, the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Compilation of Presidential Documents, and selected agency reports.
Tennessee General Assembly Senate and House of Representatives
Public Law Library Requires users to sign-up for a free account. Follow links to federal and state statutes, regulations, constitutions, and court rules for: U.S. Supreme Court (1791-current), U.S. Courts of Appeals (circa 1950-current), and state appellate courts (1997-current).
FindLaw Case law from the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, as well as several state supreme courts. Use the “Advanced Search” link found under the “Search for a Case” tab on the left-hand side of the page. Use the drop-down menus to select a court, legal topic, and/or industry. You may also search by date, docket number, and party name. On the case summary screen, click “Read” to gain full-text access to the case.
Justia Cases from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and U.S. District Courts. Additionally, you may find links to many state supreme court and intermediate court of appeal cases. To locate a case, enter a keyword into the search box and use the drop-down menu to choose a jurisdiction, or simply click on a hyperlinked jurisdiction, choose a court and date, and then browse through a list of cases.
Leagle Opinions and decisions handed down by U.S. Courts for both published and unpublished cases since 1950.
Guide to Law Online (Library of Congress) Annotated guide to sources about government and law. Includes links to useful and reliable sites for legal information.

Credits

MTSU Reference and Instruction Librarians:

Kristen West

Karen Dearing

Also many thanks to the law librarians at Brigham Young University and Cornell University for allowing us to model this course guide using some of their content.

About Us

PS 3530: Legal Writing and Research: Home

Federal Law and Legislation -- Library Databases

Books -- Use the Tabs

State Law and Legislation

Law and Legislation -- Free Websites

Credits