Research Guides: How to Find United States Legal Information: Introduction

About the Study of Law

Law in the Liberal Arts
Call Number: SAWYER KF4245.5.L3 L39 2004

"How ought law to be understood as a cultural system?

How does it reflect or embody the debates and divisions of the cultures in which it is found?

How have legal institutions embraced and constructed, as well as silenced and stigmatized, various national, social, cultural, and personal identities?"

Williams Libraries is a Congressionally-designated depository for U.S. Government documents. Public access to the government documents collection is guaranteed by Title 44 United States Code.

Getting started: Legal Reference Works

Oxford Reference: Law
Dictionaries, Handbooks, Latin legal terms, and more
WEX: Legal Encyclopedia and Dictionary
free legal dictionary and encyclopedia sponsored and hosted by the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell Law School

Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names
Call Number: SAWYER REFERENCE KF90 .S538
Provides legal citations for federal and state acts and cases that are known by a popular name (e.g., Megan's Law, Slaughterhouse Cases).
Black's Law Dictionary
Call Number: SAWYER REFERENCE KF156 .B53 2009
Contains legal definitions and quotations from legal authorities.
Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations
Call Number: SAWYER REFERENCE KF246 .B46 2001
Lists abbreviations used in legal encyclopedias, law dictionaries, law reporters, etc.
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution
Call Number: SAWYER REFERENCE KF4548 .E53 2000
Provides information on the history and content of the American Constitution.

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