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Legal Resources: Home

A Guide to Legal Research for LEGS courses

Legal Research Databases

Legal Primary Sources

Primary sources are the law itself.  They are created by Federal and State branches of government.

Statutory Law (Legislative Branch):   Statutes, codes, constitutions, rules of court.  Generally, laws passed by congress.

Case Law (Judicial Branch):   Decisions of courts and administrative bodies (i.e. Federal Court of Appeals, Ohio Supreme Ct.)

Administrative Law/Regulations & White House (Executive Branch):   Rules and regulations promulgated by government agencies (i.e. EPA, OSHA, Ohio Department of Education); Executive Orders of the President.

Secondary Resources

Secondary Legal Resources consist of a variety of sources written by legal scholars and experts.  Though not the law itself, secondary sources provide discussion and commentary on the law.  Secondary resources are often a great place to begin legal research and can be very useful in helping non-legal scholars understand the law on a particular topic or in a particular area.

Types of secondary resources include:

  • Law Review Articles
  • Legal Encyclopedias
  • Legal Books & Treatises
  • Restatements of the Law

Additional Legal Research Guides

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