Library Homepage: Legal Resources: What are Legal Resources?

A-Z List of Databases

Click here to access the A-Z List of Databases. This is where you will find the licensed library content: scholarly journal articles, dissertations & theses, ebooks, multimedia and more. Questions? Contact the librarians at: askthelibrarian@usuniversity.edu

What are Legal Resources?

This guide will direct you to primary and secondary legal sources both inside and outside of the library that will help you answer the questions of

“What is the law on….” OR "What are the standards for...." OR "What peer-reviewed articles are there..."

The legal profession uses its own terminologies and standards and the health professional will need to learn them for doing research.

Terms like primary source & secondary source materials, case law, bills, statutes, regulations, codes, personal injury, medical malpractice, expert witness, tort law, labor relations, human rights, unions, legal case (not case study) and copyright are just some of the health professional overlaps with the law.
Primary legal sources are 'official' and refer to laws, codes, and regulations
Secondary legal sources include articles about the law, mention the law or interpret the law.

PRIMARY LEGAL SOURCES

The Virtual Library DOES NOT contain primary sources but you can find them by using the Primary Sources page in this guide.

SECONDARY LEGAL SOURCES

The Virtual Library DOES contain secondary sources, including a variety of full-text secondary sources in the form of journal articles, books and multimedia

Another place to find secondary legal sources is through state-centered public legal education and professional or government organizations.

The websites are easy to navigate and provide the local geographic perspective. These secondary source repositories are great places to start your search. Many of them are listed in this guide

First, see what is in the library because that content is free and available. Then go to the websites listed in this guide or head to your local courthouse law library or academic law school library.

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?