FILLING YOUR TANK: REGULAR, SPECIAL OR PREMIUM?

PART OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE BAR ASSOCIATION

CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION PROGRAM HELD MAY 17, 2005

PRESENTER CYNTHIA R. LANDAU

PORTALS – EASY WAYS TO LINK TO FEDERAL AND STATE STATUTES AND REGULATIONS

• LIBRARY OF CONGRESS’ GUIDE TO LAW ONLINE (GLIN):
  http://www.loc.gov/law/public/law-guide.html
• CORNELL UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL ’S LEGAL INFORMATION INSTITUTE (LII):
  http://www.law.cornell.edu
• WESTGROUP’S FINDLAW:
  http://findlaw.com
• LEXIS’ LEXISONE:
  http://www.lexisone.com/legalresearch/

ORGANIZATION OF WRITTEN MATERIALS – PART I

1. FEDERAL STATUTES, FEDERAL REGULATIONS,
   STATE STATUTES, STATE REGULATIONS
2. Within each of those categories, web sites are organized by
   REGULAR (FREE WEB SITES)
   SPECIAL (LOW COST WEB SITES)
   PREMIUM (HIGH END, VALUE ADDED)
3. For each of those sites, uniform information is given, in the following categories:
   Source
   Coverage
   Searching by Field
   Searching by Citation
   Case Annotations
   Updating
   Notification of Pending Legislation or Regulations
   Cross References
   Special Features
   Access to Searching all state statutes or regulations at once
   Access to Earlier Versions of the Statutes or Regulations
   Access to Legislative History Information (for statutes only)
   Validation of Statute or Regulation
   Administrative Decisions (for regulations only)
4. Review of Online Searching Requirements for Each System

ORGANIZATION OF WRITTEN MATERIALS – PART II

• TIPS FOR SEARCHING STATUTES AND REGULATIONS
• EXPANDING OR NARROWING YOUR SEARCH
• REGULAR, SPECIAL OR PREMUIM?
  • WHEN TO USE GPO ACCESS, NH.GOV, CASEMAKER OR LOISLAW
    • Federal:
      • GPO Access: http://www.access.gpo.gov
      • LoisLaw: http://www.Loislaw.com
    • State:
      • Casemaker: http://www.nhba.org, click on Casemaker
      • LoisLaw: http://www.Loislaw.com
      • NH.gov: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/htlm/indexes/default.html
        • In nh.gov (formerly Webster), use Google to search the NH Administrative Code: Enter “administrative rules site:gencourt.state.nh.us” in the http://www.google.com search box and do a Google search.
  • WHEN TO USE WESTLAW OR LEXISNEXIS
    http://westlaw.com
    http://lexis.com

RESEARCHING LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES ON THE WEB

• Federal:
  1. Thomas: http://thomas.loc.gov/
  2. GPO Access: http://www.access.gpo.gov
  3. Westlaw: http://westlaw.com
     Statutes Plus feature; USCCAN-REP database for access to selected Congressional Committee reports, 1948 to date
  4. Congressional (LexisNexis Academic - in library use only, available to attorney members)
• State:
  1. NH.gov: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/indexes/default.html
  2. Westlaw: http://westlaw.com
     Statutes Plus feature (not all states yet)

RESEARCHING UNIFORM OR MODEL LAWS ON THE WEB

• National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
  http://nccusl.org/Update/
• Westlaw
  http://westlaw.com
  • Uniform Laws Annotated