Background Information
Black's Law Dictionary: Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American
and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern. 1999.
Most relied on law dictionary by lawyers and judges. Contains over 30,000 entries,
a 16-page table of abbreviations, and more.
Ref. KF156 .B53 1999
The Legal Researcher's Desk Reference, 1994-95.
You'll find a wealth of useful information in this volume. It includes information
for legal researchers about governmental agencies, members of Congress, federal judges, state
officials, state courts, and bar associations.
Ref. [q.] Z675 .L2 L3832 1993
Legal Research in Wisconsin.
Emphasis on locating Wisconsin administrative, case, and statutory law.
National and regional legal materials are examined in the context of Wisconsin law.
Ref. KFW2475 .D36
State of Wisconsin
Blue Book 2001-2002.
Contains biographies of Wisconsin state government
members, a directory of various agency and board members,
summaries of election results, and statistics on agriculture,
education, and employment. The State of Wisconsin Blue Book for
1997-1998 and
1999-2000
are available on the Web. Back issues are available on the fourth floor
in the Wisconsin Collection.
RRef. JK6031 2001-2002
Wisconsin Collection JK6031 1879 -
West's Encyclopedia of American Law.
Contains 4,000 entries dedicated to terms, concepts, events, movements, cases, and persons
important to U.S. law. Features include cross references, entry hightlights, tables,
indexes, appendices, and bibliographies.
Ref. [q.] KF .W47 1998 12vols.
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Finding Books
You can search LUCIA, the library's online catalog, in either a command line or Telnet format or a Web format. The searches given here are described for the Web version of LUCIA. There are slight differences between searching the two versions of the catalog, but both interfaces search the same database.
Try a Subject search, for example, wisconsin legislature or law wisconsin. LUCIA will list other subject headings (and subheadings) which may be of interest. For advanced research you should consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings, or LCSH, a guide to the terms commonly used in catalogs like ours. The LCSH can be found on top of the Ready Reference shelves behind the reference desk on the first floor of the library.
To combine terms for a different kind of search, try a Keyword search. In keyword searching, LUCIA will look for the terms you specify anywhere in the important areas of the cataloging records, and display a list of those records. Try a search like law reports and wisconsin or wisconsin and crim?. The question mark acts as a truncation symbol and tells LUCIA to search for all words starting with crim: crime, crimes, criminal, criminals, criminology, etc. You might want to try searching for some of the terms you find in the LCSH, or try targeting your keyword search by telling LUCIA to look for the terms in the subject area of the records, as in a search for su wisconsin and su crim? or su law and su legislation and su wisconsin.
Books are arranged on the library's shelves by Library of Congress Classification. This is a system which organizes materials by general subjects. Once you have a call number from searching LUCIA, see this guide to call number locations at Mudd to find out where a book might be on the shelves.
Search LUCIA for materials in our library; try WorldCat to find materials beyond the Mudd. Make sure you've thoroughly searched our library before going to WorldCat. See a reference librarian if you need help.
All official State of Wisconsin documents owned by the library are cataloged in LUCIA. Wisconsin documents are classified according to the Wisconsin state agency classification system. Once you have the WiscDoc number of the material you need you can locate the item on the second floor.
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Finding Articles
The following electronic sources provide journal and newspaper information on legal topics. To access the library's collection of electronic indexes, abstracts, and full-text databases connect to the library's Electronic Resources page.
EBSCOhost.
Follow the link for EBSCOhost Web. EBSCOhost provides a single Web source for multiple databases; you might want to select the Academic Search Elite. Contains broad and specialized coverage of academic and general periodicals. Use the Go or Back button on your browser after exiting EBSCOhost to leave the system.
InfoTrac Onefile
Broad coverage of academic periodicals. Includes full text of some articles.
Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe
Provides citations, abstracts, and full-text articles to federal case law, federal code,
federal regulations, law reviews, and legal news. The Lexis-Nexis
Basic Legal Research
page provides access to Wisconsin's state code, case law,
constitution, court rules, states attorney's general
opinions, and more.
Once you have a citation for an article on your topic, look in LUCIA for the title of the journal or newspaper to see if the library owns it. You should also search BESS, an automated search of the library's full text databases, for electronic copies of articles.
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Administrative Law
Administrative law allows for the organization and operation of the state's executive branch of government and administrative agencies. It governs the relations of the executive branch with the legislature, the judiciary, and the public. Administrative law is divided into three parts: (1) statutes; (2) agency-made laws; and (3) legal principles governing the acts of public agents when those acts conflict with private rights.
Wisconsin Administrative Code 19 volumes.
Compilation of codes from various state agencies. Arranged
alphabetically by agency. Last volume serves as general index.
The Revisor of Statues Bureau provides online access to the current
full text
Wisconsin Administrative Code and Register.
Available from November 1997 until present.
Ref. KFW2435 .A1 1956
Wisconsin Administrative Register
The Wisconsin Code is updated monthly with supplements
called the Wisconsin Administrative Register. New rules and
changes are listed in these updates. The Revisor of Statues
Bureau provides online access to the current full text
Wisconsin Administrative Code and Register.
Available from November 1997 until present.
Ref. KFW2435 .A1 1956
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Judicial-Caselaw
Judicial or caselaw is the dynamic body of law containing the legal principles of judicial decisions derived from the application of law to individual cases. Caselaw records the facts of controversy within a case, the explanations of judges' decisions, and in some cases judges' dissenting opinions. Where similar cases are concerned, higher court decisions are binding on lower court decisions.
Digests include paragraphs summarizing points of law in specified cases. These summaries are arranged alphabetically by topic, then chronologically. In addition, the summaries are useful references for citations to cases. The following sources offer digests of Wisconsin laws:
Callaghan's Wisconsin Digest.
This source follows the standard arrangement and offers a
detailed subject index in Volume twenty.
Wisconsin Collection Wis KFW57 .C3
Index - Digest of the Wisconsin Reports: Embracing All
the Decisions of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin found in Pinney's,
Burnett's and Chandler's Reports and in the Wisconsin Reports from
Volume 1 to Volume 54, Inclusive.
Laws are arranged alphabetically by topic.
Wisconsin Collection KFW2445 .A12 V. 1
Reference Digest of the Wisconsin Reports: Embracing the
Decisions of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin from Volume 55 to
Volume 87, Both Inclusive.
This volume is the continuation of the above title and follows
the same arrangement.
Wisconsin Collection KFW2445 .A12 V.2
Reports contain the decisions of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the court of appeals. They specifically offer the following information on each decision: 1) the case name; 2) the docket number; 3) the dates of argument and date of decision, or filing of decision; 4) the parallel citation; 5) the summary statement; 6) the headnotes; 7) the names of counsel and briefs filed; and 8) the text of the opinion. The sources listed below offer Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions:
Callaghan's Official Wisconsin Reports.
Series One of these reports covers opinions issued between
1853 and 1912, and Series Two covers opinions from 1957 until present.
Wisconsin Documents Cou.1:
Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of
the Territory of Wisconsin, with Tables of Cases and Principal
Matters, Volumes 1 - 3.
The cases and opinions in these volumes cover the period from the
origin of the court to 1852.
Wisconsin Collection KFW2445. A1
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Legislative-Statutory Law
Legislative or Statutory Laws are derived from statutes (laws passed by a legislative body) rather than from constitutions or judicial decisions. Legislative or Statutory Laws are acts of a legislature that declare, proscribe, or command a specific law. They are expressed in writing and also termed ordinary law. The abbreviation of statutory law is "s." or "stat."
Laws of Wisconsin.
This source contains all session laws and is arranged chronologically
for each two-year session of the legislature. These volumes are
especially valuable because they are published more quickly than the
Wisconsin Statutes. In addition, they include the special, private
and local laws that are never included in the Wisconsin Statutes.
Each volume of the Laws of Wisconsin includes a subject index and a
table of older session laws that were revised during that legislative
session.
Wisconsin Documents Z.5
Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations
Published by the state at the end of every two year legislative session.
Only new laws considered general are included. General laws apply to either
all persons, places and things in Wisconsin, or to classes of persons, places
and things in Wisconsin. General laws do not include special, private or
local laws. Revisions to Wisconsin law are published in the Wisconsin Statutes.
Subject indexing is available. The Revisor of Statues Bureau provides online
access to the
Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations,
1995-96 and 1997-98. Access to the Index to the Wisconsin Statutes
for both editions is available from a link at the same site.
Ref. KFW2430 .A2 (1993-1994) Wisconsin Collection KFW2430 .A1
(1958-1978) and Wisconsin Collection KFW2430 .A2 (1911-1992)
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Web Resources
American Law Sources Online
Provides access to Bills and Session Laws for the current and previous terms
of the State Legislature. Contains Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of
Appeals decisions back to 1995. Includes Wisconsin County Court rules for
the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court, and the two Federal District Courts.
Arranged by section titles.
Google for Government
The popular and helpful Google search applied specifically to finding government information. Searches local, state, military, and national government Web pages.
State of Wisconsin Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ) offers legal advice and representation,
conducts criminal investigations and provides numerous law enforcement
services for the state. The Department consists of five divisions and
two offices.
State of Wisconsin
Provides access to Wisconsin state agencies, the Wisconsin legislature,
and local governments. Wisconsin Statutes are available by selecting the government
and legislature menus. Also provides
access to more than thirty state agencies and departments.
State of Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau
Maintains a comprehensive collection of library
materials and state government documents. In addition, offers information
concerning issues before the legislature, information about state government,
and legislative drafting advice and services.
State of Wisconsin Online Directory
State Legislature.
Provides electronic mail addresses for Wisconsin state senators and staff.
West's Legal Directory on the Web.
A searchable database for the names of attorneys and law offices found
in the United States and Canada.
WisBar Legal Resources
Searchable collection of Wisconsin State Court, Seventh Circuit Court, and
U.S. Supreme Court opinions. More Wisconsin and Federal legal
information available at this site and at the
Wisbar
Home Page. Maintained by the State Bar of Wisconsin. Wisconsin statutes obtainable by using
Adobe Acrobat
viewer.
Wisconsin Court System
A Web gateway to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit
Court, and Municipal Courts. Provides links to selected documents
released by the Wisconsin court system, reports filed with the Supreme
Court, and information about Wisconsin's legal history. Contains much more
information and many more links relating to the Wisconsin's legal system.
Wisconsin State Law Library
A collaborative effort from the Wisconsin State Law Library,
the Dane County Law Library, and the Milwaukee Legal Resource Center.
The link for Legal Topics A-Z might be particularly helpful for your research.
Wisconsin State Legislature
Provides full-text of state statutes, Wisconsin Acts, the Wisconsin
Constitution, and U.S. Constitution. Public hearing schedules and
state legislators' e-mail addresses are searchable. Also includes
a link to the
Wisconsin Administrative Code and Register.
A Law Library Web Portal from the State of Wisconsin Supreme Court
A collaborative effort from the Wisconsin State Law Library,
the Dane County Law Library, and the Milwaukee Legal Resource Center.
Includes links to the Wisconsin State Law Library's online catalog,
the Wisconsin law and government system, and information about federal,
state and tribal law. Includes additional links to directories, self-help
guides, law search tools, reference tools, historic documents, law reviews,
newspapers, legal forms, and information on legal topics. Site invites
questions.
Of course, there are many more web resources available that might be useful in your research. For brief background information on how to use some of the many available Internet search engines, see the guide Selected Search Tools for WWW.
It's important to think carefully about any information you find in any format, and to evaluate resources for their accuracy, applicability, and so forth. Evaluation of web resources is especially important. You may want to consult this guide to Evaluating Internet Resources, or this bibliography on Evaluation of Information Sources. You can often learn a lot about a page (and a site) by parsing the URL.
A Uniform System of Citation. "The Bluebook."
The standard citation system for legal literature. Covers the rules for
citing material to support or rebut a point of law. Provides the forms by
which legal publications are designed.
Ref. KF245 .B58 1996
Citing Electronic Documents
Provides guidance to the correct citation of electronic documents.
Includes selected electronic citation resources.
Electronic Styles.
"A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information."
Ref. PN171 .F56 L5 1996
Wisconsin Guide to Citation 2000.
Shows the correct format for citing to Wisconsin courts
and administrative authorities. Adopts rules for citation
found in The Blubook, however provides additional
detailed instructions for citing to Wisconsin authoritites.
From the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Ref. [q.] KFW2475 .W57 2000
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About Research in Wisconsin Law
The sources listed here represent only a portion of what is available at the library. Wisconsin law is related to many other fields of study; be prepared to look at materials from legal studies, international relations, religious studies and ethics, policy studies, and cultural studies, just to name a few. In addition to consulting catalogs and indexes, be sure to look at bibliographies supplied at the end of relevant articles, chapters, and books, and to search library catalogs for book-length bibliographies.
Your sources must be fully documented in any written work you produce. It may help to look at the information on style before you start your research, so that you will have all the required documentation at hand when you need it. Then as you write, go back to the resources on style for details on the exact format of your citations.
The sources listed in this guide were chosen for the broad coverage they provide. Direct links are provided to Web resources and searchable databases, as well as links to LUCIA, the library's online catalog. Be sure to check the library's Electronic Resources page regularly to see new databases and indexes; some of these will only be available to users on the Lawrence campus. Also, you may want to take a look at guides on related topics from the Library Research Guides page.
Evaluating the resources you find is an essential part of the research process. See this guide to hints on evaluation of books and articles and this guide to evaluating Internet resources.
Please be aware that the library staff can help you find legal information, but cannot and will not provide legal advice. If you have any questions regarding your research, be sure to ask a Reference Librarian.
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Ref. = Reference collection, first floor
RRef.= Ready reference, shelves behind the reference desk
Periodicals = Current issues; Level A
Periodical Back Files = Level A
GovDoc = U.S. Government Documents, second floor
Reference Indexes = Alphabetically arranged at the end of the reference collection
Microform Area = Reading room east of the reference desk, near microform drawers
q. = Oversized books: interfiled in reference and scores; at end of classes in other collections
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