ABOUT THE INTERNET & THE LAW
Currency: Information on the Internet can be very old and outdated. Look at the bottom of a webpage to see if it indicates the last time it was updated. At this time, the government websites are generally very current and reliable.
Accuracy of the source: Since virtually anyone can create a webpage, the reputation of the creator of the webpage is important. Government, law library, and university websites are credible sources for legal information.
Evaluating Internet resources: http://www.infopeople.org/howto/bkmk/select.html
How you structure your search:
Developing a Search Strategy:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Strategies.html
http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html
Choosing a search engine.
http://library.albany.edu/internet/choose.html
RECOMMENDATION: Try GOOGLE first. http://www.google.com
Compare results by trying other search engines to decide which one works best for you. OR, just do the same search on different search engines for more complete results. http://lii.org/search/file/searchtools
Many state and federal agencies have placed their publications on the Internet. They can be read on the Internet, printed from the Internet, or ordered -- via the Internet -- from that agency.
FREE CALIFORNIA ONLINE "HANDOUTS"
California State Bar Association: Consumer Education Pamphlets
http://www.calbar.ca.gov (click on "PUBLIC SERVICES" and then "CONSUMER INFORMATION")
Attorney General
SOME OF THE AVAILABLE PUBLICATIONS ARE:
BROWN ACT,
UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION: CIVIL RIGHTS HANDBOOK,
Women's Rights Handbook
Consumer Affairs http://www.dca.ca.gov/r_r/conspub1.htm
Senate http://www.sen.ca.gov/publications/
Legislative Counsel How a Bill Becomes Law: Overview of Legislative
Process
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bil2lawx.html
Many law schools and county law libraries have excellent research guides available on specific topics. A few of these websites are listed here.
Cornell
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/lawlibrary/Finding_the_Law/default.htm
Georgetown http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/lib/guides/index.html
University of San Diego http://www.sandiego.edu/lrc/guide.html
University of California (Berkeley) http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/online/guides/general.html
Los Angeles County Public Law Library http://lalaw.lib.ca.us/
CRIMINAL
http://caag.state.ca.us/cjsc/pubs.htm
"COUNTING CALIFORNIA" (government produced data)
http://countingcalifornia.cdlib.org/
MEDICAL
US CENSUS
http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html
Precedent Definition: http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/p069.htm
Common Law Definition: http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c070.htm
Cases Definition: http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c197.htm
Cases:
To view cases for free, go to Findlaw (http://www.findlaw.com) or LexisOne (http://www.lexisone.com).
To view ALL California cases for free, go to http://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/CACourts/?
To view California Civil Jury Instructions for free, go to http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/reference/4_34juryinst.htm
JUDICIAL COUNCIL FORMS
FREE and interactive http://www.accesslaw.com
PLEADING PAPER (also known as "ruled and numbered" paper)
1. WORD -- legal pleadings "pleading wizard" (go to file, new, legal pleadings)
2. Internet -- this is interactive http://www.uslegalforms.com/paper/capleading.doc
LOCAL FORMS http://www.stocktoncourt.org/courts/forms.htm
LOCAL RULES http://www.stocktoncourt.org/courts/rules.htm
FREE LEGAL FORMS & DOCUMENTS http://sfbar.lawinfo.com
Courts Self-Help Center http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/
Publishers
NOLO Press http://www.nolo.com/
Sphinx Publishing http://www.sphinxlegal.com/sphinx/
Seattle Public Library (or just use GOOGLE for the city)
http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=collection_municodes
Findlaw http://california.lp.findlaw.com/ca01_codes/municode.html
CALIFORNIA http://www.ca.gov/state/portal/myca_homepage.jsp
BILL TRACKING http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html
CODES http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS
FEDERAL http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html
BILL TRACKING http://thomas.loc.gov/
U.S. CODES http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/index.html
FEDERAL REGULATIONS
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
Findlaw http://www.findlaw.com
LLRX (Law Library Resource Xchange) http://www.llrx.com
LexisOne http://www.lexisone.com (cases are full-text searchable & site is free, but you need to register)
Hieros Gamos http://www.hg.org
'Lectric Law Library http://www.lectlaw.com/ (this site is a little slow, a little strange, & attempts to be humorous)
FEDERAL http://thomas.loc.gov/
How our laws are made http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html
Locating an Attorney:
State Bar Association
http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_home.jsp (click on "ATTORNEY SEARCH" and then
"ATTORNEY/MEMBER SEARCH")
Martindale Hubbell Directory
http://www.martindale.com/xp/Martindale/home.xml
Definitions of legal terms:
'Lectric Law Library Lexicon
http://www.lectlaw.com/def.htm
NOLO Press
http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/dictionary/wordindex.cfm