Free Legal Websites

Contents

• What's On This Page & Finding More
• All-Purpose Law Sites
• Topic-Specific Law Sites
• Legal Blogs & Podcasts
• United States Federal Law Sites
  Federal Courts & Cases | Federal Statutes | Federal Regulations | Federal Agency Information
• California Law Sites
  Cal. Courts & Cases | Cal. Statutes | Cal. Regulations | Cal. Agency Information
• San Francisco Local Law
• International Law & Foreign Law Sites
• Other Libraries

What's On This Page

This selective list of free sites emphasizes primary federal and California sources, as well as sites that collect useful law-related links.

Finding More

Many other useful (or even essential) materials will available only in print, or in various commercial online research tools. Consider:

• Law Review & Law Journal Articles
• Searching Ignacio for scholarly or practice-oriented books available at USF.
  (Try WorldCat for other libraries, or see the other libraries section, below.)
• Lexis or Westlaw — if you are a subscriber.
• Other commercial online legal research tools that the Zief Library subscribes to on behalf of the USF community.
• Consulting a reference librarian for expert research advice on your project.

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All-Purpose Law Sites

• Justia - Content includes: cases & codes - practice area information - news & commentary.

• Cornell's Legal Information Institute - primary legal materials and (via the Wex wiki) "Law about…" topical pages.

• WashLaw: Legal Research on the Web - The Legal Subject Index has topical links to web sites, databases, discussion group archives, and more. WashLaw also covers foreign and international law. The interface is somewhat bare-bones but the content is thorough and current.

• FindLaw - Content includes: cases & codes - news - commentary - "Legal Subjects" links.

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Topic-Specific Law Sites

• Intellectual Property Resources - review a comprehensive list of free Internet resources relating to international intellectual property law, copyright law, patent law, and trademark law.

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Legal Blogs & Podcasts

The following sites can help you find legal blogs ("blawgs") and podcasts in your area of interest. Legal blogs are good tools for finding breaking news and commentary.

• Justia Blawg Search & Directory - lets you search the content of hundreds of law-related blogs for discussions relevant to your research. There is also a topical directory of blawgs.

• ABA Journal - extensive legal blog directory, legal blog search engine and other legal news.

• Blawg - links to over 1200 legal blogs and podcasts.

• Blawg Republic - a digest of posts from law blogs. Blawg Republic includes a topical Blawg Directory.

• The Blogs of Law - "A Comprehensive Index of Law-Related Blogs"

• Law Professor Blogs - academic blogs on topics from antitrust to workplace law.

• The Common Scold - by journalist and USF Law School alumna Monica Bay. The Common Scold includes a detailed and well-chosen blogroll emphasizing legal tech and the practice of law.

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United States Federal Law Sites

Federal Courts & Case Law

• United States Supreme Court opinions via Justia (1790 - ) - a searchable and browsable database of Supreme Court opinions. Justia also links to other useful information about the Supreme Court.

• The United States Supreme Court's official site - Materials include:

• U.S. Supreme Court Opinions from the 2002 term to the present.
• The Supreme Court's current docket.
• U.S. Supreme Court oral argument transcripts from the 2000 term to the present.

• FindLaw's Supreme Court Center - Supreme Court opinions, briefs, dockets, calendars, etc. Findlaw also has other Supreme Court resources including links to information about the justices, oral argument audio files, and Supreme Court news.

• The Ninth Circuit's official Web site - news; court information, local rules, general orders, calendars, announcements, FAQs, court documents. Also available:

  • Opinions of the Ninth Circuit from 1995 to the present; status information on pending en banc cases.

• Ninth Circuit opinions on FindLaw - an unofficial collection dating from 1996 to the present.

• Federal Circuit Court ⁄ Court of Appeals Cases - from 1950 to the present, from Justia.

• Federal Circuit Court ⁄ Court of Appeals Cases - from 1950 to the present, from the Public Library of Law from fastcase.

• Federal District Court Opinions and Orders - an unofficial collection dating from 2004 to the present, from Justia.

• U.S. District Court, Northern District of California - court information, FAQs, local rules, general orders, calendars, announcements, recent Northern District opinions. Docket information is available for a small fee (less than 10¢ per page). Visit:

• The Northern District's "Electronic Case Filing & Pacer" site.

• Other Federal Courts via Villanova's Federal Court Locator - links to the web sites (and, where available, opinions) of all federal courts.

• U.S. Courts - The Federal Judiciary - information and news about the federal courts. Links to all courts. Includes the guide Understanding the Federal Courts.

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Federal Statutes & Legislation

• United States Code - a browsable and searchable database maintained by Cornell. As of December 2007, this database was current to January 2, 2006 for Titles 1-41 & 46 and to January 3, 2005 for Titles 45 & 47-50. Includes built-in "update" links, based on the U.S. Code Classification Tables of the House Law Revision Counsel.

• United States Code - from the House Law Revision Counsel site. As of December 2007, this database was current to January 2, 2006 for Titles 1-41 & 46 and to January 3, 2005 for Titles 45 & 47-50. For updates use: U.S. Code Classification Tables.

• Thomas - Federal Legislative Information - a service of the Library of Congress. Thomas offers bills and resolutions (summaries from 1973 to the present and full text of bills from 1989 to the present), Public Laws (from 1989 to the present), the Congressional Record (from 1989 to the present), committee reports (from 1995 to the present), other committee information and related sources, data on Presidential nominations, treaties, and information about treaty actions. Thomas also links to other federal legislative and agency sites.

• GPO Access - information from all three branches of the federal government. Congressional information includes: the U.S. Code; public and private laws; the Statutes at Large, congressional bills; the Congressional Record; the Serial Set (for committee reports); congressional hearings, and more. (GPO Access is a service of the Government Printing Office.)

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Federal Regulations

• Code of Federal Regulations - from the Government Printing Office, from 1996/97 to the present. This official web version of the current CFR is only as current as the print version. To update, use:

  • LSA - List of CFR Sections Affected.

• "Electronic" CFR - an unofficial, continuously-updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations, currently in beta test.

• Code of Federal Regulations from Cornell's Legal Information Institute.

• Federal Register - from the Government Printing Office, from volume 59 (1994) to the present. Daily publication of new and proposed federal regulations, presidential executive orders, and important notices from federal agencies.

• Proposed regulations - for review and comment on the government's Regulations.gov site.

• Justia Regulation Tracker - for keeping track of new and proposed federal regulations, executive orders, administrative orders, notices & proclamation. Allows for searching, browsing by agency, and subscribing to automatic updates.

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Federal Agency Information

• Federal Executive Branch Agencies - a listing from USA.gov, the U.S. Government's official web portal. USA.gov also offers an A to Z listing of U.S. government departments and agencies.

• Executive Branch Resources from GPO Access - regulatory, executive agency & presidential information.

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California Law Sites

• FindLaw's California Page - cases, statutes, court information, forms, news, legal organizations & law firms, law schools, government information, and more.

California Courts & Case Law

• California Courts - The Judicial Branch of California - an official site including recent cases, Judicial Council forms (many of which are "fillable" using Adobe Reader), court rules, links to the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal and trial courts, a self-help center, news, and other court information.

  Judicial Council Forms are also available for free from AccessLaw. (From AccessLaw's home page, follow the link to "Judicial Forms.") With Adobe's free Adobe Reader you can fill in and print these forms.

• Free California Case Law from the Official California Courts site - Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases from 1850. Fully searchable by keyword, party name, official Cal. or Cal. App. citation, or docket number.

• Free California Case Law via FindLaw & AccessLaw - Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases from 1934. Researchers may search by key word or retrieve cases by party name, official Cal. or Cal. App. citation, or docket number. (Registration is required.)

• Recent California Cases - Opinions of the California Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal from the last 120 days. (The site warns that these slip opinions are "'as filed' opinions of the court that have not yet been enhanced and edited for publication in the California Official Reports and may not yet be final as to the issuing court.") There is no search capability.

  [The Judicial Branch site also hosts an archive of opinions more than 120 days old. The archive begins in late 1999. The archive's disclaimer warns that the archive "is not provided for purposes of legal research," that it contains some opinions that are superseded and may not be cited, and that the opinions are "as-filed versions of opinions…postfiling clerical corrections and editorial enhancements…are not reflected in these opinions, and modifications to opinions are not integrated into the opinion."]

• San Francisco County Superior Court - includes links to dockets and selected documents for civil cases via the court's Electronic Information Center.

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California Statutes

• California Codes - a browsable and searchable collection provided by the Legislative Counsel of California.

• California Legislative Portal - an official site supplying a variety of legislative information, including bill information from the 1993-94 legislative session through the current session.

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California Regulations

• California Code of Regulations - "the text of the regulations that have been formally adopted by state agencies, reviewed and approved by the Office of Administrative Law, and filed with the Secretary of State." Updated weekly.

  (A California Code of Regulations mirror site is also available at at: http://www.calregs.com/.)

  [Title 24, the California Building Standards Code from the California Building Standards Commission, is not available from the California Code of Regulations site. It is available in print at depository libraries such as the Zief Law Library. The BSC's web site also lists places to buy Title 24.]

• California Regulatory Notice Register, 2002 to the present - notices of proposed regulatory action. (Also known as the "Z Register.")

California Agency Information

• State of California - official site, including Executive Branch information, an alphabetical list of agency web sites and the California Online Directory (for agency contact information).

• State Bar of California - State Bar publications; ethics opinions; information on admissions, discipline, and other State Bar offices; links to sections and committees. Also available:

  • Search for California State Bar members.

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San Francisco Local Law

• SFGov - the Official Web Site of the City and County of San Francisco - government and other city information.

  • San Francisco Government - includes links to the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor's office, the local courts, the city attorney, and the city municipal codes.
  • San Francisco Rent Board - official Rent Board documents, including the Rent Board Ordinance, and the Board's rules and regulations.
  • List of all San Francisco city departments and agencies

• San Francisco Charter and San Francisco Municipal Codes - the Charter, Administrative Code, Business & Tax Regulation Code, Campaign & Governmental Conduct Code, Environment Code, Fire Code, Health Code, Municipal Elections Code, Park Code, Planning Code, Police Code, Port Code, Public Works Code, Subdivision Code, Traffic Code, and Zoning maps (from the publisher, Municipal Code Corporation).

• Building Inspection Commission (BIC) Codes - Building, Electrical, Housing, Mechanical, and Plumbing Codes (from the publisher, American Legal Publishing).

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International Law & Foreign Law Sites

• EISIL - Electronic Information System for International Law. - links to primary materials, authoritative web sites, and research guides on all aspects of international law. Sponsored by the American Society of International Law.

• Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law - links and research advice from the American Society of International Law.

• University of Chicago d'Angelo Law Library's Links for Foreign and International Law Research - comprehensive site including links for: constitutions; laws of foreign countries; treaties; U.S. foreign affairs; European Union; Council of Europe; United Nations; other international organizations; war crimes; human rights; international trade; intellectual property; international law journals.

• International Governmental Organizations - links to IGOs from the African Bank to the World Tourism Organization. (Hosted by Northwestern University Library's government information department).

• U.C. Berkeley's Doe & Moffitt Libraries Government Information - research guides on domestic, foreign and international topics. (For print resources local Berkeley shelf locations⁄call numbers are provided.) Note especially:

  • European Union research guide
  • European Union Internet Resources
  • United Nations Internet Resources
  • Human Rights Resources
  • Treaties & International Agreements and Specialized Treaty Sources

• The World Legal Information Institute - country pages, regional pages, foreign legislation, courts and case law, Project DIAL (Development of the Internet for Asian Law), and more.

• Guide to Law Online: Nations of the World - links, depending on the country, to constitutions, legislation, courts, official government sites, research guides, country studies, and other legal, governmental, and academic web sites. From the Law Library of Congress.

• GlobaLex - Authoritative guides to researching international, foreign, and comparative law.

• Researching Foreign Legal Systems - Basic Resources - A Zief Law Library research guide to print, web, and other online sources.

• Foreign Governments - links to the official web sites of foreign governments. (Hosted by Northwestern University Library's government information department.)

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Other Libraries

Use these links to see if the information you need is at another library and to get information about other Bay Area Law Libraries

• Catalogs Used Frequently by USF Law School Researchers
  Includes access to catalogs at Boalt, Hastings, Golden Gate University, and the San Francisco Law Library.
• LibDex, the Library Index
  Web access to hundreds of libraries (and their catalogs) worldwide.
• Local Law Libraries
  Addresses, phone numbers, access rules and web sites of Bay Area law (and law-related) libraries.

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[Last complete link check: December 9, 2007.]