united states

United States Courts

Official site offering information about the US federal judiciary and the judicial process. Provides court forms and rules, a glossary of legal terms, court statistics and information about how to access court records. Educational resources on the site include a guide to the federal courts and an overview of the structure of the US judicial system. There is also a biographical directory of judges, a court locator facility and a news page.

USA.gov

USA.gov is the main portal to US federal, state and tribal government information on the web. It offers an A-Z of government departments (with links), a directory of web-based government services and contact details for all sorts of government bodies. The Explore Topics section includes a Public Safety and Law page with links to courts and legislatures and a Reference and General Government page with links to official publications, statistics, a glossary of federal government abbreviations, laws and other materials.

United States House of Representatives

The website of the US House of Representatives includes schedules of debates and committee hearings, information about votes and current bills and a directory of Representatives. The full text of current and older bills can be accessed via links to the Library of Congress’s Thomas website. The United States Code, which is produced by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House, is also available, together with links to individual public laws (1995 to date and 1789 to 1875).

FindLaw Cases and Codes

Findlaw is a US website owned by Thomson Reuters. Its Cases and Codes section provides free access to federal case law, the US Constitution and the US Code (a compilation of federal laws in force). State constitutions, state case law and some state codes are also available, together with materials such as bills and city ordinances. The case law files typically go back to the 1990s, but the US Supreme Court opinions go back to 1893.

Office of the Legal Adviser

This website outlines the work of the Office of the Legal Adviser at the US State Department and makes available US official publications and information about international law. The Treaty Affairs section provides the current edition of Treaties in Force; the Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) from 1996 to 2003; information about multilateral treaties deposited with the US Government; details of treaty actions; and a list of treaties pending in the Senate. The Digest of United States Practice in International Law is available from 1989/90 onwards.

Rules of warfare, arms control

The Rules of warfare, arms control page forms part of the Multilaterals Project at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The project provides the text of international treaties and conventions covering various subjects. This section has the Hague Conventions, the Geneva Conventions and other texts dealing with the laws of war.

Primary sources on copyright (1450 to 1900)

This website is provided by the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. It covers the evolution of copyright law in Britain, Germany, France, Italy and the United States from 1450 to 1900. Documents available on the site include statutes, judicial decisions, contracts, treatises and privileges; for each one users can view the digital image, a transcription, commentary and, in some cases, a translation. The database can be searched by keyword or browsed by legislation, case law, institution, place or person.

Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School)

The Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII), founded in 1992, provides free access to US federal and state legal material, including US Supreme Court decisions, decisions of the US Courts of Appeals and other federal courts, the US Constitution, the United States Code, state constitutions and statutes (via links to state websites), and state regulations. Secondary materials on the site include 'Wex', an open access legal dictionary and encyclopedia, and the 'Introduction to Basic Legal Citation' by Peter W. Martin.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) was established in 1972 and is hosted by the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice. The NCJRS is an international criminal justice information network supporting policymakers and criminal justice professionals. The site provides information about Office of Justice Programs' services, publications and products, including direct access to the NCJRS bulletin board and to reports, policy documents, articles, abstracts and FAQs.

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