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Free Legal Resources Online and at the Joel A. Katz Law Library: Free Government Sources

Primary Federal Resources

United States Code - contains virtual main editions of the U.S. Code. The information contained in the U.S. Code on FDsys has been provided to GPO by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Code of Federal Regulations - The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) annual edition is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation.

Federal Register - the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules and notices of federal agencies along with executive orders and presidential documents. 

Online Tutorial - describes how to use the Federal Register Online -- helpful to paralegals, associates, research assistants. 

Regulations.gov - your online source for U.S. government regulations from nearly 300 Federal agencies.

Congress.gov - United States Legislative Information, formerly known as THOMAS. THOMAS.gov will be available until the end of 2014, for more information about the change see About Congress.gov.

 

Primary State Resources

Tennessee state materials free online include the Tennessee Code unannotated. The Tennessee State Assembly Legislation web page may be helpful for legislative history information. Greg March, librarian at UTK Hodges Library has curated a libguide titled State Law, Legislation and Regulations, the primary focus of the guide is Tennessee yet material is also included about other states.

To locate other states materials, Google state name and statutes (i.e. "Kentucky statutes") or state name and legislative history in quotes. Indiana University has an awesome State Legislative History Guide that links to each state's official legislation page. 

Local Resources

The State of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service ("MTAS") includes links to nearly all online municipal codes and charters throughout the state. To view click Codes and Charters.

The free and friendly Municode hosts many municipal codes all across the country, including Knoxville's.  

Helpful List of Government Resource Websites

Government Printing Office (GPO) - The U.S Government Printing Office (GPO) provides publishing and dissemination services for the official and authentic government publications to Congress, Federal agencies, Federal depository libraries, and the American public.

Law Library of Congress - The Law Library has grown over the years to become the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2.5 million volumes spanning the ages and covering virtually every jurisdiction in the world. 

USA.gov - the U.S. government's official web portal.

U.S. Census Bureau - The leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy.

National Archives - Leading source for our nation's history through documents, photos, and records. Military Records and Court Records of closed cases can be found on the National Archives website.

The White House - An interactive site where you can access the White House Blog, locate information about the administration, read information about the latest issues, tour the White House, and find the latest briefings from the White House.

Library of Congress - Explore the digital collections from the Library of Congress.

Supreme Court - Check what's on the docket, listen to oral arguments, browse briefs, and find out whatever you need to know about the Supreme Court.

U.S. Copyright Office - Here you will find information about the online registration option; all key publications including informational circulars; application forms for copyright registration; links to copyright law and to the homepages of other copyright-related organizations; a link to online copyright records cataloged since 1978; news of what the Office is doing, including business process reengineering plans, Congressional testimony, and press releases; our latest regulations; and more.

U.S. Courts - A comprehensive site for information about our US Federal Court system.

Budget of the United States Government - A collection of documents that contains the budget message of the President, information about the President's budget proposals for a given fiscal year, and other budgetary publications that have been issued throughout the fiscal year. Other related and supporting budget publications are included, which may vary from year to year.

U.S. Department of the Treasury - promotes economic growth through policies to support job creation, investment, and economic stability. Treasury also oversees the production of coins and currency, the disbursement of payments to the public, revenue collection, and the funds to run the federal government.

Internal Revenue Service - The purpose of the Internal Revenue Service is to collect the proper amount of tax revenue at the least cost; serve the public by continually improving the quality of products and services; and perform in a manner warranting the highest degree of public confidence in our integrity, efficiency and fairness.

United States Patent and Trademark Office - the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks. The USPTO fulfills the mandate of Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the Constitution that the legislative branch "promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their respective discoveries." The USPTO registers trademarks based on the commerce clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3).

 

 

Helpful Resources

Free Case Law

Google Scholar includes a search for case law. Double check to be sure that the Case law radio button has been selected. The default search on Google Scholar is Articles.