Law/Legal Information: Databases
Legal guides, rules/regulations, codes, and legislative and judicial information.
Proprietary Legal Databases
Although most of this guide provides links to free government resources, the following subscription databases with legal materials are available with a Rice login or from a public computer at Rice. But many academic institutions subscribe the services. Check with your campus library or with the law library if your institution has a law school.
Additional legal databases and legal materials are accessible online to Texas residents who get an account with the Texas State Law Library.
Problems with natural language searching in legal databases are highlighted in Andew Arruda's July 20, 2017 article entitled "The Real “Black Box” Dilemma of Legacy Legal Research Tools."
- Finding Landmark U.S. Cases on LexisNexisAcademicYouTube tutorial for finding landmark Supreme Court cases using LexisNexis.
- WestlawNext Campus Research This link opens in a new windowWestlaw includes U.S. and state case law (1944-). The system also includes access to: United States Code Annotated, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register (fulltext 1980+), state administrative codes and statutes.
- ProQuest CongressionalThis link opens in a new window
Bills 1789-present; Committee Hearings 1824-present; Committee Prints 1817-present; Committee Reports 1970-present; Compiled legislative histories 1969-present;Congressional Record 1985-present; Lots of other materials, dates vary - HeinOnlineU.S. Congressional Serial Set 1789-present. This link opens in a new window.
Reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives - Exploring HeinOnline100+ user guides by subject and by type.
Free Non-Government Legal Database
- Coporate Prosecutions RegistryUniversity of Virginia School of Law and Duke University School of Law project that provides comprehensive and up-to-date information on federal organization prosecutions in the United States. Includes "detailed information about every federal organizational prosecution since 2001, as well as deferred and non-prosecution agreements with organizations since 1990."
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowGoogle Scholar provides a multidisciplinary citation platform with links to free full texts. With this localized implementation, additional full texts are available for resources licensed by Rice University, and no manual setting of Rice preferences is required when accessing Scholar off-campus. Note the case law button to locate court opinions from federal and state courts and the ability to include patents in searches for articles.
- How to Use Google Scholar for Case LawLibGuide from the Library of Congress with easy to follow instructions about using Google Scholar for case law.
- Charlotte Gill's Guide to Search Techniques on GoogleShows how to use Boolean and proximity operators on Google.
Web Address: library.rice.edu | Physical Address: 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005 | Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892 | Phone: 713-348-5698 | © 2014 Rice University