US Legal Research

Introduction to researching United States federal and state law

State Law

Westlaw This link opens in a new window
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Select "State Materials" tab to view resources available for all 50 states through Westlaw.

National Survey of State Laws
Want to see how state laws vary? View charts which collect each state's law on a topic.

For State Court cases, use the links below:

Westlaw This link opens in a new window
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Select "State Materials" tab, click on state.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
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Select "Cases" then "State Cases". Enter your state jurisdiction.

Case Law Access Project (CAP)
The Caselaw Access Project (“CAP”) expands public access to U.S. law. Our goal is to make all published U.S. court decisions freely available to the public online, in a consistent format, digitized from the collection of the Harvard Law Library.

For information about State Court structure, see the links below:

State Courts v. Federal Courts: The Dual Court System
State Court Structure Charts
Key features of each state's court organization with links to court's website.

Westlaw This link opens in a new window
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Select "State Materials" tab, select state you are researching.

State Legislative Websites
Topical Index: State Statutes (Legal Information Institute)
Collection of statutes from all states organized by topic.

Westlaw This link opens in a new window
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Select "State Materials" tab, then select the state you are researching.

Listing by Jurisdiction (Legal Information Institute)
Regulations organized by state.