Each branch, or level, of the legal system has its own specific materials. Remember, there are the 3 branches of government—Judicial, Legislative and Executive, and then there are different levels and types of law attached to each one:
The Federal Government
Judicial Branch | Legislative Branch | Executive Branch |
Who: US Supreme Court Legal Product: Opinions/Decisions – Case Law¹ |
Who: Senate & House of Representatives Legal Product: United States Code United States Statutes |
Who: President Legal Product: Code of Federal Regulations |
Who: US Courts of Appeals Legal Product: Opinions/Decisions-Case Law |
||
Who: US District Courts* Legal Product: Opinions/Decisions-Case Law |
Remember, the whole configuration is repeated 50 more times at the state level; then you have municipal codes as well.
For example, Cato Law Library has the following reporters and digests for finding federal case law:
These types of reporters and digests (case finders) are published for Federal, Regional, and State case law. Law students must always locate the actual written opinion—never rely on what is published in the digests (or indexes or citators) for the text of the cases.
The Cato Law Library also has legal encyclopedias, such as American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum, and legal dictionaries. Those resources work just like any encyclopedia and/or dictionary.
Call Number |
Subject Area |
---|---|
K |
General Law |
KB |
Religious Law |
KD-KDK |
Law in UK & Ireland |
KDZ |
Law in North America |
KE |
Law in Canada |
KF |
Law in the United States |
KFN |
Law in North Carolina |
KH |
Law in South America |
KJ-KKZ |
Law in Europe |
KL-KWX |
Law in Asia, Eurasia, Africa, Pacific Area, & Antarctica |
KZ |
Law of Nations |