Secondary Sources: Strategies
Reference books, scholarly books in the library, and the top legal blogs help lead you to the best sources.
- Skim through these for background and "need to know" information (like dates, people, etc.).
- Look at the references to help you find the most authoritative articles and authors on your case.
Collections from HeinOnline
- US Supreme Court LibraryHeinOnline provides complete coverage of the official U.S. Reports, an indexed compilation of the official full text of all decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States and the official record of its rulings, orders, case tables, and other proceedings. In addition to the U.S. Reports, the 600+ titles in HeinOnline's U.S. Supreme Court Library include books, periodicals CRS reports, rules of the Court, and external links.
- Preview of the US Supreme Court CasesThis resource provides comprehensive expert analysis of all cases argued before the Supreme Court prior to the arguments. (Includes previews of cases already decided, as well.)
- HeinOnline Collection: Civil Rights and Social JusticeLocate scholarly articles, legislative histories, U.S. Supreme Court briefs, Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports, and a wealth of other resources.
Books in the Library
All Formats
Sometimes, you'll find many books devoted to your case and sometimes just chapters within books. Books and book chapters are excellent tools in your research arsenal! Content + bibliographies + definitions of terms + important dates + more.
Tips for searching the library catalog:
- Try a lot of different searches.
- On the "Articles & more" side of the first page of results, you'll find reference articles that can be very helpful.
- In different searches, test as many words as possible that might apply to your case.
- e.g. free speech, censorship, freedom of [speech, expression, religion, press], liberty of ____, first amendment, and so on.
- Click on the hyperlinked subject terms that appear in the results and use the facets (narrower categories) on the side of your search results page.
- Click on the "Details" tab for the individual result to see the table of contents (to find the chapters on your case if the whole book isn't relevant).
Supreme Court
These are reference books generally about the Supreme Court and major decisions.
EBOOKS
The Oxford guide to United States Supreme Court decisions by Call Number: CC Ref KF4548.5 .O97 2009 and OnlineISBN: 9780195379396Availability and more information from Catalyst...
Supreme Court Yearbook by A review of the Supreme Court's year. 1989 - current.- The Supreme Court Compendium: Data, Decisions, & Developments byElectronic encyclopedia from CQ Press with lots of charts covering statistics for the court over time.
- Supreme Court CollectionFind authoritative information and data on cases, justices, and the history and power of the U.S. Supreme Court. Researchers will find the data and tools to answer questions about justices and their opinions and behavior.
PRINT BOOKS
**History of the Supreme Court of the United States series**Call Number: KF8742.A45 H55 v. 1-9, 12ISBN: 0521848202The Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise Series
- excellent resource! Available on second Libe.
Landmark Decisions of the United States Supreme Court by Call Number: CC Ref KF4550 .F54 2008ISBN: 9780872894099Publication Date: 2007-11-01Availability and more information from Catalyst...
The Supreme Court Review by Call Number: KF4546 .S9ISBN: 0226362477Publication Date: 1993-07-01Availability and more information from Catalyst...
Prominent constitutional law scholars review major decisions, cases, and topics. Carleton library has 1960 to 2014. Excellent resource! Use the footnotes to lead you to articles.
Constitution and Amendments
These are some online guides and reference books generally about the Constitution and amendments.
- The Founders' Constitution byCall Number: CC Ref KF4502 .F68 1987 v. 1-5ISBN: 0226463877Availability and more information from Catalyst...
Political theory, legal, and historical documents influencing the Constitutional framers, and those they produced.
- The free online version does not have complete content but is useful for index, overview of content, search. - Encyclopedia of the American Constitution byCall Number: CC Ref KF4548 .E53 2000 v.1 - 6Availability and more information from Catalyst...
Encyclopedia of the First Amendment by Call Number: CC Ref KF4770 .E53 2009 and OnlineISBN: 0872893111Availability and more information from Catalyst...
Encyclopedia of religious freedom by Call Number: CC Ref BV741 .E47 2003 and OnlineAvailability and more information from Catalyst...
Racial Justice and the Supreme Court
- HeinOnline Collection: Civil Rights and Social JusticeLocate scholarly articles, legislative histories, U.S. Supreme Court briefs, Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports, and a wealth of other resources.
- ACLU: Racial Justice Court CasesList of court cases with an impact on racial justice in the US, compiled by the ACLU.
- State Court Statements on Racial JusticeCompiled by the National Center for State Courts.
- CRS Report: The Civil Rights Act of 1964: An OverviewReport compiled by the Congressional Research Service.
General Law & History
Reference generally about law and history. Browse or search for more like these in the reference area depending on your topic (and ask me for more suggestions).
The Oxford Companion to United States History by Call Number: Ref E174 .O94 2001 and OnlineAvailability and more information from Catalyst...
A dictionary of people, places, events, and themes in American history; most entries include brief bibliographies.
Credo Reference
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Good when you are starting to gather background information. General reference search tool that searches across hundreds of subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographies, images, bibliographies, and also links to journal articles and books.
Suggested Research Guides
Research guides for American History and American Studies might be helpful for writing the background section of your case note.
