See Also the Library Research Guide on Law
*Please note that specific country pages nested beneath the Country Information and Reports Tab on this Research Guide also point to legal resources particular to particular countries.
There are three main types of US institutions overseeing the creation and defense of law, and consequently there are three main legal categories of US Law.
Statutory Law (law generated by federal and state congresses/legislatures which becomes part of Federal and State Constitutions and Legal Codes)
Case Law (Summaries of Court cases establishing legal precedents based on interpretations of statutory law)
Regulatory Law (issued by the Federal Department of Justice or an equivalent State agency that are overseen by Attorney Generals)
In addition, there are large bodies of secondary literature discussing all three types of laws and related interpretations and legal process found in law journals.
Each form of US law can be found in different resources, and some of these include useful content for international law.
The Westlaw Database includes content in all forms of law – but is especially useful for Statutory and Case Law. This is because it includes annotations about when portions of statutes or case law have been
The recommended sources to find information related to federal regulations are the govinfo.gov website or the HeinOnline database. Both provide access to the Federal Register (which is published daily and therefore documents proposed regulations and changes/updates to those regulation) as well as the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) which publishes approved and adopted (i.e. final regulations only) annually. However, it is important to note that there is now an electronic edition of the CFR that is updated daily based on final recommendations documented in the Federal Register. Westlaw includes the CFR only, not the Federal Register.
In addition to its primary source content (laws themselves), Westlaw includes important secondary source material, including reference tools such as encyclopedias and journal articles published in law reviews. Hein Online provides access to additional periodical material.
HeinOnline also provides very useful additional content:
The linked Essay may also be helpful to understand current (2018-) Logistics and Realities of Regulatory Reforms to Deter Immigrants from Soliciting and Securing Asylum (focused on Central American migrants, but applicable to many other ethnic and national individuals and groups)
Full text of law reviews/legal periodicals plus primary sources such as the Code of Federal Regulations; Federal Register; Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS); Treaties and Agreements Library; United States Code; U.S. Attorney General Opinions; U.S. Congressional Documents; U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals; U.S. Federal Legislative History Library; U.S. Statutes at Large; State Session Laws Library; State Statutes: A Historical Archive; Acts of the Parliament of Canada (Annual Statutes); World Constitutions Illustrated; World Treaty Library. Also includes special topics databases.
Hover over the "Online Services" Box to select various ways to search the collection. One approach is to click on the "Browse Collections Box."
The following research guides can also help with Legal research in individual Latin American Countries:
[Brazil] LEXML: Rede de Informaçao Legislativa e Jurídica
[Mexico] (US) Library of Congress Research Guide
[Mexico] University of Wisconsin Research Guide
[Mexico] Arizona State U. Research Guide
[Mexico] U Texas Research Guide
[Mexico] AALL Mexican Law and Legal Research Guide
Provided by the Latin American Law Interest Group (AALL)
[Mexico] SEGOB Leyes y Reglamentos Federales
Provided by Mexico's Secretaria de Gobernación
