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     This section features research tools on how to find legal topics and subjects, definitions, case law, constitutions, statutes and codes, and interpretations and analyses of the law.

OhioLINK Law & Legislation Databases & Indexes
     OhioLINK provides a variety of law and legislation databases and periodical indexes. The above link will connect to a list of all the OhioLINK databases for law and legislation research. Select the database you wish to examine from that list.

LexisNexis > Legal 
     This is a large, full text electronic database featuring federal and state cases, codes, constitutions, legal news, law reviews, etc. Can be somewhat difficult to focus on exactly what is needed, especially in searching for cases and specific code sections.

GPO Access
     “…a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government. The information provided on this site is the official, published version and the information retrieved from GPO Access can be used without restriction, unless specifically noted.”  Includes links to information from and about all branches of government, documents (U.S. Code, the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, etc), access to over 1500 federal government databases, and more.

Gongwer News Service 
     Daily coverage of issues in and around Ohio's government and political systems. Gongwer's daily Ohio Report provides coverage of every bill in the General Assembly and closely tracks the activities of the executive and judicial branches. Gongwer provides a suite of products to monitor and track political and policy developments.

Thomas, Legislative Information on the Internet
     Database for federal legislative history, status of current House and Senate bills and bill text, public laws by law number. Also includes the Congressional Record, House and Senate Committee Reports, links to major government sites such as the executive, judicial and legislative branches.

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• Legal Encyclopedias

• Legal Dictionaries

• Finding Cases - Court Reports, Digests, Citators

• Citators/Citation Analysis

• Legal Periodicals

• Legal Directories

Legal Encyclopedias
     These sources are a great place to begin research to understand the fundamental issues of law, the controlling legal authorities for specific topics and as a guide for what resources to check next. For additional law encyclopedias such as the more comprehensive American Jurisprudence 2d, or Corpus Juris Secondum - search OhioLINK under SUBJECT = Law - United States – dictionaries. These encyclopedias normally do not circulate.

West’s Encyclopedia of American Law              Ref. 348.7303 W538

Ohio Jurisprudence 3d (OJUR)                          Ref. 340.09771 O37 3d

Nolo's Legal Encyclopedia

Articles focus on personal, consumer, business, commercial issues, written in lay terms.

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Legal Dictionaries
     For additional Law Dictionaries - search CS/OhioLINK under SUBJECT = Law - United States - dictionaries

Black’s Law Dictionary 8^th Ed.                         Ref. 340 B631

Duhaime's Law Dictionary

Everybody's Legal Dictionary

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Finding Cases - Court Reports, Digests, Citators
     LexisNexis offers a comprehensive database for case law.  The Federal, State and Ohio Government, Courts and Laws and the Law Libraries and Internet Legal Research Sites sections below also offer databases of cases and opinions, but are more limited in scope both in jurisdiction and dates covered. Search the OhioLINK catalog for additional national, regional, state, and special digests and reporters. Primary SUBJECT heading = Law reports, digests, etc.

American Law Reports: ALR 4^th                                               Ref. 348.7346 A512
Analyzes specific topics and cases. ALR is a hybrid publication with features of an encyclopedia, digest and law journal. ALR 4^th is a continuation of ALR 3d and is continued in ALR 5th. Columbus State holds only ALR 4th. Consult OhioLINK catalog for these other editions. 

United States Supreme Court Reports: Lawyers Ed.       Ref. 348.73 U582 2d
Consult OhioLINK catalog for other editions of US Supreme Court Reports.

West's Federal Reporter                                                 Ref. 348.7346 W5382
Cases argued and determined in the US courts of appeals and Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals.

West's Federal Supplement                                           Ref. 348.7346 W538
Cases argued and determined in the US District Courts, US Court of International Trade, Special Court, Regional Rail Reorganization Act and rulings of the Judicial Panel on Multi-district Litigation.

West's North Eastern Reporter 2d                                  Ref. 348.73 W538
Regional reporter - includes Ohio cases.

West’s Ohio Digest                                                        Ref. 345.52 W538
Topic and descriptive word guide to legal issues and cases.

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Citators/Citation Analysis

Shepard’s Northeastern Reporter Citations                    Ref. 348.73 S546
This is the only Shepard’s Citations the ERC carries. Consult OhioLINK catalog for other citators: Primary SUBJECT heading = Annotations and citations (Law) – United States.

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Legal Periodicals
     Legal Periodicals offer news and insight in to the legal profession, discussion of current events, analysis of cases and areas of law among others subjects.

OhioLINK Databases > By Subject > Law and Legislation

A few of the specific indexes for legal periodicals under this OhioLINK Category inculde:

• LexisNexis > Legal > Law Reviews
• Legal Collection
• Academic Search Complete

*The links may default to the list of all OhioLINK Databases. Select the database of interest from the list.

Electronic Journal Center

The EJC legal periodicals include Law and Critique, Law and Human Behavior, Law and Philosophy, Legal History Review, Journal of Criminal Justice.

Legal Periodicals at CSCC
The library subscribes to the following print publications. Check the CSLINK catalog for exact holdings.

• ABA Journal
• Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
• Legal Assistant Today
• National Law Journal

For additional legal periodicals and journals, search OhioLINK under SUBJECT = Law - Periodicals - United States

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Legal Directories
     Find information on lawyers, firms, judges, law schools, specialty areas, etc.

Columbus Bar Association Directory (2000)                Ref. 340.025771 C726c
The directory contains sections on law firms and corporations, government attorneys, fields of practice, CBA lawyers and associate members, consultants, court rules and more.

Martindale
An Internet directory for information on lawyers, firms, law faculty, etc throughout the United States and the world.

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Baldwin’s Ohio Revised Code Annotated                                Ref. 348.771 O37b
Also includes the Ohio Constitution and court rules.

Ohio Code Research Guide                                                     Ref. 340.09771 O37
Indexes the Ohio Constitution, Code, and court rules by article, section or rule number with applicable forms and annotations referencing the Ohio Jurisprudence 3d and American Jurisprudence 2d, American Law Reports series, Lawyers’ Edition U.S. Supreme Court 2d, United States Code Service and other publications.

Ohio Constitution
From the State of Ohio Web site.

Ohio Revised Code
From LAWriters Ohio Law and Rules.

Ohio Revised Code
From Lexis/Nexis.

United States Constitution
Full text of the Constitution from the Legal Information Institute (LII), Cornell University.

The United States Constitution, Questions& Answers               Ref. 342.7302 V699u

Encyclopedia of the American Constitution                             Ref. 342.73 E564 v.1-4

United States Code
Available online through LII, Cornell.

United States Code Annotated                                                 Ref. 348.73 U58u
Comprises all laws of a general and permanent nature under arrangement of the official Code of laws of the United States, with annotations from Federal and State courts.

United States Code Service (USCS)
Available through Lexis-Nexis > Legal > Federal and State Codes.

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Available through GPO Access

Other US State Codes – see State Governments, Courts, Laws

United States Code, Congressional and Administrative News    Ref. 348.73 U58
Contains laws, legislative history, administrative regulations, and lists of committees, proclamations, executive messages and orders.

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Court Rules

Ohio Rules of Court: Federal                                         Ref. 347.771 O37 Federal

Ohio Rules of Court: State                                             Ref. 347.771 O37 State

Ohio Rules of Court
     From the Supreme Court of Ohio Web site. Rules and procedures for a variety of courts and jurisdictions, including:

• Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure

• Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure

• Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure

• Ohio Rules of Evidence

• Ohio Rules of Juvenile Procedure

• Ohio Traffic Rules

• Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio

• Ethics and Conduct Rules for Ohio Judges and Attorneys

• Supreme Court Rules

• Rules of the Ohio Court of Claims

Forms
     Some forms are difficult to find for every need and contingency. Many forms are templates that can be used for a variety of legal actions.  Please note that many online forms are generic in nature and not specific for a particular jurisdiction. Also many online forms are premium forms – downloadable for a fee or as form kits for purchase. For additional form books available through OhioLINK, do a KEYWORD search = Law AND Forms AND Ohio (use the Boolean operator AND in capital letters to link the terms).

Ohio Rules of Court: Federal                                         Ref. 347.771 O37 Federal

Ohio Rules of Court: State                                             Ref. 347.771 O37 State
The Ohio Rules of Court contain some samples of forms.

Ohio Forms of Pleading and Practice                             Ref. 347.771 M654o
Includes forms based on civil, appellate and special procedures, attorney and judicial conduct, probate, juvenile and criminal proceedings.

Ohio Transaction Guide: Legal Forms                            Ref. 346.771 O37
Includes forms for business entities, wills and trusts, commercial, real estate and personal transactions.

Ohio Corporate Filing Forms
From Ohio’s Secretary of State Web site, variety of online forms and business services information.

Ohio Tax Forms
From the Ohio Department of Taxation; tax forms for individuals, business, estates, etc.

IRS Tax Forms
From the U.S. Department of Internal Revenue Service.

CataLaw.com
Primarily, a “Links to Links” Web page for online forms.

FindForms.com
Internet search engine and database for free and premium legal forms (download for a fee).

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     Check these other libraries for works not available at CSCC or for their online subject guides and research links (however, not all libraries will offer these features). 

• Columbus, Ohio Law Libraries
• Other Ohio Law School Libraries
• Major US Law School Libraries
• Other Libraries
• Internet Legal Research Sites

Columbus, Ohio Law Libraries

Capital University Law Library
*please note: The Capital University Law Library (although a member of OhioLINK) is a private institution. Reference assistance and other services are not provided to the public or to visiting OhioLINK students. Access to the library may even be limited at times to Capital students, faculty, staff, & alumni.

Ohio State University Moritz Law Library

Supreme Court of Ohio Law Library

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Other Ohio Law School Law Libraries

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland State University

Ohio Northern University

University of Akron

University of Cincinnati

University of Dayton

University of Toledo

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Major US Law School Libraries
     Selected U.S. law libraries with extensive online legal research guides.

Legal Information Institute, Cornell University

Washburn University

Emory University

University of Southern California

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Other Libraries

Columbus Metropolitan Library

Library of Congress

Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)

State Library of Ohio

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     These are only a few of the Internet Legal Research Sites. They offer the researcher a wide variety of sources (some featured on this subject guide) on almost every law topic imaginable.

AllLaw

CataLaw

FindLaw

MegaLaw

WestLaw (most features are subscription based)

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American Association for Paralegal Education

American Bar Association

Columbus Bar Association

Ohio State Bar Association

Ohio Women’s Bar Association

Paralegal Association of Central Ohio

National Association of Legal Assistants

National Federation of Paralegal Associations

Encyclopedia of Associations                        Ref. 061.3 G152e
     Information on thousands of professional, industrial, commercial associations and organizations.

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     This section features primarily Internet resources to the various government branches and agencies that propose, enact, enforce, and interpret the law.

• Executive Branch
• Judicial Branch
• Legislative Branch
• Other Individual Federal Websites

Executive Branch
     Links to the White House, Cabinet Departments, other boards and agencies.

Official US Executive Branch Web Sites
Via the Library of Congress.

Executive Branch
Links via FindLaw.

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Judicial Branch
     Information about the federal court system, links to the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts and special courts.

Judicial Branch
Information from the Federal Judiciary Home Page.

Judicial Branch
Links via FindLaw.

The Supreme Court of the United States
Official site.

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Legislative Branch
     Links to the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, U.S. Code, legislation, committees, etc.

United States Legislative Branch
Via the Library of Congress.

Legislative Branch
Links via FindLaw.

THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet

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Other Individual Federal Websites
     Links to popular and useful sites.

Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Official government site.

Immigration and Naturalization Information & Resources on the Web
Via MegaLaw.

Internal Revenue Service

Medicare

Social Security Administration

US Census Bureau

Return to Federal Government, Courts, & Laws

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Law by Source - States
Information via the LII, Cornell University.

State cases, codes and resources
Links provided by MegaLaw.com.

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State of Ohio Website
Official sites:

• Governor
• Attorney General
• State Agencies
• Ohio Supreme Court
    - Information on Court Justices, current case summaries, court procedures and rules.
• Ohio Legislature
    - Information on the Ohio House, Senate, legislation, etc.

Other Ohio Resources

Ohio State Law Resources via MegaLaw
Links to Ohio courts and cases, codes and regulations, federal legislation sponsored by Ohio's senators and representatives, state government links, Ohio media Websites, law enforcement, and more.

Ohio Legal Research Guide                          Ref. 340.072 P992o
This is an overview of a variety of sources, both print and electronic, available for legal research on Ohio law.

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Franklin County Government

Franklin County Court of Common Pleas

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City of Columbus Website

City Charter

City Code

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Nations of the World
Library of Congress’s Global Legal Information Network.

This guide has Information on the constitutions, and the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of governments of the world’s nations. Includes links to sources of legal and general information concerning the nations listed from a variety of Web sites.

MegaLaw International Law Index

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General legal research guides available at Columbus State ERC. For additional titles search CSLINK or OhioLINK under SUBJECT = legal research, or law – United States.

Essentials of Paralegalism                                                           340.023 S797e
Statsky, William P. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1993.

Government Information on the Internet                                      Ref. 025.06 N911g
Notess, Greg R. Lanham, MD: Bernan Press, 1998.

Law on the Net, 2nd Ed.                                                              Ref. 025.06 E92L
Evans, James. Berkeley: Nolo Press, 1997.

Legal Information : How to Find It, How to Use It.                        340.072 O526L
Olson, Kent C. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1999.

Legal Research for Paralegals                                                     340.072 H468L
Hein, Edward H. Minneapolis: West Pub. Co., 1996.

Legal Research Made Easy                                                         340.072 H572L
Herskowitz, Suzan. Clearwater, FL: Sphinx Publishing, 1995.

Ohio Legal Research Guide                                                        Ref. 340.072 P992o
Putnam, Melanie K. and Susan M. Schaefgen. Buffalo, NY, William S. Hein & Co., 1997.

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