Legal Links by Jurisdiction: United States (Federal)

This site provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
This website will eventually replace the Federal Digital System (FDsys)

Links to consumer rights orgs and govt offices nationwide. Advice on many topics.

Links to Federal Courts and related sites.

United States Federal, State, and Local Government information.

References, links, and search engines for Federal legal research.

Search the National Archives & U.S. Historical records. Topical research guides.

Search, browse & download official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.

Organized access to federal & state laws, cases, subject guides, attorney directories, legal blogs, legal forms, and more.

Links to federal U.S. primary sources by branch of govt. Select guides by topic.

Commemorative Observances (Recommended Resources), Digitized Material, Legal Reports (for Congress), Guide to Law Online (Links),Guides to LLoC Collections, & Legal Research Guides.

Research guides, resource lists and links,tables of information, & other materials. Site is Indexed.

A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies, Government Services and Information by Topic, Directory of Government Agencies and Elected Officials (Federal, State, Local & Tribal).

Links to US and state laws as well as Publications, Articles, Organizations, Resources, Lawyers and Law Firms.

Ballotpedia covers local, state and federal politics. Includes neutral, accurate, and verifiable information on government officials and the offices they hold, political issues and public policy, elections, candidates, and the influencers of politics.

Access official statistical information produced by the Federal Government.

Data about the nation's people and economy. Search, Browse by topic, and more.

Opinions 1791 - 2014 , coded for empirical research. Includes, data, analysis, documentation.

Statistical analysis and reports cover: BAPCPA (Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act ) Report; Civil Justice Reform Act Report; Federal Court Management Statistics; Federal Judicial Caseload Statistics; Judicial Facts and Figures; Judicial Business; Statistical Tables for the Federal Judiciary; Wiretap Reports; Delayed-Notice Search Warrant; FISA Report; Director's Annual Report; and more.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) preserved a one-time snapshot of agency public web sites as they existed on or before January 20, 2001, as an archival record in the National Archives of the United States.
NARA also conducted a harvest (i.e., capture) of Federal Agency public web sites in 2004 and of Congressional web sites in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014...

Documents made available through the Freedom of Information Act and other CIA release programs.

OSD dates to 1949.Their mission is to collect, preserve, and present the history of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Resources include: Department of Defense histories, publications, oral histories, annual reports, Quadrennial Defense Reviews, National Security Strategies, National Military Strategies, National Defense Strategies, and more.

Cornerstone Federal Government documents that define the U.S. democratic society.

An archive of "Government websites that have ceased operation (usually websites of defunct government agencies and commissions that have issued a final report). " Search or browse.

Archived State Dept. websites from the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations, and other archived resources back to 1996.

Congressional Record issues from 1989-1994 (101st to 103rd Congresses).

"Founded in 1985 by journalists and scholars to check rising government secrecy, the National Security Archive combines a unique range of functions: investigative journalism center, research institute on international affairs, library and archive of declassified U.S. documents..."

News, photos, issues, the administration, ways to participate, history, and more.

1992-present. Includes the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, both official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary.

Hoover to Obama.... A “Signing Statement” is a written comment issued by a President at the time of signing legislation.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act and Executive Order 12866, OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviews Federal regulations and information collections. OIRA also develops and oversees the implementation of government-wide policies on information technology, information quality, privacy, and statistics. "

The OMB reports directly to the President and helps a wide range of executive departments and agencies across the Federal Government to implement the commitments and priorities of the President.

Links to historic documents created by: the President and President's staff, the Vice President and Vice President's staff, departments, agencies and bureaus, commissions and boards

Links to U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Missions, and other information.

1996 - present

"...a currently updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). It is not an official legal edition of the CFR. The e-CFR is an editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments produced by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Publishing Office. The OFR updates the material in the e-CFR on a daily basis...."

"... offers a preview of documents scheduled to appear in the next day’s Federal Register issue. The Public Inspection page may also include documents scheduled for later issues, at the request of the issuing agency"

1994-present. "... Federal Register documents are organized and displayed in an easier to read format with extensive navigation aids and links to related material, such as the Code of Federal Regulations and the United States Code. ..." Use Advanced Search to locate specific date.

Digital collection. 1936 - 1993.
"The Federal Register is the official daily publication for Presidential Documents, Executive Orders, proposed, interim, and final rules and regulations, and notices by Federal Agencies, as well as notices of hearings, decisions, investigations, and committee meetings. The Federal Register has been published by the National Archives and Records Administration since 1936 and consists of several distinct parts."

"... the source for information on the development of Federal regulations and other related documents issued by the U.S. Government. Through this site, the public can find, read, and comment on proposed regulations and related documents published by the U.S. Federal Government, and learn more about regulatory issues. "

States, territories, protectorates in alphabetical order. Links to Home Page, Register, Code, and Manual.

Alphabetical list of federal agencies and commissions- gives brief background note on agency, and links to pending documents, most recent significant regulations and recent documents from Federal Register.

Information, resources, services, research, toolkits, calculators, and much more.
"The Social Security Administration manages the Nation's social insurance program--consisting of retirement, survivors, and disability insurance programs--commonly known as Social Security; administers the Supplemental Security Income program for the aged, blind, and disabled; assigns Social Security numbers to U.S. citizens; and maintains earnings records for workers under their Social Security numbers."

Organized alphabetically by Agency. Links to decisions, directives, FOIA info, and more .

"...Contact information for federal government departments and agencies, and government-sponsored enterprises."

"This site was designed to facilitate the exchange of information about federal and state administrative law among legislators, lawyers, hearing officers, judges, and citizens. While much of the original material is now available from other sources, the ABA Administrative Procedure Database Archive provides access to resources not readily available elsewhere."

Decisions and opinions from U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) on matters of appropriations law requested by Congress and federal agencies.

Including archives back to OT95.

Links to: Executive Nominations; Judicial Nominations; Supreme Court Nominations; Confirmed Nominations

Recent & Most-read decisions; Links to other resources.

Since 2004-05, the bulletin has covered cases currently before the US Supreme Court. Previews for Oral arguments: Summary and analysis of cases.

From Cornell Legal Information Institute.

Covers Supreme Court Cases 1789-present. Presents basic information as well as a summary of FACTS, QUESTION, and CONCLUSION for each case. Also includes biographical information on all Supreme Court Justices, photographic tours of the Supreme Court, and links to news.

Covers cases 2007-present. Links to briefs, provides summaries and analysis.

1973-2014. Indexing 2014+

U.S. Supreme Court briefs filed by Solicitor General,1982-present. (1982-96 Selected briefs)

Opinions 1791 - 2014 , coded for empirical research. Includes, data, analysis, documentation.

Covers history of the Court, how the court works, publications, videos, and more.

"...SCOTUSblog is devoted to comprehensively covering the U.S. Supreme Court without bias..."
Includes: reporting on every merits case before the Court (2007-present); Daily “Round-up” of writings about the Court; analytical pieces; analysis of nominees to the Court; calendar of significant dates of activity at the Court ; statistics relating to the Term; Plain English (Supreme Court Procedure; Glossary of Legal Terms; Biographies of the Justices)

Annotates links to primary and secondary resources related to the Court.

Last updated 2003, but useful resources described and linked to.

"... handy [background] guide for the discerning news consumer to make sense of the court, its decisions, and its coverage." Listen to this 11 minute audio handbook, or read the transcript . From "On the Media" Feb 19, 2016.

Official directory of the U.S. Congress. Includes:
"Short biographies of each member of the Senate and House, listed by state or district; Committee memberships, terms of service, administrative assistants and/or secretaries, and room and telephone numbers for Members of Congress.
Lists officials of the courts, military establishments, and other Federal departments and agencies, including D.C. government officials, governors of states and territories, foreign diplomats, and members of the press, radio, and television galleries."

Status of federal legislation; bill summaries, tracking and alerts; information about Congressional representative and senators; statistical analysis; and more.

Official website for legislative history information. Includes: Legislation of the U.S. Congress (1973 to present), Congressional Record 1995-present); Directory members of Congress (1971-current); Congressional Committee information; House Committee Hearings and Meetings Videos.

"LegiStorm LLC is a non-partisan, for-profit company that researches, verifies and publishes information about Members of Congress and congressional staff." It provides a wide range of public disclosures, including salaries, travel, personal financial disclosures, earmarks, congressional expenditures and lobbying reports, hearings, press releases, tweets and town halls. Users can subscribe to obtain data sets.

1995-present

Research Portal - browse or search

Replaced by Congress.gov

1994 - 2014

current version

1st Congress to 43rd Congress (v.1-18 Stat.)
Library of Congress - American Memory

82nd Congress to current (v.65-125+ Stat.) (FDsys)

From the Congressional Research Service

Includes"...every CRS report that’s available on Congress’s internal website" ---over 8,000 CRS Reports.

Selected CRS Reports via Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C. Also includes list of CRS Report repositories and databases.

Selective. 1989 - present. Via Federation of American Scientists. Topics include: General National Security Topics; Middle East; Foreign Policy and Regional Affairs; Secrecy and Information Policy; Intelligence; Homeland Security; Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control; Conventional Weapons Systems;
Terrorism; and Miscellaneous Topics.

1993 - 2016+. Via U. New Hampshire. Selected CRS Reports on Intellectual property, cyberlaw and electronic commerce.

Selected - via U.S. State Dept. website. Browse by date (1999-2014), region, or topic.

1999-present. Subscription database - UB ONLY

Watch or listen to live and recorded sessions and events from Congress, the Whitehouse, and the Courts. Live streaming from all three C-SPAN Networks:
--- C-SPAN - gavel-to-gavel coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives (launched 1979)
--- C-SPAN 2 - gavel-to-gavel coverage of the U.S. Senate (launched 1986)
--- C-SPAN 3 - other public affairs programming (launched 2001)
Programming includes: Congressional hearings; Federal, state, & locala campaign and election coverage; Debates; National Press Club Speeches; Supreme Court events & information; International programming; Washington Journal, Book TV, links to C-SPAN documentaries and more.

Free searchable online collection of every C-SPAN program aired since 1987.
Use Search Box at top of page, then filter results. Search by name, keyword, date, location, and more. Also includes transcripts, photo galleries, statistics, and more.
Includes Congressional Chronicle feature (1993 to present) - an index to video recordings of House and Senate floor proceedings organized by speaker, with full text search. Video recordings are matched with text of Congressional Record, making it possible to simultaneously read and listen to remarks in the Congressional Record.

Archived (~2013 - present) and live-stream.

Nine short videos explain each step of the legislative process. Transcript provided.

Listen live online, and read news stories-- "...breaking news, information and analysis for the individuals responsible for carrying out and supporting the missions of federal agencies. Federal News Radio addresses federal agency managers, policy makers and contractors."
"...Coverage is non-partisan, non-political and is designed to help executives more clearly understand and make better decisions about issues affecting their agencies and their companies."