Legal Links by Jurisdiction: United States (Federal)
Contents
- Portals and Gateways
- Data & Statistics
- Historical Collections / Internet Archives
- Executive Materials
- The President
- Rules and Regulations
- Admin. Agencies and Opinions
- Judicial Materials
- Supreme Court
- Other Federal Courts
- Judicial Selection
- Court Rules
- Legislative Materials
- CRS Reports
- News, Media and Video Resources
United States
- GovInfoThis 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) - Federal Citizen Information Center (consumer protection)Links to consumer rights orgs and govt offices nationwide. Advice on many topics.
- Federal Court LocatorLinks to Federal Courts and related sites.
- Federal GatewayUnited States Federal, State, and Local Government information.
- FedLawReferences, links, and search engines for Federal legal research.
- Government Information Locator Service (National Archives)Search the National Archives & U.S. Historical records. Topical research guides.
- FDsys (GPO's Federal Digital System)Search, browse & download official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
- JustiaOrganized access to federal & state laws, cases, subject guides, attorney directories, legal blogs, legal forms, and more.
- Guide to Law Online: U.S. Federal (Library of Congress)Links to federal U.S. primary sources by branch of govt. Select guides by topic.
- Law Library of Congress Research & ReportsCommemorative Observances (Recommended Resources), Digitized Material, Legal Reports (for Congress), Guide to Law Online (Links),Guides to LLoC Collections, & Legal Research Guides.
- Legislative Sourcebook (Law Librarians' Society of D.C.)Research guides, resource lists and links,tables of information, & other materials. Site is Indexed.
- USA.gov (previously FirstGov.gov)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).
- Hieros Gamos Law CenterLinks to US and state laws as well as Publications, Articles, Organizations, Resources, Lawyers and Law Firms.
- Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American PoliticsBallotpedia 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.
- Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC)TRAC is a data gathering, data research and data distribution organization at Syracuse University. Comprehensive information about staffing, spending, and enforcement activities of the federal government. Some data obtained by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.Covers FBI, DEA, Immigration, DHS, IRS, ATF and other Fed govt information.
- FedStatsAccess official statistical information produced by the Federal Government.
- U.S. Census BureauData about the nation's people and economy. Search, Browse by topic, and more.
- The Supreme Court Database (Washington U., St. Louis)Opinions 1791 - 2014 , coded for empirical research. Includes, data, analysis, documentation.
- United States Courts (Statistics & Reports)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.
- Federal Web HarvestsThe 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... - CIA Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading RoomDocuments made available through the Freedom of Information Act and other CIA release programs.
- Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)OSD dates to 1949.Their mission is to collect, preserve, and present the history of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
- Department of Defense Online ArchivesResources include: Department of Defense histories, publications, oral histories, annual reports, Quadrennial Defense Reviews, National Security Strategies, National Military Strategies, National Defense Strategies, and more.
- Core Documents of U.S. Democracy (GPO)Cornerstone Federal Government documents that define the U.S. democratic society.
- CyberCemetery (Univ. of North Texas Libraries and U.S. G.P.O.)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.
- U.S. Dept. of State Archive Websites (1997-2017)Archived State Dept. websites from the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations, and other archived resources back to 1996.
- Congressional Record Archive (Library of Congress)Congressional Record issues from 1989-1994 (101st to 103rd Congresses).
- National Security Archive (George Washington University)"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..."
The President
- WhitehouseNews, photos, issues, the administration, ways to participate, history, and more.
- Compilation of Presidential Documents1992-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.
- Presidential Signing StatementsHoover to Obama.... A “Signing Statement” is a written comment issued by a President at the time of signing legislation.
- RegInfo.gov (OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA))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. "
- Office of Management & Budget (OMB)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.
- National Archives - Executive Branch HoldingsLinks 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
- Embassies & ConsulatesLinks to U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Missions, and other information.
- Code of Federal Regulations (Annual Edition)1996 - present
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR)"...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...."
- Office of the Federal Register -- Public Inspection"... 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"
- Federal Register1994-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.
- Federal Register (Library of Congress, via Hein)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." - Regulations.gov (OMB)"... 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. "
- AdministrativeRules.org (National Association of Secretaries of State, U.S.A.)States, territories, protectorates in alphabetical order. Links to Home Page, Register, Code, and Manual.
- Agency List (Federal Register)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.
- Social Security OnlineInformation, 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."
- Federal Administrative Decisions (U Virginia Library)Organized alphabetically by Agency. Links to decisions, directives, FOIA info, and more .
- A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies"...Contact information for federal government departments and agencies, and government-sponsored enterprises."
- ABA Administrative Procedure Database Archive"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."
- Comptroller General - Legal Decisions, Opinions and ResourcesDecisions and opinions from U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) on matters of appropriations law requested by Congress and federal agencies.
Supreme Court
Other Federal Courts
- Supreme Court Statistics (SCOTUSBlog)Including archives back to OT95.
Judicial Selection
- Nominations (United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary)Links to: Executive Nominations; Judicial Nominations; Supreme Court Nominations; Confirmed Nominations
Court Rules
- Justia Supreme Court CenterRecent & Most-read decisions; Links to other resources.
- LIIPreviews: Supreme Court Bulletin (2004 - present) (Legal Information Institute – Cornell Law School)Since 2004-05, the bulletin has covered cases currently before the US Supreme Court. Previews for Oral arguments: Summary and analysis of cases.
- Opinions (Current)From Cornell Legal Information Institute.
- Oyez Project (IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law)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.
- Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases (ABA)Covers cases 2007-present. Links to briefs, provides summaries and analysis.
- Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases (HeinOnline - subscription database)1973-2014. Indexing 2014+
- Briefs (U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General)U.S. Supreme Court briefs filed by Solicitor General,1982-present. (1982-96 Selected briefs)
- The Supreme Court Database (Washington U., St. Louis)Opinions 1791 - 2014 , coded for empirical research. Includes, data, analysis, documentation.
- U.S. Supreme Court Historical SocietyCovers history of the Court, how the court works, publications, videos, and more.
- SCOTUSBlog"...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) - Supreme Court Research Guide (Georgetown Law Library)Annotates links to primary and secondary resources related to the Court.
- Web Guide to U.S. Supreme Court Research (LLRX)Last updated 2003, but useful resources described and linked to.
- Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: SCOTUS Edition"... 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.
- Congressional Directory (1997-present)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." - GovTrackStatus of federal legislation; bill summaries, tracking and alerts; information about Congressional representative and senators; statistical analysis; and more.
- Congress.gov (replacing THOMAS)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"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.
- OpenCongress (no longer available - see GovTrack instead)
- Public Laws & Private Laws (FDSys)1995-present
- National Archives - Center for Legislative ArchivesResearch Portal - browse or search
- THOMAS (legislative information from the Library of Congress active until 7/5/2016)Replaced by Congress.gov
- U.S. Code (pdf version) FDsys1994 - 2014
- U.S. Code (U.S. Office of the Law Revision Counsel)current version
- U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection This link opens in a new windowAn ongoing collection of U.S. Government publications compiled under the directive of Congress. More InfoFull-Text UB ONLY
- U.S. Statutes at Large (1789-1875)1st Congress to 43rd Congress (v.1-18 Stat.)
Library of Congress - American Memory - U.S. Statutes at Large (1951-current)82nd Congress to current (v.65-125+ Stat.) (FDsys)
- CRS Reports (Congress.gov)From the Congressional Research Service
- EveryCRSReport.comIncludes"...every CRS report that’s available on Congress’s internal website" ---over 8,000 CRS Reports.
- Selected Congressional Research Service Reports on Congress and its ProceduresSelected CRS Reports via Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C. Also includes list of CRS Report repositories and databases.
- Congressional Research Service [CRS] ReportsSelective. 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. - CRS Reports (Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property)1993 - 2016+. Via U. New Hampshire. Selected CRS Reports on Intellectual property, cyberlaw and electronic commerce.
- Congressional Research Service Reports (CRS) and Issue Briefs.Selected - via U.S. State Dept. website. Browse by date (1999-2014), region, or topic.
- CRS Reports (HeinOnline)1999-present. Subscription database - UB ONLY
- CRS (Congressional Research Service) Reports This link opens in a new windowA section of the Library of Congress that prepares background reports for Congress upon request. More InfoFull-Text PUBLIC
- C-SPAN.orgWatch 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. - C-SPAN Video LibraryFree 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. - House Committee Hearings and Meetings VideosArchived (~2013 - present) and live-stream.
- The Legislative Process (Congress.gov)Nine short videos explain each step of the legislative process. Transcript provided.
- CQ Press Library This link opens in a new windowCovers public policy issues & U.S. Congress news & analysis. More InfoFull-Text UB ONLY
- FederalNewsRadio.com (1500 AM)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."