Legal Reference

Basic Legal Citation

Cornell Legal Information Institute offers this Web site on legal citation by Peter Martin. It provides rules, commentary and examples based on the Harvard Bluebook as well as the ALWD (Association of Legal Writing Directors) Citation Manual.

The Bluebook - A Uniform System of Citation

A joint project of The Harvard Law Review Association, the Columbia Law Review Association, The Yale Law Journal Company, and the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, The Bluebook provides search and browse access to legal profession's method of legal citation. While you may browse the index, table of contents, and even the Bluebook tips, for free, full access requires a subscription key, which you may obtain through the purchase link or through buying the book in a bookstore.

The Bluebook - Archived Copies

Linked from this introductory page at The Bluebook Web site are all previous editions of the official Uniform System of Citation (The Bluebook) from the first edition (1926) to, and including, the 15th (1991). You may display or download each edition in PDF.

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

The directory provides biographies of Presidents, Congressmen and other government officials, who have served since 1774. Biographies typically include years of service, party affiliation, personal data, education and occupation(s). Several also contain a bibliography. The site does not appear to enable searching. You may browse biographies alphabetically by last name. The directory is available in PDF only.

The Chicago Manual of Style

The University of Chicago offers this site, which provides information about this legal style manual. You may purchase the manual, read excerpts and obtain answers to common questions. Registered (free) members may also query the current edition to find where the keywords appear in the text. In other words, the search results provide the section title and number of the manual, and not the full-text.

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations

This free web-site allows you to search for the meaning of abbreviations for English language legal publications, from the British Isles, the British Commonwealth and the United States.

Congressional Record

The Congressional Record records debate on the floor of Congress. Many times, Congressmen read a company's written remarks into the record. Find debate, select committee reports and bills, and commentary.  The Library of Congress offers this information from 1989.

Contact the Federal Judiciary

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts offers this search tool for finding federal court contact information. Search by type of court and location to find the full street address, a map, phone number, Web site address and URL for submitting electronic filings.

Federal Court Locator

Find Federal Courts using an interactive map maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the Federal Judiciary.

Nolo's Plain English Legal Dictionary

Legal publisher Nolo Press makes available this free legal dictionary. Browse or search a lexicon of legal terms and phrases commonly used in the practice of law. Each term features a definition with links to other defined terms. Download a free version of the dictionary to your iPhone here.

Nolo's Legal Encyclopedia

Written for consumers, legal researchers may also find this site useful. Many essays offer links to additional web resources.

Online Research and Documentation

Discusses how to cite online sources.  Citation styles covered include MLA (Modern Language Association of America; used primarily by writers of literature and the humanities), APA (American Psychological Association), the Chicago Manual of Style and CBE (Council of Biology Editors).

TRAC Reports on People and Staffing

TRAC Reports, a data research and distribution service associated with Syracuse University, includes information about the caseload and court activity of federal district court judges.

U.S. Attorneys' Manual

Find the Department of Justice's U.S. Attorneys' Manual compressed by chapter for quick downloading.

U.S. Government Manual

The Government printing office offers the U.S. Government Manual from 1995 forward. Researchers may search it here.

U.S. Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manuals and Amendments

The U.S. Sentencing Commission offers Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manuals and amendments from 1994.