U.S. Legal Resources Guide
This guide is an annotated listing of United States legal materials found in
the NCSU Libraries. North Carolina legal materials are discussed in the guide,
North Carolina Legal Resources.
Specific library locations are included since these titles are located in
different areas of the D. H. Hill Library.
Getting Started
Legal materials consist of primary sources and secondary
sources. Primary sources are considered mandatory authority that a court must
follow within a jurisdiction. Constitutions, legislation, administrative
regulations, and decisions from a court of higher authority in the same
jurisdiction are all primary sources.
Decisions from courts in other jurisdictions, encyclopedias,
journal articles and books on legal topics are considered secondary authority.
The "law" changes frequently. New laws and regulations are passed and new
court decisions are released. It is important that you consult the most
current versions of legal sources. Publishers of legal materials have created
various methods to update legal materials, such as looseleaf pages or
supplements inserted in the back of a book (pocket part). Examine the books
you are using to determine the updating format.
Uniform methods of citing legal materials have been established.
The general format is:
volume source page/section (date)
For example, a decision of the United States Supreme Court would be cited
367 U.S. 431 (1978)
After the description of each source, the appropriate citation format is
provided.
Individuals having a specific reference (citation) to a federal case,
statute, regulations, etc. should consult the appropriate section under
Primary Sources. Those seeking a discussion or
article about the "law" on a particular topic should begin with the
section titled Secondary Sources.
Directories to assist you in deciphering a citation are listed under
Other Sources.
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