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Home: U.S. LEGAL RESOURCES GUIDE
Getting Started
Primary Sources
Constitution
Statutes
Administrative Rules and Regulations
Court Reports
U.S. District Courts
U.S. Courts of Appeal
U.S. Supreme Court
Secondary Sources
Legal Dictionaries
Legal Encyclopedias
Legal Journals
Legal Journal Indexes
Finding Books Using the Online Catalog
Finding Federal Documents Using the Online Catalog
Other Sources
For Additional Information
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U.S. Legal Resources Guide
Primary Sources
Court Reports
Court reports are the published decisions of courts on specific issues raised
in disputes (cases). Cases begin as civil disputes or criminal charges which
are taken to court for resolution by a judge and/or jury. The first stage of
the court system is called the trial court. Within the federal court system,
the United States District Courts are trial courts. The United States Courts
of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court are considered appellate courts.
Unlike the state courts, decisions of all these courts are published.
Decisions are published in chronological order.
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LexisNexis Academic
Federal & State Cases
- NCSU's Information System; restricted use via remote
access.
- Go to this LexisNexis Academic link; there the default choice in the
"Select Sources" dropdown should be "Federal and State Cases, Combined."
Change this selection to the appropriate court level for your search.
U. S. District Courts
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Federal Supplement, v. 1-578, 1932-1984
West's Federal Supplement, v. 671-902, 1988-1996; 65-84
(1999-2000)
- D. H. Hill Stacks KF120 .F42 (5th Floor, Tower stacks)
- Chronological compilation of selected decisions for the United States
District Court.
Publication began in 1932.
- Cite as: 865 F. Supp. 1462 (E.D.N.C. 1985)
U. S. Courts of Appeal
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Federal Reporter 2d, v. 1-830, 1924-1988
West's Federal Reporter, 2d, v. 831-999, 1988-1993; 3d, v.
1-69, 130-204, 1993-96, 1998-2004 with gaps
- D. H. Hill Stacks KF105 .F42 (5th Floor, Tower stacks)
- Chronological compilation of published decisions for the United States
Courts
of Appeal. Federal Reporter began publication in 1880 and ceased in
1924 with the initiation of Federal Reporter, 2d Series.
- Cite as: 435 F.2d 168 (4th Cir. 1978)
U. S. Supreme Court
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United States Reports, v. 284- 1931 to date
- D. H. Hill Reference Ju6.8: (U.S. Documents Reference,
2d floor, north tower)
- Decisions appear chronologically as individual opinions (called slip
opinions), and as a pamphlet compilation (advance sheet) prior to publication
in a hard cover volume.
- Publication is slow with a one year delay before publication of advance
sheets and two year delay before the hard cover volume is published.
- Cite as: 451 U.S. 184 (1986)
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United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition, v. 1-100,
1790-1955
United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition 2d, v.
1-61, 1956-1979
- D. H. Hill Reference Ju6.8:L (U.S. Documents
Reference, 2d floor, north tower)
- This is a commercial edition of the U.S. Reports that provides
coverage of Supreme Court case decisions for dates prior to the 1930s.
Cite as: 61 L Ed 2d 101 (1979)
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United States Law Week, v. 50- 1981 to date
- D. H. Hill Reference KF105.1 .U56 (latest volume only,
Reference - 1st Floor, East Wing)
- D. H. Hill Stacks KF105.1 .U56 (5th Floor, Tower
stacks)
- Issued weekly, this source provides current coverage of the activities of
the
Supreme Court and other federal courts. Full-text of decisions of the Supreme
Court will be available within two weeks of the release of a decision.
- Cite as: 60 U.S.L.W. 4152 (1982)
Subject access to court decisions is provided by a digest. The digest also
gives access by case name. Indexing for the District Courts, Courts of Appeal,
and Supreme Court is provided by West's Federal Practice Digest which is
available at the Supreme Court Library and the Meredith College Library.
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United States Supreme Court Digest
- D. H. Hill Reference KF8741 .A53 U5 (Reference, 1st
Floor, East Wing)
- A subject index to decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, the set includes a
Descriptive Word Index to help choose the appropriate subject term. The Table
of Cases and Defendant-Plaintiff Table will provide a case citation if you
have the name of one party.
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