LibGuides: Legal Research Basics: Free Sources of Legal Information

Introduction

There are many sources for free legal information on the Internet, especially for legislative bodies and regulatory agencies. It can be cost-effective to begin your research on free (but authoritative) websites before moving to fee-based legal databases.

Always remember:

Evaluate internet sources for authenticity and credibility
Websites often do not cite to primary law - move to specialized legal databases to find citations and confirm results

Federal

Legal Information Institute This link opens in a new window
The Legal Information Institute is a not-for-profit group from Cornell Law School that compiles and provides primary and secondary sources for free including state and federal resources.
Congress.gov This link opens in a new window
This website provides access to congressional bills, information on congressional committees, and the Congressional Record.
GovInfo This link opens in a new window
This database, operated by the Government Publishing Office, contains full-text official versions of government documents including the Code of Federal Regulations, the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, the U.S. Code, and more. GovInfo replaced FDSys in December 2018.
Caselaw Access Project This link opens in a new window
Provided by the Harvard Library Innovation Lab, the Caselaw Access Project contains all published U.S. court decisions, digitized from the Harvard Law Library's print collection. Content coverage goes back to 1658. This resource does not contain a search interface, but makes data available to researchers through bulk downloads or through their API.

California

California Legislative Information This link opens in a new window
This website provides access to the official California Codes and bills. Bill information goes back to 1993. Other legislative publications starting with the 2017 session are also available including the Daily File, Senate and Assembly histories, and the Legislative Index.
California Office of Administrative Law This link opens in a new window
This website provides access to California regulatory materials including the California Code of Regulations and the California Regulatory Notice Register.
California Municipal Codes This link opens in a new window
This guide, maintained by the Hugh & Hazel Darling Law Library, provides links to municipal codes for counties, cities, and towns in California.
California Ballot Propositions and Initiatives This link opens in a new window
This database provides the full text of nearly all the initiatives and propositions filed with the California Attorney General from 1911 to 2014. The collection is compiled by the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
Caselaw Access Project This link opens in a new window
Provided by the Harvard Library Innovation Lab, the Caselaw Access Project contains all published U.S. court decisions, digitized from the Harvard Law Library's print collection. Content coverage goes back to 1658. This resource does not contain a search interface, but makes data available to researchers through bulk downloads or through their API.

Other States

Legal Information Institute This link opens in a new window
The Legal Information Institute is a not-for-profit group from Cornell Law School that compiles and provides primary and secondary sources for free including state and federal resources.
Administrative Codes and Registers This link opens in a new window
Provided by the Administrative Codes and Registers Section of the National Association of Secretaries of State, this website provides links to official rules, codes, and manuals used by rulewriting agencies. Coverage includes United States states, territories, and protectorates.
Caselaw Access Project This link opens in a new window
Provided by the Harvard Library Innovation Lab, the Caselaw Access Project contains all published U.S. court decisions, digitized from the Harvard Law Library's print collection. Content coverage goes back to 1658. This resource does not contain a search interface, but makes data available to researchers through bulk downloads or through their API.

Foreign & International

GlobaLex This link opens in a new window
This resource provides access to a large number of research guides and articles in the areas of international, comparative, and foreign law. Users can search for information, articles, and guides covering legal topics from around the world.
Library of Congress Guide to Law Online This link opens in a new window The Guide to Law Online provides links to legal and governmental information for the federal government, the 50 states, foreign countries, and international and multinational organizations.
WorldLII This link opens in a new window This database is a good place to start when searching for foreign law, as it provides links to various types of foreign primary sources (case law, statutes, etc.).