Online Legal Sources for the Librarian

Steven Jablonski

Skokie Public Library

Today’s Agenda I

Legal Materials

Codes, Regulations, and Opinions

Court Records

Legal Forms

Legal Guides

Today’s Agenda II

Professional Legal Advice

Legal Assistance Programs

Lawyer Referral Services

Lawyer Directories and Ratings

Codes, Regulations, & Opinions

Codes are the codified arrangements of statutes passed by legislative bodies and signed into law

Regulations are rules produced by administrative agencies

Opinions are rulings by judges in appellate court cases that lower courts follow

Online Codes

Federal level: US Code (USC)Cornell Legal Information Institute USC (www.law.cornell.edu/uscode)

Online USCs are NOT up to date

State level: Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS)

Illinois Compiled Statutes (www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs.asp)

Online Regulations

Federal level: Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

Cornell Legal Institute CFR (www.law.cornell.edu/cfr)

State level: Illinois Administrative Code (Ill. Admin. Code)

Illinois Administrative Code (www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/titles.html)

Judicial Opinions

Judges interpret statutes and regulations by ruling in court casesHigher court judges publish their rulings as judicial “opinions” or “decisions”These published opinions set precedents (binding or persuasive) for future decisionsThe area of law made up of these opinions is known as “case law” or “common law”

Type of Court

Federal and state courts have a three part hierarchical arrangement:

1) Trial Court

2) Intermediate Appellate Court

3) Highest Appellate Court/ Court of Last Resort

In addition, there are several special federal courts

Federal Courts

1) Trial Court: 94 District Courts

2) Intermediate Appellate Court:12 Circuit Courts (including District of Columbia Court)

3) Highest Appellate Court/ Court of Last Resort:

U.S. Supreme Court

Illinois State Courts

1) Trial Court: 22 Circuit Courts

2) Intermediate Appellate Court:5 Appellate Courts

3) Highest Appellate Court/ Court of Last Resort:

Illinois Supreme Court

What Opinions Are Published?

No state trial court (Illinois Circuit Court) and very few federal trial court (U.S. District Court) opinions are published, either print or online

Only state and federal supreme and appellate court opinions are generally published, usually both print and online, but some aren’t published at all

Online Federal Opinions

Justia has opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court from the 1700s and all federal appellate courts since 1950 (www.justia.com)

Google Scholar has opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court from 1791 and all federal district, appellate, tax, and bankruptcy courts since 1923 (http://scholar.google.com)

Online State Opinions

Google Scholar has opinions from all 50 states’ appellate and supreme courts since 1950 (http://scholar.google.com)

The State of Illinois has Illinois Appellate and Supreme Court Opinions since 1996 (www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/default.asp)

Librarians & Case Law

Librarians DOSearch for cases identified by a specific citation (e.g., Roe v. Wade, 410 US 113)

See Cornell LII for an online guide to citations (www.law.cornell.edu/citation)

Provide patrons with secondary materials that might identify relevant cases (legal encyclopedias, annotated statutes, etc.)

Librarians & Case Law

Librarians DON’TIdentify cases on a specific topic (except broadly through secondary sources)

State whether a particular opinion is still valid or applies to specific jurisdiction

Trial Court Records

Trial court records are available from the Clerk of the Court for a particular court

Clerks of the Court must be contacted directly and will charge a fee

Very few court records are available online for free

Trial Court Records

The Clerk of the Court for the Circuit Court of Cook County provides docket information only on its website (www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org)Black Book Online is a good source to see what online court records are available for other jurisdictions (www.blackbookonline.info)

Trial Court Records

Some commercial websites sell basic court records, e.g. Crime Smasher (www.crimesmasher.com)

CheckIllinois allows free searching for public records including some court records (http://consumer.public-record.com)

Legal Forms

Patrons want “fill-in” forms but these may not be available or advisable

Some forms are standard (e.g., power of attorney) while others must be customized

Some forms are state specific

Patrons use forms at own risk

Legal Forms

Illinois Legal Aid has numerous common forms and letters in its Form Library (www.illinoislegalaid.org)

The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County provides court forms (www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org)

Legal Guides

Very brief, practical guides to the most common legal problems and proceedings

Written at a basic level for ordinary people

Several written specifically for Illinois

Some can be printed out or ordered as brochures

Legal Guides

Illinois Legal Aid is a very good source for guides (www.illinoislegalaid.org)

Illinois Attorney General’s website has many pamphlets and brochures, especially on consumer issues (www.ag.state.il.us/consumers/index.html)

Legal Guides

Chicago Bar Association has a few “must have” guides (www.chicagobar.org)

Lawyers contribute guides to Avvo (www.avvo.com/legal-guides)

Avvo also allows users to post questions to lawyers. These posts can then be searched. (www.avvo.com/free-legal-advice)

Legal Assistance Programs

Numerous organizations provide legal assistance for people with low incomes or special circumstances

Illinois Legal Aid directs people to appropriate legal aid offices (www.illinoislegalaid.org)

Legal Assistance Programs

Valuable pamphlet Where To Go for Legal Assistance in or Around Chicago is available from the Chicago Bar Association (www.chicagobar.org)

Lawyer Referral Services

Referral services put people in contact with lawyers for low-fee initial consultations

The Chicago Bar Association screens lawyers for experience but most do not (www.chicagobar.org)

Other bar associations have their own referral services

Illinois Legal Aid directs people to appropriate lawyer referral services (www.illinoislegalaid.org)

Lawyer Directories

LexisNexis (www.lawyers.com) and Westlaw (http://lawyers.findlaw.com) have directories where you can look up basic information on lawyers

The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission lists all licensed lawyers in Illinois and indicates if they’ve been disciplined (www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp)

Lawyer Ratings

Martindale.com provides peer and client review ratings for top lawyers (www.martindale.com)

Avvo provides ratings for lawyers and allows clients to comment on them (www.avvo.com)

Any Questions?