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SJD Research Guide

This is a guide to library research resources that are available to SJD students.

Research Tips From Librarians

Quick Sources for Journal Articles

Google Scholar  can provide a quick, though basic, overview of a legal research topic. When you access as a CWRU (law) patron, results will include articles from both HeinOnline and JSTOR. 

HeinOnline offers full-text content from a variety of sources, in PDF format.

  • historical and current U.S. government documents, such as the U.S. Code (unannotated), federal regulations (Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations); U.S. Supreme Court opinions; and selected federal administrative decisions.
  • Selected foreign content from Canada and the United Kingdom. (See also, CanLII and BAILII)
  • United Nations library (including the United Nations Treaty Series and additional United Nations materials). See also the United Nations website and UN documents.
  • Topical "libraries" such as Intellectual Property and Immigration. (See also topical secondary sources (law reviews and journals) via Lexis or Westlaw.
  • Hague Academy, Harvard International, Philip Jessup, and additional international law content
  • Selected foreign journal content.

Annotated Codes

When researching U.S. federal statutes or U.S. state statutes, you can usually find the full-text online.

For in-depth research, consult the annotated code versions via Lexis (U.S. Code Service and selected state annotated codes) or Westlaw (U.S. Code Annotated and selected state annotated codes).

Municipal (city) codes are often available online -- ask a reference librarian for assistance.

Major Treatises

Another research "shortcut" for U.S. legal research is to use a legal treatise by topic.

For most legal subjects, there is usually a treatise on the topic on either Lexis or Westlaw.

  • Written by experts.
  • Regularly updated.
  • Provide the relevant primary legal authorities and
  • Additional context and depth of treatment

SSRN

SSRN  provides free, full-text access to scholarly papers while they are still "at press" (in print form), as well as working papers which may never be published in traditional, print format. Thus, legal researchers (and others) can access scholarly, multidisciplinary articles on various topics (including, but not limited to law).

Digital Commons (Bepress)

Digital Commons offers institutions, including at least 50 law school, an opportunity to post full-text content from faculty publications, student-edited journals, in-house publications, and orphan periodicals (journals that may not not feasible for for-profit publications).

For example, our law library hosts the following publications on behalf of the law school.

  • Faculty Publications
  • Student-Edited Journals: Law Review, Journal of International Law, Health Matrix, Canada-U.S. Law Journal, and the Journal of Law, Technology and the Internet
  • In Brief and The Newsletter of the Center for Professional Ethics
  • Cross-Disciplinary Journals: Societies Without Borders and The International Journal of Ethical Leadership
  • Selected (old) law school videos
  • Ohio Oil and Gas Commission's decisions and documents

Search Results (Online Catalogs)

Search results can be filtered before you search, or after you search.

For example, when you search the online catalog,  you can do an advanced search and limit by date, language, or specific field (author, title, or Library of Congress subject heading). Search results are retrieved by relevance (by algorithm), but that can be retrieved by reverse chronological order (reverse date).

You can also limit the search results, after they are retrieved, by these options.

Search Results (Lexis and Westlaw)

To obtain better results from "law reviews and journals":

- while searching all law review and law journal content, try the ATLEAST# command -- results will only include law journal/review articles that mention that word or phrase at least that many times or more.

Sample search: ATLEAST25("war crime") AND ATLEAST20("command rsponsibility") -- no blank spaces and you can adjust the #s. 

or

- pick topical law journal options (such as criminal law, intellectual property, international law)

Some Comparative Law Resources (Hat tip: Judy Kaul)

Using the broad subject of comparative law as an example, here are examples of the types of resources that are available to you as Case Western Reserve Law students:

Selected Comparative Law Journals

 

Sources for Ebooks for Case Western Reserve School of Law Students: Sme examples of books you can find in the ebook collections available to Case Western Reserve Law Students.

The OhioLINK Electronic Books Center.

OhioLINK EBSCO Ebooks Collection.

Case Western Reserve ProQuest Ebook Central (EBC).

You can find many of the titles subscribed to by CWRU available in our online catalog.  You may also find some titles via the OhioLINK Electronic Books Center to access books in that collection.

Research Databases for Comparative Law Resources- 

 Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP). HeinOnline.

Multinational Sources Compared: A Subject and Jurisdiction Index. HeinOnline.

Selected Books on Comparative Law

Mikaila Lemonik Arthur, LAW AND  JUSTICE AROUND THE WORLD: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH (2020). OhioLINK. 

Jacco Bomhoff and Maurice Adans, PRACTICE AND THEORY IN COMPARATIVE LAW (2012). OhioLINK Ebooks.

Andrea Buratti, WESTERN CONSTITUTIONALISM: HISTORY, INSTITUTIONS, COMPARATIVE LAW (2019). OhioLINK Ebooks.

Larry Catá Backer, COMPARATIVE CORPORATE LAW: UNITED STATES, EUROPEAN UNION, CHINA, AND JAPAN: CASES AND MATERIALS Law Library Stacks K1315 .B33 2002.

CRITICAL STUDIES IN ANCIENT LAW, COMPARATIVE LAW AND LEGAL HISTORY (John W. Cairns & Olivia F. Robinson eds. 2001).  Law Library Stacks K590.C75 2001.

Jaakko Husa, A NEW INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE LAW  (2015). OhioLINK.

INSTITUTIONAL COMPETITION BETWEEN COMMON LAW AND CIVIL LAW: THEORY AND POLICY (Michele Schmiegelow & Henrik Schmiegelow eds. 2014). OhioLINK Ebook.

John H. Langbein, Renee Lettow and Bruce P. Smith, HISTORY OF THE COMMON LAW: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANGLO-AMERICAN LEGAL INSTITUTIONS (2009).  Law Library Stacks & Law Library Reserve K588 .L36 2009. OhioLINK.

Iryna Marchuk, THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT OF CRIME IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: A COMPARATIVE LAW ANALYSIS (2014). OhioLINK Ebooks. 

Werner Menski, COMPARATIVE LAW IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT:  THE LEGAL SYSTEMS OF ASIA AND AFRICA (2006). OhioLINK Ebooks.

George Mousiyrakis, COMPARATIVE LAW AND LEGAL TRADITIONS: HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES (2019). OhioLINK Ebook.

THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF COMPARATIVE LAW (2d ed., 2019). OhioLINK.

Muhannad' 'UmarAbd-alKhaliq, THE ISLAMIC LEGAL TRADITION: THE ORIGINS OF THE SHARI' AH, ITS SOURCES, CHARACTERISTICS, DEVELOPMENT AND CURRENT TRENDS (2020). OhioLINK.

More Pearls of Wisdom from Judy Kaul

Using the broad subject of comparative law as an example, here are examples of the types of resources that are available to you as Case Western Reserve Law students:

Selected Comparative Law Journals

 

Sources for Ebooks for Case Western Reserve School of Law Students: Sme examples of books you can find in the ebook collections available to Case Western Reserve Law Students.

The OhioLINK Electronic Books Center.

OhioLINK EBSCO Ebooks Collection.

Case Western Reserve ProQuest Ebook Central (EBC).

You can find many of the titles subscribed to by CWRU available in our online catalog.  You may also find some titles via the OhioLINK Electronic Books Center to access books in that collection.

Research Databases for Comparative Law Resources- 

 Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP). HeinOnline.

Multinational Sources Compared: A Subject and Jurisdiction Index. HeinOnline.

Selected Books on Comparative Law

Mikaila Lemonik Arthur, LAW AND  JUSTICE AROUND THE WORLD: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH (2020). OhioLINK. 

Jacco Bomhoff and Maurice Adans, PRACTICE AND THEORY IN COMPARATIVE LAW (2012). OhioLINK Ebooks.

Andrea Buratti, WESTERN CONSTITUTIONALISM: HISTORY, INSTITUTIONS, COMPARATIVE LAW (2019). OhioLINK Ebooks.

Larry Catá Backer, COMPARATIVE CORPORATE LAW: UNITED STATES, EUROPEAN UNION, CHINA, AND JAPAN: CASES AND MATERIALS Law Library Stacks K1315 .B33 2002.

CRITICAL STUDIES IN ANCIENT LAW, COMPARATIVE LAW AND LEGAL HISTORY (John W. Cairns & Olivia F. Robinson eds. 2001).  Law Library Stacks K590.C75 2001.

Jaakko Husa, A NEW INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE LAW  (2015). OhioLINK.

INSTITUTIONAL COMPETITION BETWEEN COMMON LAW AND CIVIL LAW: THEORY AND POLICY (Michele Schmiegelow & Henrik Schmiegelow eds. 2014). OhioLINK Ebook.

John H. Langbein, Renee Lettow and Bruce P. Smith, HISTORY OF THE COMMON LAW: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANGLO-AMERICAN LEGAL INSTITUTIONS (2009).  Law Library Stacks & Law Library Reserve K588 .L36 2009. OhioLINK.

Iryna Marchuk, THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT OF CRIME IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: A COMPARATIVE LAW ANALYSIS (2014). OhioLINK Ebooks. 

Werner Menski, COMPARATIVE LAW IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT:  THE LEGAL SYSTEMS OF ASIA AND AFRICA (2006). OhioLINK Ebooks.

George Mousiyrakis, COMPARATIVE LAW AND LEGAL TRADITIONS: HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES (2019). OhioLINK Ebook.

THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF COMPARATIVE LAW (2d ed., 2019). OhioLINK.

Muhannad' 'UmarAbd-alKhaliq, THE ISLAMIC LEGAL TRADITION: THE ORIGINS OF THE SHARI' AH, ITS SOURCES, CHARACTERISTICS, DEVELOPMENT AND CURRENT TRENDS (2020). OhioLINK.