Free Legal Research: Primary Sources

There are many different types of laws, including constitutions, statutes, ordinances, court opinions, and regulations.

Usually we think of statutes when we think of laws.  Statutes are the written laws that the state or federal legislators voted for (often called acts), and they are kept in codes or compilations of statutes.  The codes or compilations are updated, so old laws are removed or amended if needed, and new ones are added.  Codes or compilations are the best way to see a statute that is now in force. You can generally find constitutions in the same places you find statutes. Ordinances are written laws, like statutes but authorized at the local level. 

Court opinions (often called cases) are important for the law.  Usually court opinions interpret statutes, so there will generally be a need for you to find both a statute and the opinions that interpret that statute.  Some expensive databases (like Nexis Uni listed below) will find the opinions that interpret statute for you.  Otherwise, you will need to directly search for opinions that mention the statute.  Some law exists as common law, which means that you would find it in opinions, but it was never written down into a statute.  If there is a written statute, it overrides common law.

Regulations are written laws like statutes, but they are written by government agencies and departments rather than by legislators. Sometimes agencies will even have their own courts, called administrative courts.  Regulations are becoming more and more prevalent.