Skip to Main Content

Legal Resources: Open Access

International

International Treaties, Legislation, and Case Law

World League Information Institute
Free, independent and non-profit access to worldwide law.

English Common Law
Keyword-searchable selected abstracts and decisions from 1220-1873; most from 1575-1873.

Sources

Open Access Legal Resources
Compiled by Ann Spinney, Fort Wayne


United States Federal Legislation and Case Law

Supreme Court: Opinions of the Court
Most recent opinions, not yet printed and bound.

Supreme Court: Bound Volumes
Final versions of opinions that have been printed and bound since 1991 term.

Oyez
“Transcript-synchronized and searchable audio, plain-English case summaries, illustrated decision information, and full text Supreme Court opinions” for the United States Supreme Court since October 1955. No state or circuit court opinions. Must scroll through alphabetical list of decisions by term. 

Justia
Justia are contributors to Oyez.org. State and Circuit court decisions are in full text here.

Library of Congress
Bills and Resolutions enacted by the United States Senate (1819-1873) and House of Representatives, 1799-1873. Keyword searchable, or browse by session.

 

State Legislation and Case Law

Laws, Legislative Materials, and Legal Issues Sources in State Agency Databases
“Laws, Legislative Materials, and Legal Issues Sources in State Agency Databases.” A guide and table of links for all 50 states; content varies based on state. Produced and maintained by the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) of the American Library Association.

Findlaw
Commercial site with some full text opinions from federal and state courts, including Supreme Court. Hard to navigate.

 

Tribal Legislation and Case Law

Tribal Constitutions
Links to those provided online by tribal governments.

Tribal Laws and Codes 
Links to those provided online by tribal governments.

Tribal Court Decisions (selected)  
Keyword-searchable database of selected decisions in full text.

 

Sources Consulted

Harvard University Law School Library. (2017). Free Legal Research Resources. LibGuide by A.J. Blechner. 
https://guides.library.harvard.edu/free 

Law Library of Congress. 
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide.php

Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale University Law School. Research Guides. 
https://library.law.yale.edu/guides/research-guides.