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Notable Internet Resources 2006

This is the archive of the Notable Internet Resources columns from 2006. Notable Internet Resources is produced by the Langdell Reference Department as a service to the Harvard Law School community. The Notable Internet Resources archive may be browsed by date or by topic.

Notable Internet Resources provides annotated links to resources on a topic of interest to the Harvard Law School community. Once published, no effort is made to ensure the links remain current or accurate. This archive is provided for informational purposes only. Please contact the Langdell reference desk, (617) 495-4516, located just off the reading room on the fourth floor of Langdell Hall with any questions.

Notable Internet Resources Listed by Date:

January 9

May 29

November 13      

February

August 7

December

March 17

September

April 17

October 2, 16

Notable Internet Resources Listed by Topic:

Colonial Court Records Online (November 13)
Comparing State Laws (January 9)
Congressional Research Service (“CRS”) Reports (April 17)
Difficult-to-find Government Documents (March 17)
Elections 2006 (October 16)
Finding Law-Related Conferences and Associations (May 29)
Same-Sex Marriage Decisions for 2006 (August 7)
Signing Statements and Other Presidential Documents (October 2)

Notable Internet Resources 2006 Archive:

January 9: Comparing State Laws

Comparing State Laws

50-State Surveys
http://www.westlaw.com/search/default.asp?DB=surveys&RS=WLW3.0&VR=2.6

Contains surveys of state laws on a full range of topics.  Surveys provide citations to statutes, usually linked. Sources for the material are Richard Leiter’s National Survey of State Laws; LRC Multijurisdictional Survey; and surveys produced by West editors. Search by keyword or browse the Table of Contents.

Combined State Statute Databases
Combined state annotated codes on Westlaw (WL Password required)
http://www.westlaw.com/search/default.asp?DB=st-ann-all&RS=WLW3.0&VR=2.6
Combined state annotated codes on LexisNexis (LN Custom ID and password required)
http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?searchtype=bo&source=states;stcode

Search by keyword to find state statutes on a particular topic.  Use a variety of terms to account for the non-uniform nature of state statutory language.

State Constitutions Combined on LexisNexis (LN custom ID and password required)
http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?searchtype=bo&source=states;stcnst

Search across all state constitutions by keyword.

LexisNexis State Capital (Harvard ID and PIN required)
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.eresource:statecap

Easy-to-use source for searching combined state bills, statutes, constitutions, administrative codes and registers.  Also provides access to National Conference of State Legislatures reports and briefs.

National Conference of State Legislatures
http://www.ncsl.org/

A deceivingly simple looking site, this page from the National Conference of State Legislatures offers a huge number of substantive, comparative articles on state laws. See the “Issue Areas” tab and browse the wide range of topics and subtopics.  For each, activities of states at the forefront of the issue are mentioned, and for many there are tables listing state laws and bills.

Federation of Tax Administrators: State Comparisons
http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/

Excellent site for finding summaries and tables comparing state tax rates, state revenues and burdens, tax amnesty programs, sales taxation of services and other state tax issues.

National Association of Secretaries of State
http://www.nass.org/

The focus here is voting and elections, but the National Association of Secretaries of State provide comparative looks at some other issues through news items, fact sheets, and short reports.

National Governors Association
http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga

The National Governors Association provides news on current events in state government.  See “Center for Best Practices” for reports and publications on an extensive list of issues explaining which states are implementing creative solutions to thorny issues.

Compiled and edited by Deanna Barmakian, Reference Librarian, Langdell Reference Services.
barm@law.harvard.edu
January 9, 2006

March 17: Difficult-to-find Government Documents

Difficult-to-find Government Documents

Even if your document hasn’t been a victim of “re-classification,” searching for a specific government document on the web may require resources beyond “Google.” Below are some sites that may be sources for documents (or web pages in general) that have disappeared from the Web, or for government documents that are difficult to find, despite a search of the appropriate government agency websites.

National Security Archive
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/

The National Security Archive is a nongovernmental, nonprofit group that, among other functions, maintains a library and archive of declassified U.S. documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Founded by a group of journalists and scholars in 1985, their database now contains over 100,000 records.

FirstGov
http://www.firstgov.gov/

Produced by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), this site allows you to search millions of web pages from federal and state governments, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. FirstGov states that it has the most comprehensive search of government anywhere on the Internet. This site is particularly helpful when you know of a report or document, but are unsure which agency produced it.

Gray Lit Network
http://www.osti.gov/graylit/

The GrayLIT Network claims to be the world's most comprehensive portal to Federal gray literature (gray literature is defined by the site as ”foreign or domestic open source material that usually is available through specialized channels and may not enter normal channels or systems of publication, distribution, bibliographic control, or acquisition by booksellers or subscription agents"). The GrayLIT Network makes the gray literature of U.S. Federal Agencies accessible by tapping into the search engines of distributed gray literature collections, enabling the user to find information without first having to know the sponsoring agency.

Web Archive/“Way Back Machine”
http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

This site can be the solution to link that no longer gets you to the document you seek. (This site includes all kinds of webpages – not just governmental sites.) The Web Archive allows you to browse through 55 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago. Enter a URL for access to archived pages.

FOIA requests
http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/foiacontacts.htm

If you really can’t find the document, this page of the U.S. Department of Justice’s website provides contact information for submitting your own Freedom of Information Act request for the document. To the left of this page, you will find a menu item with details on how to submit such a request.

Compiled and edited by Karen Storin Linitz, Head of Reference.
kstorin@law.harvard.edu
March 17, 2006

April 17: Congressional Research Service (“CRS”) Reports

Congressional Research Service (“CRS”) Reports

The Congressional Research Service is a nonpartisan, legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress. Their reports, initially written for Members of Congress, contain impartial, detailed analysis of major federal statutes or proposed legislation. Harvard recently purchased a searchable electronic subscription of CRS reports, which will be available in February 2006 through Harvard’s e-resource, LexisNexis Congressional Universe. The following describes the new LexisNexis CRS product as well as several Internet sources providing access to select CRS reports.

LexisNexis Congressional Universe (Harvard ID and pin required)
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.eresource:conguniv 

When complete (expected summer 2007), t his collection will contain select CRS reports from 1916 – present day. It will include a digital archive containing about 20,000 Major Study reports from the University Publications of America (UPA) microfiche collection, as well as 5000 additional non-UPA CRS reports. Coverage for CRS reports from 2004 to present day will be comprehensive.

The CRS product is part of the LexisNexis Congressional Research Digital Collection(“CRDC”) launched at Harvard in December 2005. To access the CRS portion, go to the “Advanced Search” section and select CRS reports 1916-present. From there it is possible to search by CRS report author, title, or subject (among other things), or to complete a full-text search.

CRS Reports
http://www.llrx.com/features/crsreports.htm

One of many excellent guides to using and locating CRS documents. Includes academic guides to CRS reports, search tips for locating reports on the web, general collection listings, and subject specific listings.

zFacts.com
http://zfacts.com/p/576.html

Provides a Google-powered search of more than 1000 CRS reports. Users may search by keyword or CRS order number.

OpenCRS – Congressional Research Reports for the People
http://opencrs.com/

A relatively new site seeking to provide access to previously acquired reports from the Federation of American Scientists, the IP Mall at Franklin Pierce Law Center, the National Library for the Environment, and the Thurgood Marshall Law Library. Currently, the collection contains more than 8,000 documents.

Compiled and edited by Elizabeth Lambert, Reference Librarian Anglo-American Law.
elambert@law.harvard.edu
April 17, 2006

May 29: Finding Law-Related Conferences and Associations

Finding Law-Related Conferences and Associations

CONFERENCES

Association of American Law Schools
http://www.aals.org/events_calendar.php

American Bar Association
http://www.abanet.org/abanet/oc/home.html

The calendar takes a few seconds to load.

Chronicle of Higher Education: Events
http://chronicle.com/gazette/

Under Events & Deadlines on the right side of the Chronicle’s home page, you can search for conferences, workshops, fellowships, grants, and more in a broad range of fields.

Conference Alerts: Academic Conferences Worldwide
http://www.conferencealerts.com/index.htm

Set up e-mail alerts for conferences in your area of interest.

Conferences and Summer Schools with Econometric Interest
http://www.feweb.vu.nl/econometriclinks/#conferences

International Association of Law Libraries: International Calendar
http://www.iall.org/calendar/show.asp

Includes conferences in international law, legal history, and other legal topics as well as in librarianship and information science.

Gonzaga Institute on Law School Teaching
http://www.law.gonzaga.edu/About+Gonzaga+Law/Inst%20for%20Law%20School%20Teaching/Next+Institute+Conference/default.asp

AllConferences.com
http://www.allconferences.com/Government/Law/

Google Searches
http://www.google.com/

A search like “terrorism conference” or “law conference” may turn up links to upcoming conferences, or may direct you to groups whose web sites might be of interest. Also try: http://blogsearch.google.com/

H-Net
http://www.h-net.org/announce/

Announcements of conferences, programs, workshops, in the humanities and social sciences.

Law School Library Newsletters
http://www.nesl.edu/faculty/conferences1.cfm
http://www.law.suffolk.edu/library/aware/index.cfm
http://www.law.csuohio.edu/lawlibrary/current-awareness/

Mind: The Meetings Index
http://interdok.com/mind/index.cfm

Select topics such as Crime, Justice, Government, Law, from the Social Sciences/Humanities pull-down menu.

SSRN Legal Scholarship Network: Book and Conference Announcements
http://www.ssrn.com.ezp1.harvard.edu/lsn/index.html

ASSOCIATIONS

Legal Organizations
http://findlaw.com/06associations/national.html

Link to the web pages of a long list of law-related associations. Click on Programs, Events, Calendars, etc, for meeting information.

Associations Unlimited Online
http://galenet.galegroup.com.ezp1.harvard.edu/servlet/AU/?locID=camb55135

Use Associations Unlimited to identify associations concerned with your research interests. Types of searches:

Consider adding terms in Free Text box: Law or legal 13

Consider limiting by the type of association, using the Subject Category pull-down menu. Choices include: Legal, Governmental, Public Administration, and Military Organizations; Educational Organizations; Public Affairs Organizations; Trade, Business, Commercial Organizations.

Compiled and edited by Janet Katz, Senior Reference Librarian & Faculty Services Coordinator.
katz@law.harvard.edu
May 29, 2006

August 7: Same-Sex Marriage Decisions for 2006

Same-Sex Marriage Decisions for 2006

Recent Opinions:

New Jersey : pending, due October 2006, oral arguments heard February 2006.

California : pending, appellate court arguments heard July 10, 2006.

Washington (State): Opinion: Christian v. King County, 2006 Wash LEXIS 598 (July 26, 2006); 2006 WL 2073138; online at http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/content/pdf/759341opn.pdf.

8 th Circuit Court of Appeals: (re Nebraska ban on gay marriage): Citizens for Equal Protection et al., v. Bruning, et al. (Circuit docket 05-2604), 2006 USApp LEXIS 17723 (July 14, 2006); 2006 WL 1933417; online at http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/06/07/052604P.pdf.

Massachusetts : Schulman v. AG, SJC-09684, 447 Mass. 189, 2006 Mass. LEXIS 442 (July 10, 2006); 2006 WL1868323; which held the voter proposition can be held.

New York : Opinion: Hernandez v. Robles, 2006 N.Y. slip op. 5239, 2006 N.Y. LEXIS 1836 ( Ct. App. July 6, 2006); 2006 WL 1835429; online at: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ctapps/decisions/jul06/86-89opn06.pdf.

Georgia : Perdue v. O’Kelley, 2006 Ga. LEXIS 465 (July 2, 2006); 2006 WL1843103; online at http://www.gasupreme.us/pdf/s06a1574.pdf.

Tennessee : ACLU of Tennessee v. Darnell , No. M2006-00460-SC-RDM-CV, 2006 Tenn LEXIS 610 (June 7, 2006); 2006 WL 1933116; online at http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TSC/PDF/063/DarnellrcOPN.pdf.

New York : Samuels v. New York State Dept. of Health, 2006 NY Slip Op 1213; 29 A.D.3d 9; 811 NYS 2d 136; 2006 NY App. Div. LEXIS 2005 (February 16, 2006).

General Resources:

Lambda Legal Marriage Project: http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/issues/record?record=9; includes briefs and decisions online.

Cheryl Rae Nyberg, Subject Compilations of State Laws 2004-2005 (Langref KF1.S92), pp. 194-96, which cites to several law journal articles.

AmJur2d, Volume 52, Marriage, Section 49, p. 765.

Timeline for decisions and legislation at National Conference of State Legislatures website: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/samesextime.htm#2006 as well as map of current standings at: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/samesex.htm.

Compiled and edited by Martin Hollick, Reference Librarian, Anglo-American Law.
mhollick@law.harvard.edu
August 7, 2006

October 2: Signing Statements and Other Presidential Documents

Signing Statements and Other Presidential Documents

Presidential “signing statements” are explanatory, rhetorical, or political proclamations made by the president when approving or vetoing proposed legislation and are considered to be part of a statute’s legislative history. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents has been the official source of presidential signing statements and other legally significant materials released by the White House Press Secretary since it began publication in 1965. The Public Papers of the President and the United States Code Congressional and Administrative News also include “signing statements” as well as other presidential communications such as Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations. Executive Orders and Proclamations are effective upon publication in the Federal Register and are later compiled in Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

American Bar Association House of Delegates Task Force Report on Presidential Signing Statements , July 2006
http://www.abavideonews.org/ABA373/

The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/

Code of Federal Regulationson HeinOnline, PDF, Title 3; 1936-2001
(Harvard ID and PIN required)
http://heinonline.org.ezp1.harvard.edu/HOL/Index?index=presidents/cfrcp&collection=presidents

Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders: Disposition Tables and Index
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/numeric.html
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/disposition.html

 Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents (1789-1897) on 19 th Century Masterfile
(Harvard ID and PIN required)
http://poolesplus.odyssi.com.ezp2.harvard.edu/19centWelcome.htm

Federal Government Resources, President of the United States , University of Michigan
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/fedprs.html#eo

Federal Register on GPOAccess ; 1994-
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Presidential Signing Statements
http://www.coherentbabble.com/signingstatements/FAQs.htm

The Legal Significance of Presidential Signing Statements , November 3, 1993
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/signing.htm

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States on GPOAccess ; 1991-2002
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers/search.html

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States on HeinOnline , PDF; 1931-2001
(Harvard ID and PIN required)
http://heinonline.org.ezp1.harvard.edu/HOL/Index?index=presidents/pubpapers&collection=presidents

United States Code Congressional and Administrative News on Westlaw
(WL Password required)
http://web2.westlaw.com/search/default.wl?bhcp=1&db=USCCAN%2DMSG&FN=%5Ftop&mt=LawSchoolPractitioner&rs=WLW6%2E07&strRecreate=no&sv=Split&vr=2%2E0
(USCCAN-MSG database, Presidential Messages and Signing Statements: Signing Statements, 1986-, Messages, 2000-)
http://web2.westlaw.com/search/default.wl?bhcp=1&db=USCCAN%2DEO&FN=%5Ftop&mt=LawSchoolPractitioner&rs=WLW6%2E07&strRecreate=no&sv=Split&vr=2%2E0
(USCCAN-EOdatabase, Executive Orders, 1936-)
http://web2.westlaw.com/scope/default.wl?bhcp=1&db=USCCAN%2DPROC&FN=%5Ftop&mt=LawSchoolPractitioner&rs=WLW6%2E07&strRecreate=no&sv=Split&vr=2%2E0
(USCCAN-PROC database, Presidential Proclamations, 1980-)
            USCCAN legislative history volumes include signing statements from 1986.

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Hearing; Presidential Signing Statements, June 27, 2006
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=1969

The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents on GPOAccess ; 1993-
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/index.html

 The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents on HeinOnline ; 1965-
(Harvard ID and PIN required)
http://heinonline.org.ezp1.harvard.edu/HOL/Index?index=presdocs/presdocs&collection=presidents

White House Web Site
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/proclamations/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/orders/

Compiled and edited by June Casey, Reference Librarian and Coordinator of Pro Bono Research
jucasey@law.harvard.edu

October 2, 2006

October 16: Elections 2006

Elections 2006

On Tuesday, November 7th, voters will elect one third of the United States Senate and the entire House of Representatives of the 110 th Congress, as well as many state governors and legislators. Relevant web sites follow; several offer e-mail updates.

Election Law @ Moritz
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw

From the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, faculty gather “information and insight on the laws governing federal, state and local elections.” Features include election law litigation, “50 Questions for 5 States : A Preliminary Inquiry into Election Administration Laws” and The e-Book on Election Law “an online, regularly updated treatise…written collectively by the Election Law @ Moritz faculty.”

Federal Election Commission
http://www.fec.gov

“Administering and Enforcing Federal Campaign Finance Laws.” Congress created this independent regulatory agency in 1975. Its duties are to disclose campaign finance information, enforce provisions of the law such as limits and prohibitions on contributions, and oversee the public funding of Presidential elections. Note the Commission’s Advisory Opinions from 1977 to currently pending, a campaign finance database.

Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball
http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball

Site run by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics features analyses of 2006 Senate, House and gubernatorial races. Brutal B links to The Bottom Line with charts summarizing races by “Solid, Likely, Leans, Toss-up” for Republican and Democratic candidates. Archives from 2004. Center’s motto: “Politics is a GoodThing!”

Project Vote Smart
http://www.vote-smart.org

Inaugurated in 1992 and currently based in Philipsburg, Montana, “the Project operates much like the Peace Corps.” Collects voting records, issue positions, interest group ratings, public statements, and campaign finance information for current officials and current candidates. Check out the NPAT National Political Awareness Test.

Stateline.org : Where Policy & Politics News Click
http://www.stateline.org

An independent element of the Pew Research Center based in Washington, D.C., published since January 1999, the organization is “staffed entirely by professional journalists.” Choose Elections from the Issues column. Or use the Interactive election guide to follow ballot measures by state and by issue.

WatchBlog : Political News, Opinion & Commentary
http://www.watchblog.com

A multiple-editor weblog broken up into three major political affiliations, each with its own blog : Democrats & Liberals, Republicans & Conservatives, Third Party & Independents. “Posting on a regular basis are editors representing each major party.” Note Resources tab for each blog. Archives from May 1993. Motto: “Critique the Message, Not the Messenger.”

Also specific states, e.g., Massachusetts
 Elections Division, Secretary of the Commonwealth
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleidx.htm
         and
Office of Campaign and Political Finance, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
http://www.mass.gov/ocpf

Compiled and edited by Reference Librarian Naomi Ronen
ronen@law.harvard.edu
October 10, 2006

November 13: Colonial Court Records Online

Colonial Court Records Online

Historical legal research remains largely a province of the print world, but increasingly, original records are being made electronically available. Herein is a partial listing of available colonial court records [pre-1783 for the thirteen original colonies/states].

One general resource is the Early American Newspaper Series covering the period 1690 to 1876. Other secondary sources that may discuss early court cases can be found on the electronic resources page under Selected Historical Collections. Due to the interest in genealogy, many probate records are available electronically, although most are on paid Internet sites such as www.ancestry.com or www.newenglandancestors.org.

The New Hampshire State Papers
http://www.sos.nh.gov/archives/nhstatepapers.html (downloadable PDF)

Volumes 31 to 39 comprise NH probate records from 1635 to 1771. Volume 40 includes court records from 1652 to 1668.

The Massachusetts State Archives (1629 to 1799)
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ArchivesSearch/RevolutionarySearch.aspx.

The Mass. State Archives offers records from 1629 to1799. The contents of this database are the Mass. Archives Collection (also known as the "Felt Collection"), including original records of the governor, Council, General Court, secretary, and treasurer in 328 volumes.

Court records from the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692
http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/.

Index for Essex County Probate (1638-1840)
http://www.ancestryandgenealogy.com/freedata.asp.

Also at this site are abstracts of Essex County fornication cases from 1636 to 1745; Middlesex County cases from 1650-1700; and Suffolk County cases from 1633 to 1691. Selected Plymouth County court and probate records can be found at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/deetz/.

The Maine State Archives
http://www.informe.org/sos_archives/.

Maine was a part of Massachusetts throughout the colonial period up to 1820. Included are the records of York County Court of Common Pleas and Sessions (1695-1760).

The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, from April 1636 to October 1776
http://www.colonialct.uconn.edu/

The New Jersey State Archives’ Searchable Database of Supreme Court Cases (1704 to 1844)
http://www.state.nj.us/state/darm/links/supremedb.html.

Digital Images of Delaware Court Records of the 17th Century
http://www.state.de.us/sos/dpa/exhibits/document/17th/documents/docindex.shtml.

The Maryland State Archives
http://aomol.net/html/courts.html.

Many court records available. The earliest records start in 1639.

The South Carolina State Archives
http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/default.asp.

South Carolina provides an index of its earliest court records. The earliest date is 1675; a list of courts covered is at http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/search/AuthorityTerms/SerieslistMenu.asp.

The Georgia State Archives
http://www.sos.state.ga.us/archives/what_do_we_have/online_records/default.htm

Offers wills and will books starting in 1733. Also available, an indexing of court cases and records starting in 1732.

Compiled and edited by Martin E. Hollick, Temporary Reference Librarian
mhollick@law.harvard.edu
October 31, 2006

Notable Internet Resources is produced by the Langdell Reference Department as a service to the Harvard Law School community. See the Notable Internet Resources Archive for past columns. The archive may be browsed by date or by topic.