California Law Research Guide
This page provides an introduction and finding guide to the major print sources
on California law in the Oviatt Library. Selected Internet sites are also
included. Note: Where indicated
by an asterisk (*), CSUN
students and faculty can access this information via the LexisNexis
Academic database (http://library.csun.edu/restricted/lexis.scr).
Contents:
Constitution
- Constitution of the State of California, Annotated
(ref KFC30.5.D4 C665 1999 ... 2nd floor) The Library has Deering's
California Codes, which includes the Constitution in separate volumes.
It is indexed by LARMAC Consolidated Index to the Constitution and Laws
of California (ref KFC 40 .L3 . . . latest Ref Rm; earlier 2nd
floor), which is published annually. It is also available via LexisNexis™
Academic (Select Legal Research > State Codes > California.
Search Source: California Constitution).*
- Internet Access: The State
Constitution is available at the Official California Legislative Information
web site at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/const.html. The California State Constitution
can be searched by keywords or browsed by articles.
Legislative Law
Codes
- Deering's California Codes Annotated (ref KFC 30.5 .D4
. . .2nd floor)*
There is no official Code published by the State of California. However,
there are a couple of commercially published sets. The Library has Deering's,
published by Lexis Law Publishing. The set is arranged alphabetically into
29 subjects, called "titles," e.g., Civil Code, Family Code, etc. The set
also includes the California Rules of Court and the California
Constitution in separate volumes at the end. Each code has its
own subject index; however, one should check the General Index
(ref KFC 30.5 .D4 A1 . . . 2nd floor) or use LARMAC.
Within each title volume(s) of Deering's California Codes Annotated,
a statement of the law is provided, as are a legislative history, cross
references to other pertinent code sections, and collateral references to
legal encyclopedias and dictionaries which are also published by Lexis,
e.g., Cal Jur III. As new laws are passed, it is important to check
the pocket parts and supplements to the codes to remain up-to-date.
- LARMAC Consolidated Index to the Constitution and Laws of California
(ref KFC 40 .L3 . . . latest Ref Rm; earlier 2nd floor). Provides
subject access to the California Codes and is published annually.
- Internet Access: The California
Code is available at the Official California Legislative Information
web site at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html. You can browse the table
of contents of the codes and/or search multiple codes by keyword.
Session Laws
Earlier Laws
- Statutes of California and Amendments to the Codes
(ref KFC 30 .A1 . . . 2nd floor and stored). Bills passed by the legislature
and signed by the Governor become effective January 1 of the following year
and become statutes. Statutes are assigned a "chapter number," and published
in chronological order by session of the legislature in Statutes of California
and Amendments to the Codes. If one knows the bill number, the cross
reference tables can be checked and the appropriate chapter number determined.
Check the "Statutory Record" listing to locate the year, chapter, and effective
date for a particular section of the code. A subject index is also included
in the last volume for each session's statutes.
- Internet access: The Official Publications Archives at
the California State Assembly Office of the Chief Clerk website includes
older statutes, from 1850 to recent years.
Current Laws
- Advance Legislative Service to Deering's California Codes Annotated
(ref KFC 25 .A33 D4 . . . 2nd floor)*. All laws enacted
at the Regular and Extraordinary legislative sessions are included. If the
chapter number is known, look it up to read a copy of the statute as enacted.
If you have a subject but not the chapter number, check the cumulative subject
index for a particular session. Another useful feature of this service is
that it provides a brief summary of the law and further explanatory notes.
- Chapters (California Documents section of the
Reference Room, northwest corner).
Copies of laws as enacted received directly from the California Legislature,
in chronological order. Check Assembly Weekly History or Senate
Weekly History (see below) to determine the chapter
number of a recently passed bill.
- Internet Access: California
Statutes since 1993 are available at the Official California Legislative
Information web site at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/statute.html. You can
search by chapter number, browse all statutes for a particular year, or
search by keywords.
Bills
Internet Access: The full text of bills, resolutions, and
constitutional amendments, and their status, history, votes, analyses, and
veto messages can be accessed since 1993 from the Bill
Information page at the Official California Legislative Information web
site at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html. You can search by bill
number, author or keyword, or browse a list of bills by number or author for
each session.
Indexes to Bills
In addition to the Bill
Information Internet access outlined above, consult the Legislative
Index (ref KFC 14 .L45 . . . 2nd floor or the online Legislative
Index) by subject to determine the bill number. Then, to
track the status of a bill, using the bill number, check the Senate Weekly
History (ref KFC14 .L42...2nd floor) or the Assembly Weekly History
(ref KFC14 .L4...2nd floor or the online Assembly
Weekly History).
Judicial Law
California has a three-tiered court system. The California Supreme Court,
the California Court of Appeals, which is divided into six districts (Los
Angeles is the Second District); and trial courts (Superior Court). Cases,
which are written opinions by a judge, are published for the California Supreme
Court and the California Court of Appeals. Superior
Court (http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org) cases are generally not published
and must be requested directly from the court, unless considered confidential
(see Los
Angeles Superior Court Public Information Policy).
Encyclopedia
Cal Jur III (ref
KFC 80 .C29 . . . 2nd floor)
A legal encyclopedia, arranged by subject, covers both California statutory
and case law, and includes a detailed multi-volume index.
Example: You need citations to cases dealing with the circumstances by which
police officers may be suspended or dismissed. In the general index, you start
under POLICE, and are referred to the heading, "LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS."
Under the subheading, "dismissal," you are referred to the subheading, "Discipline
and Removal From Office."
- LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
- Discipline and Removal From Office -- Law Enforcement § 36
From that section, you notice there are several aspects of this subheading;
however, all refer to the "Law Enforcement" volume of Cal Jur III,
sections 36 - 40. By checking section 36 of the Law Enforcement volume, you
will find a summary of the law with citations to Deering's California Codes
and relevant California cases. See Case Approach section
below to find out how to interpret the citation and find the case.
Digest
West's California Digest 2nd (ref KFC 57 .W42 . .
. 2nd floor - not currently received)
A comprehensive topical index to cases organized by legal topics, which
includes multi-volume subject indexes (vols. 45-47) and a table of cases by
name. Citations lead to the appropriate case reporter series, which is where
you can read the judge's opinion of the case. See the citation example under
Case Approach below.
Example: You need citations to cases dealing with the circumstances by which
police officers may be suspended or dismissed. In the Descriptive Word
Index (vols. 45-47) under POLICE you find:
- POLICE
- SUSPENSION. Mun Corp 185
"Mun Corp" = "Municipal Corporations" volume of West's California Digest
2nd and 185 is the section number of that volume.
By checking section 185 of the Municipal Corporations volume, you will find
case names, summaries of decisions, and citations as shown below. See Case
Approach section below to find out how to interpret the citation and find
the case.
Case Approach*
If you know the name of a specific California case, consult the table
of cases volume of West's California Digest 2nd (ref KFC 57 .W42 .
. . 2nd floor - not currently received) to locate the citations. See also
LexisNexis™ Academic
(http://library.csun.edu/restricted/lexis.scr). Select Legal Research
> Get a Case to search for known cases. See also FindLaw
California: Case Law (http://california.lp.findlaw.com/ca02_caselaw/index.html)
to search for cases by citation (requires free registration).
Legal Citation Format
Marino v. City of Los Angeles, 110
Cal Rept 45, 34 C.A. 3rd 461
Legal citations begin with the name of the case, then a list of one or more
case reporting services that included the court's decision on the case. The
case reporting service information is always formatted with the volume of
the service first, then an abbreviation for the name of the reporting service,
then the page where the opinion begins. So, in the citation above, Marino
v. City of Los Angeles is the name of the case. Abbreviations of case reporting
services are listed in Bieber's
Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, (ref KF246 .B46 2001 . . . Ref
Rm); Cal Rept is an abbreviation for the West's California Reporter and C.A.
3rd stands for California Reports, 3rd series. So, the first case reporting
service reference for Marino v. City of Los Angeles is to volume 110 of West's
California Reporter, beginning on page 45 and the second is to volume 34 of
California Reports, 3rd series, beginning on page 461. Of these, Oviatt Library
owns West's California Reporter in print format and the other is available
via Lexis-Nexis.
Decisions
- West's California Reporter (ref KFC 50
.W42 . . . 2nd floor)
Includes opinions, summaries, and headnotes from cases decided in the California
Courts of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. The Library owns the
complete set of California Reporter from 1884 to the present. In
1960, West Publishing Co. began publishing it as West's California Reporter.
Prior to 1960, California cases were included in the Pacific Reporter,
which covered the Western United States. CSUN does not own the Pacific
Reporter, but the California Reporter includes reprints of all
California decisions that appear in the Pacific Reporter.
- LexisNexis™
Academic (http://library.csun.edu/restricted/lexis.scr) *
provides keyword access to the full-text of California Reports,
which covers the Supreme Court from 1850 to the present; and California
Appellate Reports, which covers the District Courts of Appeal and the
Appellate Department of the Superior Court since 1905. Select Legal
Research > State Case Law to search for cases by keyword.
- California Supreme Court
and Appellate Court Cases, a free searchable database of California
published cases can be searched by keyword or the citation. (Coverage: California
Supreme Court from 1850 to the present and California published case law
decided by the California Courts of Appeal from 1905 and the Appellate Department
of Superior Court from 1934 to the present ).
- FindLaw
California: Case Law (http://california.lp.findlaw.com/ca02_caselaw/index.html)
to search for cases (requires free registration).
- Current Decisions: Cases from the last 120 days may be found on the Internet
at the California Courts
web page (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/).
Administrative Law
- Barclay's Official California Code of Regulations
(ref KFC 780 .A35 . . . 2nd floor).
Formerly known as the California Administrative Code. Contains the
regulations and proclamations issued by the various State agencies in California.
The California Code of Regulations [C.C.R.]
is arranged by subject into 26 major sections or titles, e.g., Title 5 is
Education, and is updated weekly. Consult the subject index or, if a relevant
Code section is known, use the Statutes to Regulations Table. Note: Title
24, the building code, is not included since it is copyrighted and published
by the ICBO (International Conference of Building Officials) as the California
Building Code (ref KFC 424 .A43C . . . 2nd floor).
- Internet Access: The C.C.R. can be accessed from the Office of Administrative Law's web site
at http://ccr.oal.ca.gov/ .
- California Regulatory Notice Register
(ref KFC 780 .A552 . . . 2nd floor)
Published by the Office of Administrative Law, contains proposed administrative
regulation changes. The Notice
Register is also available on the Internet at http://www.oal.ca.gov/notice.htm.
Other Sources
Books
If you know either the author or the title of a book, search the Oviatt
Library Catalog (http://library.csun.edu/cgi/opac) under either the author's
last name or the first few words of the title.
If you have a topic only, look it up in the Library of Congress Subject
Headings (LCSH) list (set of red books behind the reference desk) to see
if it is used as a subject heading. Besides verifying your subject as a heading
(or indicating which heading is used if yours is not), LCSH will often
suggest broader, narrower, or related terms. After you have the proper heading(s),
proceed to the online catalog to perform a subject or subject keyword search.
Periodicals
Periodical Indexes
The best way to find relevant articles on your subject is to start with a
periodical index:
- LexisNexis™
Academic (http://library.csun.edu/restricted/lexis.scr), which
provides full-text access to legal newspapers, magazines and newsletters,
as well as law reviews.*
- International
Political Science Abstracts includes current indexing and abstracts
from nearly 900 political science journals published from 1989-.
- Index to Legal Periodicals, 1926 - 2000.
Not currently received. (ref K 3 .A1 I5 ... Ref Room table 5 latest years
- earlier 2nd floor) Covers 280 legal journals published in the U.
S., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Common Law countries. In addition
to the subject index, each issue provides a table of cases commented upon
and a section of book review citations arranged by author.
- PAIS International in Print, 1915 - 2000. Not
Currently received. (ref Z 7163 .P9 ... latest years Ref Room table 5, earlier
3rd floor). Subject index to selected books, pamphlets, government documents,
and periodical articles. Economics, sociology, public administration, and
international relations are emphasized.
- Other Periodical Indexes: If your research has legal ramifications for
a particular subject area, you will probably be able to find periodical
articles written about that case, legislation, etc., cited in a subject-specific
periodical index. For example, articles about de facto segregation may be
found in education journals. Therefore, a search of ERIC
may be appropriate. Often, general newspaper
and magazine indexes can be searched as well. Ask a reference librarian
for a recommendation.
Locating Periodicals:
If the full text of the article is not available within the database you
searched, click 
to locate the full text online or in the Library. Or, search the journal title
in the Library Catalog (http://library.csun.edu/cgi/opac)
or the CSUN List of Electronic Periodicals
(http://library.csun.edu/Find_Resources/ejournals/).
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
- Black's Law Dictionary (ref KF 156 .B53 . . . Ref Rm).
- Cal Jur III (ref KFC 80 .C29 . . . 2nd floor).
- Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations : A Reference Guide forAttorneys,
Legal Secretaries, Paralegals, and Law Students (ref KF246 .B46 2001
. . . Ref Rm).
- Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (ref KF 156 .G367 . . . Ref Rm).
- Everybody's Legal Glossary
(http://www.nolo.com/glossary.cfm).
- FindLaw Legal Dictionary
(http://dictionary.lp.findlaw.com/).
- Legal Thesaurus (ref KF 156 .B856 . . . Ref Rm).
- West's California Digest 2nd Words and Phrases (ref KFC 57 .W42
v. 50 . . . 2nd floor).
- West's Encyclopedia
of American Law (CSUN students and faculty can access this online.)
Directories
Guides and Handbooks
- American Bar Association. Family Legal Guide (ref KF 387 .Y655
1994 . . . Ref Rm).
- California Courts: Self-Help
Center (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/)
- California Transactions Forms (Cal Forms) (ref KFC 68 .C3
. . . Ref Rm).
- Cohen. Legal Research in a Nutshell (ref KF 240 .C54 . .
. Ref Rm).
- Henke's California Law Guide (ref KFC 74 .H46 2004. . . . Ref
Rm).
- Martin. Introduction to
Basic Legal Citation (http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/)
- Olson. Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It (ref KF
240 .O365 1999 . . . Ref Rm).
- Price & Bitner. Effective Legal Research (ref KF 240 .P7
. . . Ref Rm).
- Southern California Association of Law Libraries. Locating the Law
(ref KF 240 .L63 2001 . . . Ref Rm). Locating
the Law (online) available at http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/scall/locating.htm.
- Teply. Legal Research and Citation (ref KF 240 .T46 1992 . . .
Ref Rm).
- Witkin. Summary of California Law, 10th ed. (ref KFC 80 .W5 .
. . Ref Rm).
Forms
The Library has many books containing legal forms. Search the
Library Catalog (http://library.csun.edu/cgi/opac) using the Keyword search
for any of the following keywords:
- business forms
- contracts forms
- corporation law forms
- forms law
The Internet is another source for legal forms:
- FindLaw Forms (http://forms.lp.findlaw.com/)
includes links to Federal and State court forms, corporate, tax, contracts,
and consumer forms.
- Legaldocs.com (http://www.legaldocs.com/)
includes some free but mostly paid forms. However, it will let you view
sample forms for free.
- lexisONE
Free Forms (http://www.lexisone.com/store/catalog?action=rootFreeCategory)
requires free registration to view forms and links to paid forms.
Internet
Additional resources with information on legal research and links to law-related
web sites:
Based on the original print version by Helen Bennett
