Research Guides: American Criminal Courts & the Judicial Process: Home

Background Sources

The encyclopedias and other sources on this guide provide good overview information, including key search terms and often lists of more sources.

Additional print sources on Public Justice and Law can generally be found in the HV's and K call number areas of the first floor Reference Room. Other call number areas may also be applicable.

Law and Legal Research

Begin with reference books to find background on a topic, define terms, and possibly find cases or laws cited relating to your topic. These are especially helpful for federal laws and federal court cases, although some state laws and cases are mentioned.

Black's Law Dictionary, Standard Ninth Edition by Bryan A. Garner
ISBN: 9780314199492
Publication Date: 2009-06-25
With a reputation for quality and authority that is without peer, Black's Law Dictionary is a must-have reference for attorneys, paralegals, judges, and law students. This ninth edition offers more than 45,000 expertly crafted legal definitions containing an additional 2,000 new terms, nearly 3,000 quotations from legal authorities, and selected terms with their date of origin in American and/or British opinions.
The Bluebook by Columbia Law Review (Compiled by)
ISBN: 9780615361161
Publication Date: 2010-05-02
For more than eighty years, The Bluebook has provided authoritative guidance to legal citation for American students, professionals, and scholars. Wire-bound to lie flat and fully indexed.

My Librarian

Ellen Johnston

Contact:

Ellen recently retired. Ellen's liaison departments (ABA, Art Therapy, Psychology & Counseling, and Sociology & Criminal Justice) will be reassigned later in the summer. For library assistance for any of these departments or any other areas of work that Ellen previously covered, please email library@caldwell.edu. Another librarian will assist you.

Subjects: Applied Behavior Analysis, Art Therapy, Psychology & Counseling, Sociology & Criminal Justice