Reference Sources for Background Information

American Jurisprudence. Clapp Docs KF 8836 A452 (legal encyclopedia)
If you can't find your term, look in the index volumes. Note: make sure you look for the section number in the pocket part in the back of the volume for updated information.

American Jurisprudence. Clapp Docs KF 8836 A452 and in Westlaw Campus. (legal encyclopedia)

American Law Reports. in Westlaw Campus. (legal encyclopedia)

Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations. Clapp Ref KF 246 B46 2001.

Black's Law Dictionary. Clapp Ref KF 156 B53 2004.

Capital Punishment in the United States: A Documentary History. Clapp Ref HV 8699 U5 C3 1997.

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court. 3rd ed. Clapp Ref 8742 W567 1997 2 vols.

The Constitution and its Amendments. Clapp Ref KF4557 .C66 1999.

Encyclopedia of American Prisons. Clapp Ref HV 9471 E425 1996.

Encyclopedia of Bioethics [an electronic reference book].
Articles on the death penalty and the insanity defense.

Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. 4 vols. Clapp Ref HV 6017 E52 2002

Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment. 2002

Encyclopedia of Juvenile Justice. Clapp Ref HV 9104 .E58 2003

Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime. 2007

Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. 6 vols. Clapp Ref KF 4548 E53 2000
Articles on rights of prisoners and the insanity defense. Vol. 6 has an index.

Encyclopedia of the American judicial system : studies of the principal institutions and process of law. Clapp Ref KF154 .E53 1987

How to Read a Legal Citation [Cleveland-Marshall College of Law]

West's Encyclopedia of American Law. An electronic book; legal encyclopedia in lay person's terms

Finding Books

Wellesley College Catalog - Use the Library catalog to find books and other materials (journal titles, NOT journal articles) we have here at Wellesley. Remember to start with "keyword" if you are beginning to research a topic then, when you find something good, see what subject headings are listed. You can click on these subject headings to find more useful items. You may find the following subject headings useful:

• attorney and client United States
• criminal justice administration of (add country name)
• criminals rehabilitation (add country name)
• corrections
• capital punishment (add country name)
• death row inmates
• criminals (add country name)
• insanity law (add country name)
• judicial error
• judicial process
• Jury (add country name)
• juvenile delinquency (add country name)
• juvenile justice administration of (add country name)
• plea bargaining United States
• post conviction remedies
• prison sentences United States
• prisons (add country name)
• sentences criminal procedure (add country name)
• prisoners legal status
• prisoners education
• recidivism
• right to counsel United States
• school violence
• searches and seizures (add country name)

WorldCat - Use WorldCat to find books and other materials not at Wellesley. Use the suggestions listed above. If you find a book you want that Wellesley does not own, use the ILL link within WorldCat to request the book.

Finding Journal Articles

The Wellesley College Library subscribes to many databases that contain information on thousands of articles and other sources of information on a topic. Some of these databases link to the full article online while others are simply an index or contain only abstracts. If the database you are using does not contain the full-text of the article you need, use the Find It! @ Wellesley to connect to the full-text in another Wellesley database. Or, once you have a citation for an article, do a title search in the Wellesley College Library catalog using the name of the journal as the title. Look for a reference to the journal online, or see if we have it in print. Make sure we have the date you need. If Wellesley does not have the journal or issue, you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Suggested databases for this class:

For the following databases start with a keyword search and see what the subject terms are for any relevant articles you find. Look for an option to mark records, email records to yourself, or to link to Interlibrary Loan from within the database.

Academic Search Premier and Expanded Academic ASAP - general all purpose databases. Index and abstracts from 1980; selected full text from about 1995-

CQ Researcher - in-depth, unbiased background and analysis on timely political topics. Has summaries, pro/con, bibliography.

Finding Court Cases

United States Reports. Clapp Docs KF 101 A2. This is the official version of Supreme court cases. Wellesley owns the entire set from the first Supreme Court case. Sometimes it is easier to look at or photocopy from the paper version of a long case. Cite example: 511 U.S. 93 (511 refers to the volume number, U.S. is the abbreviation for the official set of Supreme Court reports, and 93 refers to the page number).

LexisNexis Academic Legal Research- The Legal Research section contains full text of Supreme Court, U.S. District Court, U.S. Appeals Court, state court cases, and law review articles. Also has court cases from other countries.

• If you know the exact name of a case or the cite for where the case can be found, you can use the "Case Name" option.
• To narrow the set of results you already have, use the 'Focus" button at the top of the results page.
• Court cases can be very long so make sure you have what you want before you print - use the print/save command within Academic Universe; it will re-format the page to make it more print-friendly. You can email yourself citations or full text. You can also mark records and print or email yourself the list of marked records.
• LexisNexis Academic puts any footnotes within the text of the case.
• The number of words given in the citation gives you an idea of the length of the case
• We have print copies of all U.S. Supreme Court cases. See United States Reports above.
• To limit to UK law cases, choose "European Union, Commonwealth & Foreign Nations" (on the right bar), then in "Select Sources", choose UK Combined Courts.

Finding Law Review Articles

LexisNexis Academic Legal Research - full text of law review articles 1980s+.

• If you want court cases, choose the link for "Federal and State Cases" in the right box.
• To narrow the results you already have use the "Focus" button at the bottom of the results page.
• The number of words given in the citation gives you an idea of the length of the article.
• You can email yourself citations or the full text of the article. You can also mark records and print or email yourself the list of marked records.

 Additional Suggestions for LexisNexis Academic:

The LexisNexis Academic Help feature is very good. Once in the Legal Research section click on the "Help" button at the top. Scroll down to "Legal Searching". The Help feature also contains suggestions for constructing more precise searches.

Westlaw Campus Research - legal encyclopedias and legal analysis, federal and state court cases and statutes, and law reviews (900+ titles). Shepardizes every case. Includes American Jurisprudence and American Law Reports, European Union cases and regulations. Note: Westlaw Campus has problems with pop-up blockers. It may affect your ability to print or download.

See the LexisNexis and Westlaw comparison chart.

Finding Newspapers Articles

LexisNexis Academic News - full text of major national, state, and world newspapers. Dates vary, mostly 1980+, no images.

America's Historical Newspapers 1690-1922 - full-text access to more than 1000 historical U.S. newspapers.

New York Times  1851-2003 (PDF) · June 1980 to present (HTML)

Boston Globe 1872-1924 and 1980-present 

Chicago Tribune Historical 1849-1986

Wall Street Journal - 1986+. Text only, no images.

Washington Post 1877-1971 (PDF) and 1977-present (HTML)

Los Angeles Times - 1985+ . Text only, no images.

Times of London - 1785-1985. Full text, including images.

Internet Links

NOTE: Using a search engine to search for material is very tempting but is to be used with caution. You will find a lot of information on social issues but many are advocating a particular point of view which must be recognized in order to write a scholarly paper. Use the following criteria to evaluate any websites:

• Who is the author of the information?
• Can you find information about the author? What are his/her credentials?
• How current is the information? Is there a "last updated" date?
• Who is the intended audience for the information?
• Is the content objective or is it coming from a certain viewpoint?
• Is the information advocating a cause?

For more information on how to evaluate web pages see our search the web page.

Advocacy/Informational

• The Sentencing Project - "incorporated in 1986, has become a national leader in the development of alternative sentencing programs and in research and advocacy on criminal justice policy."
• Criminal Justice from the ACLU. Includes sections on the death penalty, juvenile justice, indigent defense, racial bias, and sentencing.
• Justice Policy Institute - "a nonprofit research and public policy organization dedicated to ending society's reliance on incarceration and promoting effective and just solutions to social problems". Has information about CA's three strikes law.
• Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce society's reliance on the use of incarceration as a solution to social problems.
• Institute for Law and Justice (ILJ) is a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to consulting, research, evaluation, and training in criminal justice.
• National Center for Juvenile Justice - profiles of state juvenile justice systems, statistics, and directory of alternative juvenile justice programs.
• Prisoners' Rights from the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School.
• Angel on Death Row from the PBS Frontline series.
• Death Penalty: An Overview from the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School.

U.S. Government Websites

• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service
• National Institute of Corrections
• National Institute of Justice
• Office of Justice Programs
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Department of Justice
• U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons
• United States Sentencing Commission
• National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence

How to Cite your Information

Remember: if you find the full text online, you must cite the online source. Look for information within our Wellesley databases, or electronic books, on how to cite what you find.

MLA handbook for writers of research papers. Clapp Ref LB 2369 .G53 2003

Writers' Workshop MLA Style Handbook

Frequently Asked Questions about MLA Style

Documenting Electronic Resources in MLA or APA - includes instructions and examples for email, databases, CD-ROMs, and Web Sites

Prince's Bieber Dictionary of Legal Citations. 6th ed. Clapp Ref KF 246 P73 2001
Detailed examples for citing from specific law journals and U.S. and state statutes, and how to understand legal citations.

For additional legal information and links to Supreme Court cases online, visit the Resources by Subject: Legal Studies web page.

Return to the main Writing page.

Return to Resources by Subject