Dr. Daniel J. Donovan  -  CCRI

Law Links Revised and Updated July 2008

Here are some links to Law-Related web sites that students may find useful in their courses (especially Legal Research & Writing). These links include Rhode Island State Law sources, Federal Law sources, and Government Agencies Websites. All links are set to come up in a new window on your browser (which you can enlarge and then close) so that this website is always active in its original window. For some of these sites, you will need Adobe Reader for files in "pdf" format, which you can download free from http://www.adobe.com  If you want a list of all the website links used on this page, just print this page from your browser and select the option on the print screen to print a table of the links. 

Rhode Island State Law Sources
Federal Law Sources
Government Agencies Websites
Miscellaneous Law-related Websites

RHODE ISLAND STATE LAW SOURCES

• Rhode Island General Laws On-Line
      This is part of the RI General Assembly Website. It contains an on-line version of the statutes of the state (General Laws of Rhode Island), which can be searched by title (subject area) and word search.
• Rhode Island Public Laws 2008
     This part of the RI General Assembly Website contains the Public Law for the 2008 legislative session starting in January 2008. These laws may add to, delete from, or amend sections of the General Laws of Rhode Island.   
• Rhode Island Public Laws 2007
      This part of the RI General Assembly Website contains the Public Law for the 2007 legislative session starting in January 2007. These laws may add to, delete from, or amend sections of the General Laws of Rhode Island.
• Rhode Island Public Laws 2006
•   This part of the RI General Assembly Website contains the Public Law for the 2006 legislative session starting in January 2006. These laws may add to, delete from, or amend sections of the General Laws of Rhode Island.
• Rhode Island Constitution.
      This is also part of the RI General Assembly Website.
• Rhode Island Judiciary Web Site
      This website has information on each of the courts in Rhode Island such as jurisdiction, addresses and phone numbers, court filing fees, etc.
• Rhode Island Supreme Court Decisions 
      This is part of the RI Judiciary Website. This page contains R.I. Supreme Court decisions for the court terms from 1999 to the present. The opinions are grouped by the annual court term which begins in October of each year. Adobe Reader is needed for this website, which you can get free by clicking on the link above.
• Rhode Island Superior Court Decisions
      The R.I. Superior Court is a general state trial court.  In some cases, but not all, the judge in a case issued a written opinion. Starting in 2000, the court has been placing these written decisions on the RI Judiciary Website. Adobe Reader is needed for this website.
• Rhode Island Administrative Agencies Rules and Regulations
       The R.I. Secretary of State's Office has placed all current administrative agency regulations on-line as of March 21, 2002. Adobe Reader is needed for this website.
• Rhode Island Government Manual 2007-2008
        The Secretary of State's Office publishes an online government manual with information on elected officials, state government agencies and boards, and local cities and towns. Adobe Reader is needed for this website.
   

FEDERAL LAW SOURCES

• United States Constitution
      This is part of Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute (LII)
• United States Code
      This is also part of the Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute (LII) and allows you to search federal statues that are part of the United States Code.
• United States Supreme Court Decisions
      This is part of Findlaw.com service and contains Supreme Court decisions back to 1893.
• First Circuit Court of Appeals Cases
      This database from Emory Law School contains federal court of appeals cases from the First Circuit (Boston) from 1995 to the present.
• Code of Federal Regulations
      This is also part of Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute and contains the compilation of federal administrative agency regulations.
• U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island
      The U.S. District Court is a general federal trial court for both civil and criminal matters. There is only one U.S. District Court in Rhode Island. This website for the court contains general information plus opinions of the judges, rules of procedure, and some downloadable forms.
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Rhode Island
      This court website has access to bankruptcy rules, forms, opinions and information about bankruptcy cases. Most of the website is freely accessible, but bankruptcy information involves registration and a fee for access.
• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
      This is also part of Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, but it is somewhat hard to find on the LII website menus.
• Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
      Again part of the Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, and it is very difficult to find on their website.
• Federal Rules of Evidence
      The Federal Rules of Evidence were the model for the R.I. Rules of Evidence adopted in 1987, but there are a number of differences in the sets of rules.

,GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WEBSITES

• Rhode Island General Assemby
      This web site contains various information about the legislature and its activities, including the RI General Laws, RI Public Laws and proposed legislation.
• Rhode Island Secretary of State
      This web site contains state information and links to other web sites
• Rhode Island Corporations Online Database
      The R.I. Secretary of State's Office has an online database of information regarding corporations and other business entities registered with that office.  Check on business names and find out information (such as the registered agent) at this searchable website.
• Rhode Island Corporation Forms
      Download forms from the Corporations Division of the R.I. Secretary of State's Office.  Adobe Acrobat required.
• Rhode Island Probate Court Forms
      Probate Court forms are available in Adobe Acrobat format through the Secretary of State's website.
• Rhode Island Division of Taxation
      This site gives citizens access to information and forms regarding state taxation
• Rhode Island Attorney General's Office Web Site
      This web site contains information about the divisions and functions of the state's Attorney General's Office. It also contains Attorney General Advisory Opinions back to 1995.
• Internal Revenue Service On-Line
      This web site gives citizens access to most IRS publications and forms which can be downloaded for use.
• Federal Legislative Information
      This is the Thomas website (named after Thomas Jefferson), a service of the Library of Congress with information on new federal laws and Congressional activities.

MISCELLANEOUS LAW-RELATED WEBSITES

• Findlaw Legal Dictionary
      This website is part of Findlaw.com and allows you to search through the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law (1996)
• Martindale Hubbell Lawyer Locator
      This is a service of the well known Martinadale Hubbell Law Directory and allows you to locate lawyers by name, firm, location, and practice areas.

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