50-State Law Surveys
Cheryl Nyberg
March 17, 2007
Dallas Association of Law Librarians
Preview
• What types of 50-state law
surveys are available?
• Where and how are they
published?
• How can I find a 50-state law
survey on a specific topic?
• How does she do that?
Why Me?
• Compiler &
editor since 1980
• Identified
16,000+ surveys
in 20 volumes
Subject Compilations of State Laws
Subject Compilations
• 21 volumes
• 1970s-date
• Annual
• 17,000+ state law surveys
• Hundreds of subjects
Survey Says . . .
• List
• Identify
• Describe
• Summarize
• Reprint
Charts
• Sometimes include citations
• Examples
−An Overview of Abortion
Laws [link]
−Third-Party Visitation [link]
Tables
• Usually include citations
• Examples
−Gift Cards & Gift Certificates
[link]
−State Laws & Published
Ordinances—Firearms [link]
Summaries
• Usually include citations
• Examples
−Congress Passes Prohibition
of Qualified Civil Claims
Against Gun Manufacturers
and Distributors [link]
−State Pet Shop Laws [link]
Full Text
• Examples
−Clergy as Mandatory
Reporters of Child Abuse &
Neglect [link]
−Open Government Guide
[link]
Sources
• Law review articles
• Books & looseleaf services
• Websites & commercial
databases
• Federal & state documents
• Court briefs & opinions
Sources
How Does She Do That?
Law Reviews
They Call Me “Flipper”
Law Reviews
• 700+ US law school,
association & commercially
published periodicals
• Most indexed in the Current
Index to Legal Periodicals
[link]
Last Week
• 63 issues
• 404 articles
• 15,177 pages
Using Law Reviews
• LexisNexis & Westlaw
versions link to statutes
[link]
• Except: tables & charts
may be omitted or not
linked [link]
Using Law Reviews
• Hein Online PDFs don’t
allow text selection
• Use “View Text” option
OR
• Use Adobe online
conversion tools [link]
On the Internet
• 80+ from the
last 3 years
• Findlaw [link]
• Law Reviews
Online [link]
• USC Legal
Journals [link]
Brainstorm!
6. Abortion (159)
7. Attorneys (155)
8. Limited liability companies
(152)
9. Sodomy (142)
10. Health insurance (141)
Top Five Subjects?
Top Five Subjects
5. Sex offenders (162)
4. Sexual abuse of children
(174)
3. Labor law (193)
2. Living wills (284)
1. Capital punishment (328)
Super Subjects
• Business & commerce
• Criminal
• Family
• Health & medicine
• Labor
Books & Looseleafs
Law for the Layperson
How Does She Do That?
Books & Looseleaf Services
They Call Me “Flipper”
Sources: Print
• Current Publications in Legal &
Related Fields (Rothman)
• Law Books & Serials in Print
(Bowker)
• Legal Looseleafs in Print
• Book reviews, footnotes, etc.
Sources: Online
• Amazon [link]
• LX [link] & WL [link]
• OCLC WorldCat [link]
• Publisher catalogs & websites
• IndexMaster [link]
How Does She Do That?
Websites
Citation Searching
Ann.
44 states
Stat.
25 states
Code
23 states
Rev.
14 states
Google
Subject with
• “states have laws”
• “state laws on”
• “state statutes on”
• “state regulation of”
To Be Fruitful, Multiply!
• Multiple
searches
• Multiple
search
engines
Search Engines
• Search Engine Watch [link]
• Meta search engines
−Clusty [link]
−Dogpile [link]
−Kartoo [link]
The Usual Suspects
• Associations
• Government
agencies
• Public
interest
organizations
Brainstorm!
•
Abortion
• Firearms
•
Animals
•
Criminal
justice
• Freedom of
information
•
Education
• Seniors
• Traffic
Abortion
• Guttmacher
Institute
[link]
• NARAL ProChoice
America
[link]
Animals
• Animal Legal &
Historical
Center [link]
• Animal
Protection
Institute [link]
• Humane Society
of the US [link]
Criminal Justice
• Am. Prosecutors
Research Institute
[link]
• Legal Momentum
[link]
• National Center for
Victims of Crime [link]
Education
• Education
Commission of
the States [link]
• Home School
Legal Defense
Association
[link]
Firearms
• National Rifle
Association
[link]
• US Bureau of
Alcohol,
Tobacco &
Firearms
[link]
Freedom of Information
• Freedom of
Information
Center [link]
• Reporters
Committee
for Freedom
of the Press
[link]
Seniors
• AARP Public
Policy
Institute
[link]
• National
Center on
Elder Abuse
[link]
Traffic
• Insurance
Institute for
Highway Safety
[link]
• US National
Highway Traffic
Safety Admin.
[link]
Un-Subs
• Encyclopedia of Associations
(WL: EOA)
• Associations on the Net [link]
• Gateway to Associations [link]
• InfoPlease, US Societies &
Associations Directory [link]
National Conference
of State Legislatures
• 200+ surveys
• Surveys &
legislation
tracking
databases
[link]
More Treasures
• Congressional
Research
Service
reports [link]
• Findlaw [link]
SURVEYS = 260
13
30
6
3
11
13
23
50
49
9
24
29
SURVEYS Sources
• Leiter, National
Survey of State
Laws, 5th ed.
• West-created
• Legal Research Center, Inc.
WL Sources Not in SURVEYS
• Causes of Action 2d (COA)
• Lobbying, PACS & Campaign
Finance (LOBBYPCF)
• Religious Organizations &
the Law (RELORGS)
• Child labor
• Plant closing
• Disability
discrimination
• Polygraph testing
• Drug testing
• Smoking
• Family & medical
leave
• Unemployment
insurance
• Military leave
• Voting leave
• New hire reporting
• Whistleblowers
• Protected classes
More Subscription Services
• ADR World [link]
• Am. Insurance
Ass’n [link]
• Am. Resort
Development
Ass’n [link]
• ComplianceAid
[link]
• 50 State HIPAA
Privacy Study
[link]
• LienLawOnline
[link]
• National Ass’n
of Boards of
Pharmacy [link]
Government Documents
• Targeted Internet searches
• Catalog of US Government Publications
[link]
• National Technical Information Service
[link]
• The Usual Suspects
• StateList [link]
Evaluate
• Best
available?
• Current
enough?
• Acceptable
format?
Update & Enhance
Shepard’s Brief
WestCiteLink
Suite [link]
[link]
Praline Ponders the
Possibilities
• Subject Compilations
• LexisNexis & Westlaw
• Targeted web searches
• Usual suspects & Un-subs
• LawLib & Phone-a-friend
Cheryl Nyberg
• (206) 543-7672
• cnyberg@u.washington.edu
• Slideshow at
http://lib.law.washington.edu/
_cheryl/07dall.ppt