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Criminal Law & Justice Research Guide

INTRODUCTION

This research guide provides an overview of the federal criminal law resources and other related resources, with an emphasis on criminal procedure. It does not cover international or state laws.

SECONDARY SOURCES

Treatises

It is often helpful to begin research with a treatise that provides an overview of a particular area of law. Many of these treatises are also excellent sources of case law and statute references.

  • Joseph G. Cook, Constitutional Rights of the Accused (3rd ed., 1996) KF9625 .C66 1996
    4-volume looseleaf service updated by annual supplements filed at the back of the volumes.

  • Wayne R. LaFave, Criminal Law (5th ed., 2010) KF9219 .L38 2010
    Part of the Hornbook Series, provides a good background and overview of the subject.

  • Markus D. Dubber, Criminal Law: Model Penal Code (2002) KF9219 .D83 2002
    An introduction to the Model Penal Code proposed by the American Law Institute (ALI). It illustrates "how the Model Penal Code fits together, both as a code of criminal law and as the most systematic account of American criminal law."

  • Wayne R. LaFave, Jerold H. Israel and Nancy J. King, Criminal Procedure (4th ed., 2004), KF9619 .L342 2004.
    • An updated abridgment of the second edition of the 6-volume Criminal Procedure set KF9619 .L34 1999, "analyz[ing] the law governing all of the major steps in the criminal justice process, starting with investigation and ending with post-appeal collateral attacks."
    • The 3rd edition is available on Westlaw file CRIMPROC (GULC students, faculty and staff only).

  • Lester B. Orfield, Orfield's Criminal Procedure Under the Federal Rules (2d ed., 1985) KF9619 .O74 1985
    7-volume set kept up to date by pocket supplements. "Practical application of the law and historical commentary of the law's development are included in the discussion of each rule."

  • Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment (4th ed., 2004) KF9630 .L34 2004
    6-volume set reporting "in a systematic and orderly fashion the current state of 4th Amendment law and also to present a critical assessment of how the Supreme Court and the lower courts have found in their ongoing and challenging enterprise of giving context and meaning to the 4th Amendment."

  • Barbara E. Bergman and Nancy Hollander, Wharton's Criminal Evidence (15th ed., 1997) KF9660 .W43 1997
    8-volume set kept up to date by pocket supplements. It includes all significant decisions of the United States Supreme Court interpreting the Federal Rules of Evidence as well as state court decisions interpreting comparable state provisions.

  • Charles E. Torcia, Wharton's Criminal Law (15th ed., 1993), KF9219 .W43 1993.
    • 4-volume set, kept up to date by pocket supplements, describing the common law background of crimes and defenses. Statutes are considered only to the extent that they may have played a part in the decision of cited cases.
    • Also available on Westlaw file CRIMLAW. (GULC students, faculty and staff only).

  • Nancy Hollander, Barbara E. Bergman, Melissa Stephens, Wharton's Criminal Procedure (14th ed., 2002), KF9619 .W43 2002 v.1 (cancelled with Dec 2002).
    • "Use this multiple-volume set as a first-search reference for handling criminal cases. Expert resource provides essential coverage of the law by thoroughly analyzing common-law development and criminal procedure. Text traces statutory and judicial changes, as well as modifications, in common law. Subjects include criminal and juvenile court, venue, arrest, extradition, preliminary hearings, search and seizure, and grand juries. Addresses indictment, bail, arraignment and pleas, pre-trial motions and objections, and discovery. Discusses self-incrimination, trial, opening statements, and closing arguments. Complete post-trial coverage, including charge to jury, jury separation and deliberation, verdict, motions, sentence, punishment, appeal, and post-conviction remedies."

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Journals & Newsletters

Lexis's and Westlaw's law journal databases are the most popular places to search for relevant law journal articles. Searching these full-text databases, however, is not necessarily the most efficient way of researching. The "Using Articles for Legal and Non-Legal Research" research guide explains the differences between searching journal indexes and searching full-text databases. It also suggests legal and non-legal indexes and full-text databases. Some of the law journal databases listed are:

KeyCiting cases, statutes and rules; and Shepardizing cases and statutes will locate law review articles, ALR annotations and other secondary sources.

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Loose-Leaf Services & Equivalent Databases

  • BNA Criminal Practice Manual (GULC students, faculty and staff only).
    "The Criminal Practice Manual identifies, for the criminal defense attorney, significant developments and the latest trends in the law, innovative techniques, and successful strategies for winning cases. The Manual fuses case law and strategy in a unique way not found in any other criminal law publication."
  • Criminal Law Reporter (BNA) (GULC students, faculty and staff only).
    Published weekly, reports significant developments, trends, and emerging patterns in criminal law.

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Government & Research Institute Reports

Various government offices produce nonpartisan reports. Here are some of the resources:

  • National Criminal Justice Reference Service
    • The Web site is "a federally funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide." The Web site provides access to, among other things, many reports of studies funded by the federal government, by topic.
    • http://www.ncjrs.org/

  • Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report (1994- )
    • The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the investigative arm of Congress. "Its mission is to support Congress in meeting its Constitutional responsibilities (e.g. oversight, policy, and funding decision) and to help improve the performance and accountability of the Federal Government for the American People." Most GAO reports are done at the request of members of Congress.
    • http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gaoreports/

  • Congressional Research Service Reports (CRS Reports)
    • These are non-partisan and in-depth reports produced by the Congressional Research Service, the research arm of the Library of Congress, on a variety of topics for Congress. They are not widely available, but a few Web sites have been collecting and making them accessible:

Policy think tanks and research institutes also produce and publish many policy reports. To search for these, try searching the following databases:

  • PolicyFile (1990-) (Georgetown Law only)
    Indexes and abstracts public policy research and analyses originating from think tanks, university research programs, research organizations, and publishers. Where available, access to home pages and full text are made available within individual abstracts.

  • PAIS International (1972-) On-campus access only
    Indexes public policy and public affairs literature.

  • CQ Researcher
    Weekly publication covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, insight into all sides of the issues, bibliographies and more. Some of the recent criminal law-related publications are Death Penalty Controversies (September 23, 2005), Identity Theft (June 10, 2005), and Three-Strikes Law (May 10, 2002).

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Social Science & Academic Journal Databases

  • Social Sciences Index (1983- ) (Georgetown Law only)
    Indexes articles in all areas of the social sciences, from 350 English-language journals. Covers anthropology, ethnic studies, economics, environment, geography, health, law and criminology, public administration, political science, psychology, sociology, urban studies and women's studies.

  • Academic Search Premier (1980s- ) (Georgetown Law only) Tutorial
    Provides full text for 3,467 publications covering academic areas of study including social sciences, humanities, education, and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies. A total of 4,425 titles are abstracted and indexed, of which 2,591 are peer-reviewed.

  • Contemporary Women Issues (1992- ) (Georgetown Law only)
    More than 1500 sources published by over 200 organizations around the world. Coverage begins with sources from 1992 and expands through the present with more than 150 periodicals in addition to non-periodical source publications. Sources provide information dealing with women's issues in over 190 nations. Access is provided on an annual subscription basis.

  • Ethnic NewsWatch (Georgetown Law only)
    Full-text collection of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Includes articles editorials, columns, and reviews which provide a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints.

After having searched all the above databases, you might have found some good citations but not the full-text articles. Check Journal Finder to find out if any of the libraries on Main Campus or the Law Library has a subscription of a database that include your journal. If you can't find your journals on Journal Finder, you can request an interlibrary loan.

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FEDERAL LEGISLATION

Title 18 is the United States Code's Criminal Law title. To retrieve United States Code provisions, you can use any of the following:

Proposed Legislation

If you are looking for legislation which has recently been introduced in Congress but has not yet passed, there are several sources to consult:

Legislative Histories

For some federal criminal laws, there are compiled legislative histories available in the Library. These compilations usually include bills, Congressional Record debates, reports and hearings. To find a compiled legislative history, try a keyword search in the Library Catalog. For complete legislative history information, read our legislative history research guide. Good starting places for legislative history research include:

For state criminal codes and criminal procedure laws, consult Cornell's Legal Information Institute

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FEDERAL RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Please refer to our Federal Court Rules guide for more information about the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. As explained in that guide, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure are "rules of general applicability that apply in criminal matters heard in all United States District Courts. Each U.S. District Court also has its own local rules, which supplement the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure." The Federal Court Rules guide has a section on how to locate Federal Local Court Rules.

Locating Rules

Electronic Versions:
Print Versions:
  • United States Code: the appendix to Title 18
  • United States Code Service (USCS) and United States Code Annotated (USCA): separate volumes for Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (with annotations, USCA has Advisory Committee Notes; USCS has expert commentary from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy)
  • Federal rules of Criminal Procedure (updated annually; library keeps current edition only) [KF9606.99 .U582 2011]

Updating Rules

Electronic Versions:
  • Federal Rulemaking (US Courts) [http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/index.html]
    "This site provides access to the national and local rules currently in effect in the federal courts, as well as background information on the federal rules and the rulemaking process. All proposed amendments to the rules are posted for your review and comment."
  • Westlaw:
    • KeyCite the rule or retrieve the rule on either USCA or US-RULES and click on "History" on the left hand column to find the history an pending rules, and "Citing References" to find court cases that have cited your case.
    • Search the Federal Register Database (FR) for new rules.

  • Lexis:
    • When you Shepardize a rule, you retrieve only cases that have considered your rule. (With Shepard's you can update subsection of a rule. You cannot update subsections with KeyCite.)
    • Search the Federal Register Database for new rules.
Print Versions:
  • United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN) monthly advance paperback volumes (Westlaw) [KF48 .U54] Also available online on Westlaw (USCCAN)
    There is a separate table - "Table 3A Court Rules Added, Amended, etc. for federal rules."

  • United States Code Service Advance Pamphlets
    You use the same "Table of Code Sections Added, Amended, Repealed, or Otherwise Affected" to check rules affected. FRCP is listed under Title 18.

  • Federal Register [KF70 .A2, only most recent year, previous issues in Microfiche or on Hein Online]
    Proposed FRCRPs are published in the Federal Register for public comments. You can check the cumulative Table of Contents for "Judicial Conference of the United States."

For state criminal codes and criminal procedure laws, consult Cornell's Legal Information Institute [http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/state_statutes2.html#criminal_code]

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CASE LAW

Four recommended methods for identifying cases.

1. KeyCite (Westlaw) and Shepardize (Lexis) known cases

Both KeyCite and Shepard's allow you to focus on the headnotes that are of most interest to you. Although it is easier to limit by headnotes using KeyCite than using Shepard's, it is important to use both systems if you want to be thorough.

2. Search by Key Number

This is a very productive way of finding good cases. This will require you to identify the relevant Key Number(s) for your issue.

To identify the proper Key Number for the issue you are trying to research, look at the headnotes of the relevant cases you already have and:

  • Pick out the headnotes that best describe your issue. From those selected headnotes, look at the Key Numbers assigned to them. For criminal law, Key Numbers will usually (but not always) begin with 110k, which is the topic number for Criminal Law, and the "k" will be followed by the Key Number, e.g. 110k47 Criminal Law - Capacity to Commit and Responsibility for Crime - Insanity.

  • Click on the Key Number. Select your jurisdiction.

  • Add relevant search terms in the box. Note that Westlaw is just searching the headnotes (not the full text of the case) for the terms you enter.

  • The results of this search will be headnotes from cases. If after reading a headnote you want to see the full case, just click on the name of the case.

3. Keyword Searching

You can also keyword search caselaw databases on Westlaw. This is the least effective way to find cases because it depends on matching your search terms precisely with the terms used in the court decision, which is akin to "a stab in the dark."

If you absolutely have to conduct a keyword search, here are some pointers that will make your search more productive:

  • Consider searching only the synopsis and digest portions of the case for your terms. This often proves to be more productive than searching the entire text, because it focuses your search only on the major issues of the case as described in the headnotes. A search of this type looks like this: SY, DI ("confrontation clause") and da(aft 5/2004)

  • If you are dealing with courts' interpretation of a particular statute, rule, or sentencing guideline, search for citations to that primary source in either the synopsis or digest fields (see above) of the case. For example, if the statute on point is 28 U.S.C. 2254, try the following search:
    • SY, DI (28 /5 2254) & da(aft 5/2004), OR
    • 2254 /p "habeas corpus" & da(aft 5/2004)
      Note that if you add additional relevant terms, as in the second search, you can usually get away with just using the section number rather than the full citation. This is often a good idea, since, in the text of the case, the statute may not be cited in full, or may not be in proper Bluebook form.

  • One way to combine the Topic and Key Number system with keyword searching is to search a full-text case law database using the Topic and Key Number from a known case. For example, search in the California state and federal case law database (CA-CS-ALL) and type: TO(110K577.10(1)) & "SPEEDY TRIAL"

4. Secondary Sources

  • Annual Review of Criminal Procedure (2003-present), K7 .E51.
    Provides an annual update of cases as well as criminal law provisions, with copious references to cases, laws and rules.
  • Charles Alan Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure (1998-; updated with pocket parts), KF9619 .W7.
    • A multi-volume set that includes coverage of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. It provides extensive rule-by-rule discussion, with copious references to cases and other materials.
    • Also available on Westlaw: FPP
      • There is a Criminal sub-database: FPP-CRIM

  • James Wm. Moore, et al. ed., Moore's Federal Practice ( 1997-; loose-leaf for updating), KF8820 .A313 M63 1997.
    • A Multi-volume looseleaf set revised annually. It also provides a rule-by-rule analysis of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Evidence, as well as Supreme Court practice.

It is worth noting that West has been publishing the Federal Rules Decisions (cited as F.R.D.) since 1940 to include texts of U.S. District Court decisions that construe the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as well as the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. These cases also appear in the Federal Supplement (F. Supp.). F.R.D., however, also includes relevant articles, speeches, and the proceedings of judicial conferences. Available at:

  • KF 8830 .F5 (1940-present)
  • Westlaw: FRD (Federal Rules Decisions); FRD-RULES (Federal Rules Decisions Rules); FRD-ART (Federal Rules Decisions Articles); FRD-CS (Federal Rules Decisions Cases)

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RECOMMENDED WEB SITES

Government Web Sites

Statistics Web Sites

  • BJS Capital Punishment Reports
    http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=1

  • Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online (31st Edition, 2003)
    http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/index.html
    The Sourcebook "brings together data from more than 100 sources about many aspects of criminal justice in the United States. The Law Library has the print version (1973-present) [HV7245 .N37]

  • National Archive of Criminal Justice Data: The Source for Crime and Justice Data
    http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/index.html
    The mission of the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) is "to facilitate research in criminal justice and criminology, through the preservation, enhancement, and sharing of computerized data resources; through the production of original research based on archived data; and through specialized training workshops in quantitative analysis of crime and justice data.

  • Court Statistics Project (National Center for State Courts)
    http://www.ncsconline.org/D_Research/csp/CSP_Main_Page.html collects and analyzes data relating to the work of our nation's state courts, including statistics on criminal filings and caseloads.

Academic/Research Institutes

Other Organizations

  • National Criminal Justice Information Center
    http://www.ncjrs.org
    The Web site is "a federally funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide." The Web site provides access to many Government publications by topic. The NCJRS Abstracts Database provides access to the abstracts of NCJRS Library's 185,000 items. Full text can be ordered from the Library. The Web site also has a Questions & Answers section that allows you to search NCJR's answers knowledge base and email a question to a Specialist if you can't find an appropriate response.

  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Criminal Justice
    http://www.aclu.org/crimjustice/index.html

  • The Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice
    http://www.cjcj.org/

  • National District Attorneys Association
    http://www.ndaa.org/

  • Criminal Procedure Resource Guide (National Center for State Courts, NCSC)
    http://www.ncsc.org/Topics/Criminal/Criminal-Procedure/Resource-Guide.aspx
    A bibliography on state criminal procedure.

  • American Bar Association - Criminal Justice Section
    http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/about.html
    "Founded in 1920, the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association has over 9,000 members including prosecutors, private defense counsel, appellate and trial judges, law professors, correctional and law enforcement personnel, law students, public defenders, and other criminal justice professionals."

  • Amnesty International - Death Penalty Library
    http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty
    Death Penalty section of the Amnesty International web site. Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights.

  • Death Penalty Information Center
    http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
    The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment.

For more Web site links, consult the Criminal Justice Resources Web site (Michigan State University Libraries) http://staff.lib.msu.edu/harris23/crimjust. It links to many Web sites covering a myriad of topics related to criminal justice.

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Research Guides and Tutorials

 

Updated May/2011 (ET)
Updated November/2008 (TV)
Revised February/2006 (LT)

Page last saved 13-Oct-2011