Welcome to
the Hastings Law Library. We have created a webpage with information that
we think will be useful in starting out your year here at Hastings.
We hope
you enjoy your time at Hastings. If you need help with any library or
research project, feel free to contact Vince Moyer in the library.
It is
important to remember the hierarchy of American law. Cities can make
laws, but these laws must be in compliance with the law of the State
in which that city is located. Each of the fifty states make laws, but
these laws must be in compliance with federal law. Federal law is therefore
supreme.
Federal law is made by each of the three branches of government:
The executive branch makes laws through the various federal agencies.
These laws typically are called regulations. They are first published
in chronological order in the Federal
Register (also on the 6th floor in the library) and then are arranged
by subject in the Code
of Federal Regulations.
The legislature makes laws by passing bills in Congress. When
a bill becomes law, it is then called a Public
Law. These laws are first published in chronological order in the
U.S. Statutes at Large and then they are published in chronological
order in the United
States Code.
The judiciary branch interprets the laws created by the legislature
and the executive branch. The judiciary also makes law by resolving
disputes between individuals, organizations, or businesses that have
been brought to the federal court. Once a court has issued an opinion
in a case, then other lower courts must follow this court ruling. The
structure of the federal court is described in detail here.
(Click
here
for an image.) Federal cases typically are brought in a federal
district court and these opinions are published in the Federal Supplement.
Cases may be appealed to the federal appellate court and then these
opinions are published in the Federal Reporter. Some cases are
subsequently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and these decisions
are published in US Reports, Supreme Court Reporter, and
Supreme Court Reports Lawyers' Edition.
It is usually easy to find U.S. law, the hard part is interpreting the
law. To help you understand the law there are numerous secondary sources
with descriptions and analyses of the laws. Some of these include legal
encyclopedias, nutshells, hornbooks, treatises, practice guides, and
law journals. For a description of many of these useful resources, you
can view the library's study
aids webpage or consult the library's journal page to learn different
ways to find law journal
articles.
The Hastings Law Library has an extensive collection of both the primary
sources of American law (regulations, public laws, and case law) and
the helpful secondary sources which explain the law.
The Law
Library of Congress webpage is a good starting place for students
unfamiliar with the U.S. legislative process. It includes information
about how U.S. laws are made and a brief guide to the U.S. legal system.
BOOKS
ABOUT AMERICAN LAW
An Introduction
to the Legal System of the United States,
3rd ed. KF387
.F3 1996 (5th Floor)
Introduction
to the Law and Legal System of the United States KF385
.B87 2002 (5th Floor)
PRIMARY
LAW
Cases
—
U.S. Reports
Supreme Court Reporter United States Supreme Court Reports Federal Reporter Federal Supplement Codes
—
United States Code United States Code Service
United States Code Annotated Digests
— U.S.
Supreme Court Digest West's Federal Practice Digest Regulations
— Code of Federal Regulations
Cases
—
California Reporter
California Reports California Appellate Reports Codes
—
Deering's California Code
West's Annotated California Codes Digests
— McKinney's
Digest West's Digest Regulations
— California Code of Regulations
Research Assistance
LIBRARY
CATALOGS
To find
out what books are available at the Hastings Law Library and other nearby
libraries, use the catalogs below:
Hastings
Online Catalog
Search or
browse by AUTHOR (example: Traynor, Roger J), TITLE (ex: Criminal law
and its administration), CALL NUMBER (ex: KFC610.A56 1980), SUBJECT
(ex: Environmental Law International Cases), or KEYWORDS (ex: cappuccino
future).
MELVYL
Book catalog for University of California system and periodicals catalog
for California Libraries.
San
Francisco Public Library (SFPL)
Borrowing privileges with proof of California residence. A SFPL
library card number allows remote access to online databases such
as J-STOR (for journals) and EBSCOhost (for newspaper articles). SFPL
is just down Hyde Street (a two-minute walk) and is a great source for
foreign newspapers and books.
Reference
Desk Hours:
Beginning Wednesday, August 15th we will move to the Library's regular
schedule. Reference Desk hours during the academic year are
Monday
through Friday: 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM and
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Bloggy
Notion:
Read the Law Library's weblog, the Bloggy
Notion for library news, legal research tips, new library materials,
electronic resources, and other items of interest to Hastings students.
Do
you have a question about the library, American law, or legal research?
The librarians at Hastings are available to help with basic
questions about printed or electronic legal resources, or to help you
plan your research strategy for a particular project. Feel free to stop
by the reference desk anytime, but if you have a detailed question about
your research, you might want to call (or e-mail) Julie or Vince and
make an appointment.
Foreign,
Comparative & International Law Librarian:
Librarian
Phone
E-mail
Vincent
Moyer
565-4752
ONLINE
DATABASES
The following
online databases are useful for researching American law. You will receive
Lexis and Westlaw passwords in your LW&R class, and the passwords
(if necessary) for the library's subscription databases are listed on
the subscription database webpage.
Need a
little help? Nutshells (short narratives about a specific area of law),
Course Outlines and other books can make American legal topics a little
less confusing. Click
here to see some study aids available in the library. The bookstore
also has a good selection of study guides (for sale).
There is
a good collection of English and foreign language dictionaries at the
library and online
(for fun, check out Dan's
Poker Dictionary or the Idiom
Connection). Many of the library's dictionaries are kept near the
reference desk. To use these dictionaries, just ask for them at the
reference desk. The following are some specialized ones:
Elsevier's
Legal Dictionary : in English, German, French, Dutch and Spanish K54
.E45 2001 (Reference)
Multilingual
Dictionary of Copyright, Rights, and Contracts K1419.5
.M84 1995 (5th Floor)
Translations
of Commonly Used Court Related Phrases PB73
.T72 1998 (6th Floor)
West's
Law and Commercial Dictionary in Five Languages K54
.W47 (Reference)
For night-time
activities you might want to check out SF
Dance, and their list
of clubs, or see if there's a new restaurant
you haven't tried yet.
GETTING
AROUND SAN FRANCISCO
UC Hastings
College of the Law is located near the Civic Center in a neighborhood
called the Tenderloin,
and several forms of public transit are close by. You can visit the BART
webpage to learn about exploring the East Bay, or travel around the city
on Muni.
The Library
Reference desk has a variety of maps for the Bay Area.
