Law
Law Librarian
Legal Databases
- Westlaw This link opens in a new window
Westlaw's research service redesigned for students. Legal sources, including the Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, United States Code Annotated (USCA), Federal and State court cases, American Law Reports (ALR), American Jurisprudence 2d, Black's Law Dictionary, Legal Guides, and more. Also includes more than 700 law reviews and journals.
Citations sent using Westlaw's email option do not provide a permalink that can be used to link directly to a case. Users are encouraged to log into Westlaw and then search for the citation(s) received via email, and when sending cases, to select the radio button for "documents" instead of "list of items" when using the email option.Added January 3, 2014.
- NexisUni This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to over 10,000 news, business, and legal sources, including both deep archive and up-to-the-minute stories in regional, national, and international newspapers, wire services, broadcast transcripts, and non-English language news services. Company Dossier can be used to retrieve detailed company information and financial performance measures, or to identify and compare companies matching specific criteria. Also included is Shepard's Citations service for all federal and state court cases 1789-present.
NOTE: Users must register for a NexisUni account using their WMU email address in order to save content and searches on this platform. - HeinOnline: The Modern Link to Legal History This link opens in a new window
HeinOnline consists of major full text legal collections including: the Law Journal Library, the Federal Register Library, the Treaties and Agreements Library, U.S. Code, the U.S. Supreme Court Library, and the Selden Society Publications and the History of Early English Law. These collections are image-based and fully-searchable, with comprehensive coverage of each title, some going back to the 18th century.
- Legal Source This link opens in a new window
Legal Source provides access to indexing and full-text coverage of 1,000 journals covering current issues, studies, thoughts and trends in the legal world.
- Legal Information Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Legal Information Reference Center contains hundreds of full-text publications and thousands of legal forms. Search over 12,800 state-specific legal forms–searchable by top subject areas including Adoption, Bankruptcy, Name Changes and more.
Law Libraries
- WMU Cooley Law LibrariesWMU students can check out books and have access to limited electronic resources from computer stations in their library.
- Law Library - Kalamazoo Public LibraryLocated in the Central KPL branch the Law Library provides primary and secondary law texts, legal self-help guides, divorce packets, and access to WestlawNext.
- Law Library of MichiganThe Michigan Legislature created The Library of Michigan to guarantee the people of this State and their government one perpetual institution to collect and preserve Michigan publications, conduct reference and research and support libraries statewide.
Finding Local Legal Help
- Legal Aid Clinic - Sponsored by the Western Student AssociationAll Western students may seek advice on legal issues including landlord-tenant conflicts, substance possession offenses, or other civil or criminal infractions.
- Legal Aid of Western Michigan - Kalamazoo OfficeFor more than 40 years, Legal Services Corporation funded agencies in Western Michigan have provided free legal assistance to low income persons and Seniors in non-criminal, non-fee generating matters. Legal Aid of Western Michigan currently serves people in 17 counties in the lower Western part of Michigan with offices in Grand Rapids, Holland, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Niles and St. Joseph.
- Michigan Legal HelpThe Michigan Legal Help website was created to help people who have to handle simple civil legal problems without a lawyer. There are articles you can read to learn about a specific area of the law and toolkits to help you prepare to represent yourself in court. Some forms are completed automatically once you answer simple questions. The Michigan Legal Help website does not provide legal advice, and it is not a substitute for having a lawyer. If you need more help, you can search the website for a lawyer or community services in your area.
Michigan Laws and Regulations
- Legislative Public ActsOTE: Public Acts exist in two different forms:
1) Bills that have been approved by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor, filed with the Secretary of State, and assigned a Public Act number. This version is as it was originally passed and is considered a legislative document. Use the search below to find legislative public act documents. To obtain versions public act documents prior to 1997, please contact the law library at (517)373-0630.
2) Public Acts also become part of the Michigan Compiled Laws. This version is as it exists today and includes the changes that have been made to it by way of subsequent legislation. This version is available provided it was not an appropriations act and it has not been repealed. - Administrative Rules, Codes, Public Acts & Standards (LARA)A compilation of all adopted rules and regulations that are in effect in the State of Michigan. Each rule has been assigned a rule number, which appears at the beginning of each rule in the text of the Code. On the effective date of each new rule, rule amendment or rescission, the new text will be loaded into the Administrative Code database.
- Michigan Register (LARA)The Michigan Register is a comprehensive source of regulatory information that complements and supplements the Michigan Administrative Code. It contains copies of all proposed administrative rules, notices of public hearings on proposed administrative rules, and administrative rules filed with the secretary of state as submitted by Michigan departments and agencies.
Legal Citations
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 20th EditionCall Number: Waldo Library Reference, Non-circulating KF245 .B58Publication Date: 2016
Legal Research Guides
Legal Encyclopedias
- American Jurisprudence 2dAmerican Jurisprudence provides an unparalleled breadth of coverage of all fields of American law – state and federal, civil and criminal, substantive and procedural. The articles collect, examine, and summarize the broad principles of American law and, at the same time, provide: Direct leads to supporting cases, Related annotations, Forms, Proofs, and Trial techniques.