LibGuides: Public Patron Reference Guide: Explanatory Sources

About This Guide

This guide is meant to provide a starting place for the community to find and research explanatory sources through free sources. Explanatory sources are interpretations and analyses that help explain the law.

A list of commonly used secondary sources:

Form Books
Legal Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Law Review Journals

Form Books

Form books provide sample documents such as pleadings, motions, and other legal documents. Below are form books available through our Law Library.

Douglas' Forms, 5th by R. D. Douglas
Call Number: KFN7468 .D6d 2008 Law Library Stacks
ISBN: 9781422470091
Save hours drafting documents with Douglas' Forms, an indispensable collection of expertly designed forms for North Carolina civil practice as well as official forms promulgated by the Administrative Office of the Courts. In this 5-volume set you'll find hundreds of forms that cover a plethora of different legal situations, from the mundane to the unusual and including many that are simply not found in other works. The convenient loose-leaf format means you can easily remove pages from binders for photocopying or scanning, saving you time and valuable desk space. Douglas' Forms contains the time-tested forms you need for virtually every aspect of North Carolina civil practice. Purchase this essential reference and draft expert documents for your clients every single time.
The United States Legal System by Margaret Z. Johns; Rex R. Perschbacher
Call Number: KF385 .J64 2012 Law Library Stacks
ISBN: 9781611630107
Publication Date: 2012-07-01
This book is designed to introduce incoming law students to the U.S. legal system in order to prepare them to get the most out of law school from the day it begins. Authors Johns and Perschbacher do not assume a great deal of prior knowledge and begin by explaining what legal education is all about. There is then a chapter on the legal profession¿who are all those lawyers, how are they regulated, and what are they doing? The book then covers the structure of our legal system, looking at the complex relationship between the states and the federal government as well as at the institutions of both. Finally, two important sources of law are considered: legislatures and courts. The book examines some of the ways that legislation is interpreted and some of the ways that the law evolves through the judicial process.

Legal Encyclopedias and Dictionaries (Print)

Below are print dictionaries and encyclopedias available in the Law Library.

American Jurisprudence 2d by West Publishing
Call Number: Law Library Second Floor Stacks
Provides 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, information about supporting cases and related annotations.
Black's Law Dictionary by A. Bryan Garner (Editor-In-Chief)
Call Number: KF156 .B53 2014 Law Library Reference
ISBN: 9780314613004
Publication Date: 2014-05-01
This comprehensive law dictionary contains more than 50,000 terms and includes definitions of more than 1,000 law-related abbreviations and acronyms. More than 7,500 terms new to this edition include bioweapon, gazump, hacker, mommy track, unperson and zero-tolerance law.
Strong's North Carolina index, 4th by John M. Strong
Call Number: North Carolina Section First Floor
These volumes have been totally redesigned and rewritten to reflect the most recent developments in state law. This new edition contains case law and relevant provisions of the state's constitution, statutes, and court rules, as well as more than 20 new articles on topics of emerging interest to North Carolina practitioners. A new Fact-Word Index provides easy access to articles in this fourth edition. This edition is also tied to related West products through extensive references throughout each topic.

Legal Encyclopedias and Dictionaries (Online)

Below are links to online open-access legal dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Black's Law Dictionary Online Legal Dictionary 2nd Ed.
The Law Dictionary features Black's Law Dictionary, the trusted legal dictionary of law definitions and terms for over 100 years.
Justia Glossary and Dictionary
Justia Online Legal Encyclopedia
Justia's mission is to advance the availability of legal resources for the benefit of society. The company provides Internet users with free case law, codes, regulations, legal articles, and legal blog and twitterer databases, as well as additional community resources.
WEX
Wex is a free legal dictionary and encyclopedia sponsored and hosted by the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell Law School, collaboratively created and edited by legal experts.

Law Review Journals

Law review journals are scholarly publications, usually edited by law students in close collaboration with faculty members. Law review journals often focus on new or emerging areas of law and are commonly cited as persuasive authority by the courts. The majority of law review journals can be accessed for free via the links below.

NCCU Law Review

Law Review is a student-run journal that publishes articles written by law professors, judges, and other legal professionals. Members of Law review may also publish shorter pieces called "case notes" and "comments." NCCU has three Law Review journals: NCCU Environmental Law Review, North Carolina Central Law Review, and North Carolina Central University Science & Intellectual Property Law Review. Visit the links below to access case notes and comments published by students.

NCCU Law Review Journals

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Public Patron Reference Guide

About This Guide

Form Books

Legal Encyclopedias and Dictionaries (Print)

Legal Encyclopedias and Dictionaries (Online)

Law Review Journals