Legal Research for the Intrepid but (honorably) Clueless

If you’ve never, ever researched the law, I recommend you start at the beginning and work your way up:

1) This quick online (and PDF) guide from AALL LISP is an excellent starting point: How to Research a Legal Problem: A Guide for Non-Lawyers

2) Next, if you are brave enough, move on to the hard-core books on legal research, many of which you can find at your local libraries, including books from Nolo Press and HALT, both of which have excellent legal research guides, online and in print.

3) If you’re ready for the big time, visit a law library, but you might want to start at one more like this or this than this or this. (Most states have some kind of public law library system. Ask at your local public library if you don’t know where to find a law library open to the public.)