Linking To Library Electronic Resources: Links to Westlaw

The first step in providing links to library resources for students is to find the resource yourself before generating a link. Actually finding a resource will involve different steps depending on what kind of resource you want to provide a link for. The boxes below will provide step-by-step instructions for locating online versions of various types of resources.

Locating Case Law

1. Log into Westlaw.

2. Enter the citation for the case into the search bar. You can exclude the name of the case itself and just enter the citation information (for example, search only 347 U.S. 483, instead of searching Brown v. Board of Ed. Topeka, 347 U.S. 483). 

If you want to use a free resource instead of a paid database:

1. Go to scholar.google.com and select the "Case Law" button. An alternative is the Caselaw Access Project / Court Listener.

2. Enter the citation into the search bar. Note that not all case law (especially trial and intermediate appellate state court decisions) will be discoverable using Google Scholar.

Locating Statutes

1. Log into Westlaw.  

2. Either:

• Enter the citation for the statute into the search bar OR
• Select the Statutes & Court Rules content type. You can then navigate to the appropriate federal statute via "United States Code Annotated (USCA)" or locate a state statute from the list of States below. If you have difficulty locating a statute, you may use the Popular Names Table or Indexes available (located at the right hand side of the menu under 'Tools & Resources', upon clicking the USCA).

If you want to use a free resource instead of a paid database:

For the U.S.C.

• There are several free resources for the U.S.C., including:
  • The U.S.C. as hosted on the House of Representatives website at uscode.house.gov.
  • The U.S.C. on Cornell's Legal Information Institute (LII) website at law.cornell.edu/uscode/text.

Locating Regulations

1. Log into Westlaw. 

2. Enter the citation for the regulation into the search bar or locate it under Regulations. 

If you want to use a free resource instead of a paid database:

Free Online Federal Administrative Law Resources

• For Federal Register documents: federalregister.gov
• For the Code of Federal Regulations: ecfr.federalregister.gov
• For proposed regulations: regulations.gov

Note: Students will be prompted for a Westlaw password before proceeding to the document​​​​​​

1. Click the paper clip icon at the top right of the page, then select "Copy Link."

2. Paste the link into the document or resource you are providing to your students.