Find legal information
To successfully find legal information, you will need to select research databases and sources appropriate for finding the legal information you need. This means choosing a resource that provides the correct:
1. category of law (regulatory, judicial, or statutory)
- Regulatory law = rules and regulations developed by governmental agencies and departments in order for them to carry out the laws passed by legislatures.
- Judicial law = case law, that is laws arising from decisions made in courts.
- Statutory law = laws enacted by legislatures.
2. level of government (federal or state)
Links to these legal research tools are further below:
For Federal REGULATIONS, use the following:
- Code of Federal Regulations
- Federal Register.
- LexisNexis Academic includes the content of both the Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Register. Use the "search by content type" dropdown menu to select "Federal Statutes & Regulations."
- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website provides links to health care regulatory information published in the Federal Register and elsewhere. On the CMS website, choose "Regulations & Guidance."
For State REGULATIONS, use the following:
- LexisNexis Academic includes the content of South Dakota Administrative Rules and South Dakota Register. In LexisNexis use the "search by content type" dropdown menu to select "State Statutes & Regulations."
- Legislative Research Council of the South Dakota Legislature. For rules and regulations, choose "Administrative Rules" and find rules using either the "Rules Search" or "Rules List."
For Federal CASE LAW, use:
- LexisNexis Academic. Use the "search by content type" dropdown menu to select "Federal & State Cases"
For State CASE LAW, use:
- LexisNexis Academic. Use the "search by content type" dropdown menu to select "Federal & State Cases"
For Federal STATUTORY LAW, use:
- LexisNexis Academic. Use the "search by content type" dropdown menu to select "Federal Statutes & Regulations."
{Note: statutory laws may be found as "Public Laws" (that is, found by public law number which is a consecutive numbering system of laws during a given legislative session) or in the "U.S. Code" (that is, found in the codified laws in which laws related to a particular topic are grouped together}.
For State STATUTORY LAW, use:
- LexisNexis Academic. Use the "search by content type" dropdown menu to select "State Statutes & Regulations."
- Legislative Research Council of the South Dakota Legislature. For statutory law, choose "Laws."