Legal Links

Legal News

National and local developments in the law, as well as, the latest news about legislation and court decisions can be found in online legal newspapers or at criminal defense organization web sites. Many of these sites contain archives of old news stories.

Press Releases
Most government agencies with web sites publish their press releases, which describe recent and future changes in the law.

e-Bulletins
Receive summaries of the latest Supreme Court and New York court decisions by email. The summaries are linked to the full text documents.

Local and State News
Find your local newspaper online. Most television, radio and print news services have web sites with full text copies of their latest stories.

Slip Opinions
Read the latest opinions from the Supreme Court and New York courts. Most services are free, some charge a subscription or document delivery fee.

New Legislation
Locate a proposed law, a legislative report or an existing statute by visiting New York Government web sites.

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Legal Research

Federal Law
Find federal cases from anywhere in the country. Read about new federal laws and regulations. Learn about the activities of federal agencies.

New York Law
Research New York Court of Appeals Cases, statutes, local laws and even jury instructions from your desktop.

Out of State
Need to find the statute concerning a client’s predicate offense committed in another state. Statutes and case law from other jurisdictions, including the federal government can be found through this one source.

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Ethics and Opinions

Conflicts of interest, confidentiality and other ethical questions can be answered by examining bar association ethics opinions online.

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Court Directories/Biographies

Contact information for judges and government offices across the country can be found in these directories. Background on judges and legislators is available.

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Finding People

Learn about clients, co-defendants or witnesses who have been or are now in the state prison system. Save time by looking up the name of the county official or state official who can answer your question.

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Expert Witnesses and Transcripts

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Criminal Defense Organizations

Criminal defense associations publish newsletters and articles, reports on current issues, motions and briefs, training calendars and standards of practice. They also post links to web sites on criminal law research, such as forensics or the death penalty.

National

New York

Other States

Federal

Legal Service Organizations

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Assigned Counsel

Practicing attorneys can find information about joining 18-b panels, training and eligibility requirements and local events related to assigned counsel work.

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Continuous Legal Education

Calendars of upcoming trainers, registration information and requirements for mandatory CLE credits are available from criminal defense association web sites.

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New York Government

Government reports, studies, procedures and rules that may be difficult to find or inaccessible through conventional research can be located on the web.

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Legal Search Engines/Databases

Find cases, statutes, law review articles, reports and other documents by using search engines. These search engines look specifically for law related information.

Databases, unlike search engines, do not seek out other web sites. They contain full text documents. Web based databases are not as current or comprehensive as Westlaw or Lexis.

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Comprehensive Criminal Law Links

When you need a study on racial profiling or a report on work release programs, you can search sites that specialize in criminal justice and social science information.

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Statistics and Reports

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Death Penalty

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Forensics

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Client Manuals

Complete books on the criminal justice system are available online. Educating your client about the process can be as simple as clicking on a link to one of these web sites.

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Publishers/Vendors

Need a recent book on search and seizure law? Trying to build up your collection of DWI handbooks? Then visit the publishers who sell New York and Criminal Law related books.

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Law Libraries

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Law Reviews

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Criminal Law Software

New York criminal procedure and penal law research can be simplified and expedited through research software. Gunga Web (available for a fee) and Crime Time (free) can be accessed or downloaded from the web.

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Comprenhesive Sites – Generally

One stop shopping for legal research saves time. Sites such as American Law Sources Online are gateways that open the doors to hundreds of specific case law, statutory and government agency web sites.

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Comprehensive Sites – New York

Documents have a dubious life span on the web. Valuable guides, such as the ones listed below, can be saved on your computer for future reference when the original is no longer available.

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Notable Documents

Documents have a dubious life span on the web. Valuable guides, such as the ones listed below, can be saved on your computer for future reference when the original is no longer available.

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Freedom of Information