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FNBSLW 341
Business & Commercial Law

Table of Contents:


This class assignment guide has been put together for Business & Commercial Law as a starting place for doing legal research and is by no means exhaustive. For a more extensive listing of law-related websites, check out the Selected Internet Resouces: Law page.

 

Types of Law

When researching the law, it is important to remember the four main types of law: constitutional, statutory, administrative and case (common) law.

Constitutional Law

The Constitution of the United States is available several places, completely online: National Archives, FindLaw. You can also find the Constitution of the United States: Analysis & Interpretations, which contains references to US Supreme Court cases, via GPO Access and in print at the Reference Desk.

Statutory Law

Both state and federal statutes are available in print and online from the University Library. The federal statutes can be found in the Statutes at Large (in chronological order of the date of passage) or in the United States Code (codified by subject matter). The latest edition of United States Code (2000) is available in the Government Reference Collection. As for Wisconsin, you can find the latest edition (2005-2006) of the Wisconsin Statutes both online from the Wisconsin State Legislature or in print at the Reference Desk.

Administrative Law

The regulations passed by both the federal and state agencies can be found in publications online and in print at the library. For the federal agencies, check the Code of Federal Regulations, updated yearly. If you're looking for proposals from federal agencies, you'll find them in the Federal Register, published daily. Wisconsin has similar publications, the Wisconsin Administrative Code and the Administrative Register.

Case (Common) Law

To find case law, you need to look in reporters. The place in which the trial was heard will determine the reporter series that contains the case. The US Reports or the Supreme Court Reporter will features cases from the US Supreme Court. If you're looking for a case that took place in Wisconsin, you have two options: the North Western Reporter, which has cases from Wisconsin and six other states, and the Wisconsin Reporter, which only has Wisconsin cases. The University Library has these titles in the Law Reference Collection on the second floor.

Fortunately for you, these reporters are also available online through Campus Research, also referred to as Westlaw (UWW access only). The following sections explain how to find specific cases and statutes using this database.

 

How to Find Statutes

Using the Wisconsin State Legislature's statutes website does have its advantages, as it's easier to browse and print-friendly PDF versions. If you know the statute that you're looking for, use that. On the other hand, if you're looking for a particular topic, Campus Research does have more powerful search capabilities, as well as annotated entries with references to relevant cases.

Finding Statutes in Campus Research

  • Log into Campus Research.
  • On the Terms and Agreement page, make sure 'I Agree' is checked and click GO.
  • The welcome screen gives you two options, the shortcuts frame on the left and the main search screen on the right. If you have a legal citation, you can enter the citation and quickly go there. If you're researching a topic, use the main search screen.
  • When using the main search, you have to select an area to search. In the case of finding a state statute, you'd check the box next to State Statutes and then select Wisconsin from the drop-down menu.
  • Back at the top, enter in the search terms that you'd like to find or the specific chapter that you're investigating. When you're using the search on the right, this will return all relevant citations, as opposed to only the specific citation that you entered on the left.
  • After entering your terms, click Search. The following screen will contain your search results. Browse through to find statutes that fit what you're researching.
  • Click on the link to the appropriate statute.
  • The biggest advantage of Campus Research is the hyperlinks to cases in the reporters, which you won't find on the Wisconsin State Legislature website.
 

How to Find Cases

Finding cases in Campus Research is just as easy as finding statutes. With a citation, everything is right at your fingertips.

Finding Cases in Campus Research

  • Log into Campus Research.
  • On the Terms and Agreement page, make sure 'I Agree' is checked and click GO.
  • The welcome screen gives you two options, the shortcuts frame on the left and the main search screen on the right. If you have a legal citation, you can enter the citation and quickly go there. If you're researching a topic, use the main search screen.
  • When searching for a specific case, you can either search by the citation or by party names. The party names search is pretty easy to figure out. The slightly trickier one is the citation search. All you need to know is that you should leave out spaces and punctuation. For example, you're looking for a case with the citation 366 N.W.2d 857, which refers to a case in the North Western Reporter, Second Series, volume 366, page 857. You would enter this citation as 366nw2d857 in the search box. This case has a parallel citation in 123 Wis.2d 259 because it was simultaneously published in the Wisconsin Reporter. Searching for 123wis2d259 will also bring up the case.
  • When using the main search, you have to select an area to search. In the case of finding a case, you'd check the box(es) next to appropriate sources under Cases.
  • Back at the top, enter in the search terms that you'd like to find or the specific chapter that you're investigating. When you're using the search on the right, this will return all relevant citations, as opposed to only the specific citation that you entered on the left.
  • After entering your terms, click Search. The following screen will contain your search results. Browse through to find cases that fit what you're researching.
  • As with the statutes, the greatest advantage of Campus Research is the hyperlinks to other cases and statutes cited in the case, which you can't easily do with the books.