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Basic Legal Research

This guide will provide basic legal information that can be found in the NMSU Library and elsewhere on the internet.

Finding Supreme Court Cases

The Supreme Court only deals with Constitutional issues.  The U.S. Reports are a compilation of Supreme Court Cases in chronological order, but they do not contain the most current information.  Most recent cases are at the Supreme Court website.

U.S. Reports at NMSU Library:

Finding District Court Cases

The first level in the Judicial Branch is the District Court.  Most District Courts only publish about 60% of the cases they hear. 

The second level is the Appeals Court.  This court deals with legal issues only. 

The third level is the Supreme Court.