North Carolina towns and cities have been appearing in the news a lot lately. After the expiration of House Bill 142 in December, municipalities have begun passing their own nondiscrimination measures. This blog post will clarify the difference between ordinances and statutes, help you locate ordinances, and describe how to stay current with local ordinance …
Researching Presidential Materials: Key Resources to Know
As the Biden administration begins—and the news fills with a flurry of presidential activities—now is a great time to brush-up on authoritative sources for presidential documents and materials. Presidential materials include executive orders, proclamations, memorandum, directives, signing statements, and assorted other documents like speeches and announcements. There are four authoritative government resources publishing these documents: …
State and Regional Encyclopedias: Unexpected Legal Research Tools
Skilled legal researchers are accustomed to using state legal encyclopedias to support the research of our students, faculty members, and communities. But what about general encyclopedias devoted to individual U.S states and regions? Roughly half of the U.S. states have free, online state encyclopedias available. Many state encyclopedias originated in the print era. Some were …
A Different Way to Study: Audio Study Aids
The semester has only begun, and exams are, thankfully, months away. However, study aids can be used throughout the semester to help prepare for class or to review topics that didn’t seem to quite make sense in class. If your eyes grow weary of the constant reading (in print or online), if you’d like to …
Using Legislative History to Learn About Past Presidential Inaugurations
Inauguration Day ceremonies are typically marked by a variety of traditions, including the administration of the presidential oath of office and a speech given by the newly inaugurated President. While presidential speeches from these ceremonies are widely available (see the online collection from The Avalon Project at Yale Law Library), few records contain descriptions of …
Is Thanksgiving Day a Recognized Holiday in All Fifty States? Using Fifty-State Surveys to Find the Answer!
Did you know that Thanksgiving Day is designated as a public holiday by federal law? Under 5 U.S.C. §6103, there are ten days recognized as legal public holidays by the federal government. For those of us who love our turkey with all the fixins, it is certainly good news that Thanksgiving Day is protected by …
New Legal Research Guide: Critical Race Theory and Racial Justice
The UNC Law Library is pleased to announce the creation and publication of a new Critical Race Theory and Racial Justice legal research guide to support student and faculty research on this topic, as well as our Critical Race Lawyering Civil Rights Clinic. The guide is divided into six sections: an overview of tactics for …
COVID-19 and Racial Justice Resources in Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg Law, and HeinOnline
Several major legal information providers have created pages in their databases that collect materials relating to the pandemic and ongoing racial justice protests and issues in the U.S. This post will consider Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg, and HeinOnline; all four have content addressing these issues, but the presentation and materials may differ. These databases divide access …
Behind the Buzzword: Reading Guide on Originalism
As you may have heard a thing-or-two about, we’re in the middle of a Supreme Court nomination. In the debate surrounding Amy Coney Barrett, there has been a ton of discussion on how much of an originalist she is. So — what exactly is an originalist? The answer is complicated. However, if you’d like to …
Free Online Access to Advance Sheets for NC Reports
As more time is spent conducting research from home, researchers are considering digital alternatives to many resources traditionally consulted in print. One of the many popular print resources in the UNC Law Library are the advance sheets for the North Carolina Reports, including both the North Carolina Reports of the Supreme Court and the North …