Legal Encyclopedias
Legal encyclopedias contain essay-like narratives on areas of law. These essays provide an introductory guide to the law on a specific subject. Legal encyclopedias can assist the researcher with understanding unfamiliar words and phrases. Essays state general propositions of law and are not intended to be analytical. Statements made in the text are supported by references to court opinions and/or statutory law. Legal encyclopedias are considered secondary sources. They help the researcher locate court opinions and statutes. They are not cited as authority.
National Encyclopedias
There are two national legal encyclopedias in the United States: Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.) and American Jurisprudence, 2d.(Am. Jur. 2d.). Both encyclopedias are in their second series. Each of these encyclopedias contains a general index arranged by subject or topic. References in the general index lead to essays located in subject designated volumes.
Examples of citations:
- 17 Am. Jur. 2d. Contracts $ 74 (1964): Volume 17, American Jurisprudence 2d., topic: Contracts, Section 74, (date of volume)
- 88 C.J.S. Trial & 192 (1955): Volume 88, Corpus Juris Secundum, topic: Trial, Section 192, (date of volume)
While both of these encyclopedias appear to be alike there are differences in coverage. Essays in C.J.S. from 1936 until the mid 1980s include references to all reported court decisions involving the topic. Since the mid 1980s, the use of court opinions is more selective with a goal of providing a contemporary statement of American law on the topic. Also, since the mid 1980's, C.J.S. has provided selected references to federal and local statutory law. C.J.S. also provides references to West Topics and Key Numbers and other secondary sources. American Jurisprudence, 2d. uses only the controlling case law in a subject area as a basis for its essays. There has traditionally been more coverage of statutory law in this set. The Law Library has both of these collections.
The Law Library has the following:
- American Jurisprudence KF154 .A42 1936
- American Jurisprudence, 2d.
Reference KF154 .A42 1962
Westlaw: Filename - AMJUR
Lexis: Filename - AMJUR - Corpus Juris KF154 .C56 1914
- Corpus Juris Secundum
Reference KF154 .C56 1936
Westlaw: Filename - CJS
State Encyclopedias
Several states in the United States have encyclopedias that are geared toward the applicable law in that jurisdiction only. These encyclopedias contain references to court decisions, statutes and other primary sources of law for that state. Listed below are the state encyclopedias that the Law Library has in its collection.
- Cal Jur. 3d.
US 01.2503 C2 C32 - Connecticut Practice Series
KFC 3680 .C65 - Florida Jur 2d.
US 01.2503 F2 F57 1977 - Illinois Law and Practice
KFI1265 .I4 1953 - Louisiana Civil Law Treatise
KFL80 .L68 - Massachusetts Practice
KFM2480 .M3 - New York Jurisprudence
KFN5065 .N48 1958 - New York Jurisprudence, 2d.
N.Y. Alcove KFN5065 .N48 1979
Lexis: Filename - NYJUR
Westlaw: Filename - NYJUR - Ohio Jurisprudence 3d.
US 01.2503 O2 O4 1977 - Pennsylvania Law Encyclopedia
US 01.2503 P2 P4 1998 - Texas Jur III.
KFT1265 .T49 1979