Hawai‘i State Law Library System

Legal Research Reference Guide

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This reference guide identifies selected guides on the how to do legal research. Resources listed are available at all of the court libraries in the Hawai‘i State Law Library System, unless otherwise noted. This finding aid is not exhaustive, and is meant to be used as a starting point for research on this topic.

Notes: The information in brackets [ ] indicates the call number. SCLL=Supreme Court Law Library on Oahu, 2d=Maui, 3d=Hilo, K=Kona, 5th=Kauai.
The Library staff is prohibited by law from giving legal advice. Please consult an attorney if you need such services.

Hawaii Legal Research | General Handbooks, Manuals, Guides | Internet Resources | Other Libraries with Law Related Collections | Electronic Resources

I. HAWAII LEGAL RESEARCH

1. Kahle, Richard F. How to research constitutional, legislative, and statutory history in Hawaii. 3 rd ed.
   [RefRm KFH421.5 L37 A25 2001] Available at SCLL, 2d, 3d, K and 5 th.
2. Kellett, Mahilani E. Practical legal research and analysis for the paralegal in Hawaii. NBI, Inc. , 1997
   [RefRm KFH75 P88 1998] Available at SCLL, 3d, K and 5 th.

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II. GENERAL HANDBOOKS, MANUALS, GUIDES

1. AALL research guide: No.5 (2000) The internet as a legal research tool. American Association of Law Libraries.
   [RefRm (Periodical)] Available at SCLL
2. Cohen, Morris L. Legal research in a nutshell. West Group, 1996, 6 th ed.
   [KF240 C54 1996] Available at SCLL, 3 d, K, 5th
3. Jacobstein, J. Myron. Legal research illustrated. Foundation Press, 1994, 6th ed.
   [RefRm KF240 J16] Available at SCLL
4. Koto, Ann S. Internet strategies for the paralegal in Hawaii. NBI, Inc., 1999.
   [RefRm KFH75 K84] Available at SCLL.
5. Levitt, Carole. Lawyer’s guide to fact finding on the internet. American Bar Association, 2004 ed.
   [KF242 L57] Available at SCLL
6. Marke, Julius J. Legal research and law library management. Law Journal Press, 2006. Revised Ed.
   [REF KF240 M34] Available at SCLL
7. Mersky, Roy M. Fundamentals of legal research. Foundation Press, 2002. 8 th ed.
   [RefRm KF240 J15 2002] Available at SCLL

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III. INTERNET RESOURCES

Disclaimer: The sites listed below have been found to be useful when conducting legal research on the Internet. The Hawaii State Law Library System has no control over these web sites and does not guarantee or assume any liability for the accuracy, relevance, currency, or completeness of the information.

1. Cornell Law Library
   How to do Legal Research: Basics
   Constitutions and codes, court opinions, courts rules, legal resources for federal and state governments and U.S. territories.
2. Drake University Law School Library Research Guides
3. Nolo.com
   Offers information on how to research state and federal statutes. Contains a legal glossary and instructions on how to find cases.

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VI. OTHER LIBRARIES WITH LAW RELATED COLLECTIONS

1. William S. Richardson School of Law Library
   University of Hawaii at Manoa
   2525 Dole Street
   Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
   (808) 956-7583
2. Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau Library
   State Capitol, Rm 005
   (808) 587-0690
3. Hawaii Documents Center
   Hawaii & the Pacific
   Hawaii State Library
   478 South King Street
   Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-2901
   (808) 586-3535 (reference desk)
4. Federal Government Documents Section
   Hawaii State Library
   478 South King St.
   Honolulu , HI 96813-2901
   (808) 586-3477
5. Library, Records Management and Bookstore
   558 South King Street
   City Hall Annex
   (808) 523-4577
   

6. University of Hawaii Library
   Government Documents Collection
   2550 McCarthy Mall
   Honolulu, HI  96822
   (808) 956-8230

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V. ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Note: These resources are available for public use at the Hawaii State Law Libraries at no charge. Printing is 15¢ per page.

• Hein-On-line:
  Provides full text articles from more than 1000 legal periodicals with coverage from the inception of each journal through the current year. Searchable database.
• LegalTrac:
  An electronic periodical index that uses keywords and subject headings to search for law review and legal journal articles.
• Premise:
  A CD-ROM database available for searching Hawai‘i and federal cases, Hawai‘i laws and court rules, and legal encyclopedias.
• RIA Checkpoint:
  Comprehensive tax research source providing keyword searching for tax decisions and regulations.
• Shepard’s:
  Used to determine whether a case, statute, or regulation is “good law” and provides references to later cases and other legal resources. You must have a legal citation, not a case name, already in hand to use this service.
• Westlaw:
  A web-based electronic database used to find federal and 50-states cases, court rules, administrative regulations, and selected law review articles.

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