Law Collection Suggestions for Public Libraries in New Jersey

by Paul Axel-Lute, Collection Development Librarian, Rutgers Univ. Law School Library, Newark
last updated April 26, 2004

Suggested Law Bookmarks for Public Internet Terminals
Publications for the Layperson on New Jersey Law
A New Jersey Legal Directory
Sources for Practitioners' Works & Primary Materials
A Helpful Book on General Legal Publications
Link to AALL Public Library Collection Guidelines

Suggested Law Bookmarks for Public Internet Terminals

New Jersey Legislature This site includes the state Constitution, the New Jersey Permanent Statutes Database, pending bills, and other legislative information.
New Jersey In Touch, Licenses & Regulations page, with links to information on driver's licenses, fishing & hunting regulations, voter registration, liquor licenses, marriage licenses, and professional licenses.
New Jersey Judiciary This site includes the Rules Governing the Courts, court directory information, explanatory material on the court system and the judicial process, and the most recent opinions of the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.
LSNJ LAW: You and the Law in New Jersey, part of the outreach program of Legal Services of New Jersey, designed for low-income laypersons.
United States Code
Code of Federal Regulations
U.S.Supreme Court Decisions from 1893 forward.
Rutgers University Libraries Guide to Law Resources This Guide has many specific links to free web sources on New Jersey law and Federal law, as well as links to more general legal sites.

Publications for the Layperson on New Jersey Law

You and the Law in New Jersey: A Resource Guide, by Melville D. Miller, Jr., Leighton A. Holness, and the Staff of Legal Services of New Jersey. Rutgers University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8135-2532-2, paper, $19.00
Elder Law in New Jersey: Finding Solutions for Legal Problems, by Alice K. Dueker. Rutgers University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8135-2736-8, paper, $18.00.
Consumer's Guide to the New Jersey Lemon Law (from N.J. Division of Consumer Affairs)
Helping Handbook: Legal Resources for Families of New Jersey Victims of the World Trade Center Disaster (in Microsoft Word, at Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP)
Legal Services of New Jersey, Self-Help Publications. Publications viewable at this site include:
- Clearing Your Record, a guide to expungement of arrest or conviction records (note: web edition does not include forms).
- Know Your Welfare Rights (five titles, each available in either English or Spanish)
- Looking Out for Your Legal Rights (monthly newsletter)
- Tenants' Rights in New Jersey 2003 edition, 103 pages.
- Termination of Parental Rights: A Handbook for Parents, 37 pages.
Also on the site are prices and order information for print versions.
New Jersey Division of Civil Rights, Fact Sheets: Eight fact sheets on various kinds of discrimination, designed for downloading and reproduction.
New Jersey State Bar Foundation Publications alphabetical list and order form includes links to online versions; the titles that can be viewed at or downloaded from this site include:
- AIDS and the Law in New Jersey: A Practical Guide (1996)
- Consumer's Guide to New Jersey Law (2000)
- Disability Law: A Legal Primer (4th ed., 1999)
- Law Points for Senior Citizens (1996)
- Legal Consequences of Substance Abuse
- The Right to Special Education in New Jersey: A Guide for Advocates (Education Law Center, 2002)
- Students Rights Handbook (ACLU-NJ)
- You Have the Right! Your Rights as a Young Person in New Jersey (Association for Children of New Jersey, 2001)

New Jersey Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (from Div. of Taxation)

Women's Guide to Rights & Resources in New Jersey (from League of Women Voters)

A New Jersey Legal Directory

New Jersey Lawyers Diary and Manual Annual; approx. $60; published by Lawyers Diary and Manual, P.O.Box 1227, Newark, NJ 07101-1227, tel. (800) 444-4041. Includes directory information on New Jersey lawyers and judges, courts and other government departments, municipalities and counties.

Sources for Practitioners' Works & Primary Materials

Gann Law Books. Publications include:
- Rules Governing the Courts of New Jersey, with annotations by Judge Sylvia B. Pressler. Annual editions; about $75.
- N.J. Rules of Evidence Annotated, notes by Richard Biunno, Esq. Annual editions; $67.
- N.J. Criminal Code Annotated, notes by John Cannel, Esq. Annual editions; $71.
The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. A second-hand dealer, often has New Jersey sets at substantial savings compared to list prices. At their homepage, scroll down to "Contemporary Legal Materials" on the left to click on recent "Short Lists". Within each Short List, click on "State Publications".
Lexis Publishing Publications include Shepard's New Jersey Citations, various treatises and formbooks, and a CD-ROM compilation of statutes and caselaw.
New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education See especially:
- "How To" Books, sixteen titles available as a package for $399 (order no. 100175)
- Professional Responsibility in New Jersey (1999). This looseleaf publication includes the Rules of Professional Conduct and all the official ethics opinions interpreting those rules. $139, or $89 without the binder (order no. 100450 or 100450X)
- New Jersey Legal Research Handbook, by Paul Axel-Lute (4th ed., 1998). Explains the sources of law and the finding tools; includes a subject bibliography of monographs, a table of abbreviations, and chapters on federal law and the law of other states. Has on-web supplement. $69 (order no. 100119)
New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Co., P.O. Box 20081, Newark, NJ 07101, tel. (973) 642-0075. Publishes single-volume practititioners' treatises on several topics.
West Group. The principal publisher of New Jersey primary legal materials, including the New Jersey Statutes Annotated and New Jersey Session Law Service, the New Jersey Administrative Code and New Jersey Register, and the New Jersey Reports and New Jersey Superior Court Reports. West also publishes the New Jersey Digest (a case-law finding tool), and the New Jersey Practice series of treatises and formbooks. At their website, select NJ in the "Select Jurisdiction" box, and click "Search" for a list including pricing of individual titles of N.J.A.C. and individual components of the N.J.Practice series.

A Helpful Book on General Legal Publications

Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It, by Kent C. Olson. Oryx Press, 1999, ISBN 0-89774-963-4, paper, $39.50. Portions of this book that may be of particular interest to public libraries developing legal collections include pages 14-20, giving critical comparisons of legal dictionaries, and pages 44-47 and 56-58, listing consumer-oriented books on law.

Link to AALL Public Library Collection Guidelines

Public Library Collection Guidelines for a Legal Research Collection This is part of the Public Library Toolkit, written by Marsha Thomas and Betsy Sandison, offered by the Legal Information Services to the Public Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries.