Legal encyclopedias provide researchers an excellent path of entry into a specific area of the law. Articles within legal encyclopedias summarize basic law in a particular subject area and provide citations to relevant cases, statutes, and regulations. When consulting legal encyclopedias, researchers may want to search the index as a topic may be found in multiple locations. The index refers researchers to a desired topic and section of that article. Use the information from the index or from a known citation to find the article within the main volumes of the encyclopedia. 

National / International Legal Encyclopedias:

American Jurisprudence 2d: American Jurisprudence is an encyclopedia of United States law, published by West. It was originated by Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, which was subsequently acquired by the Thomson Corporation. The series is in its second edition, launched in 1962.

American Law Yearbook 2006: This text is an annual supplement to West's Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket, in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

American Law Yearbook 2010: This text is an annual supplement to West's Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket, in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

American Law Yearbook 2011: This text is an annual supplement to West's Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket, in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

American Law Yearbook 2012: a guide to the year's major legal cases and developments: This text is an annual supplement to West's Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket, in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

American Law Yearbook 2015: This is an annual supplement to the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

American Law Yearbook 2016: a guide to the year's major legal cases and developments: This text is an annual supplement to West's Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket, in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

American Law Yearbook 2017: a guide to the year's major legal cases and developments: This text is an annual supplement to West's Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket, in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

American Law Yearbook 2018: a guide to the year's major legal cases and developments: This text is an annual supplement to West's Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket, in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

American Law Yearbook 2019: This is an annual supplement to the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

American Law Yearbook 2020: a guide to the year's major legal cases and developments: This text is an annual supplement to West's Encyclopedia of American Law that updates and expands the content with new topics, updates, biographies of prominent figures and government appointees, and other features. Each year's edition contains the full U.S. Supreme Court docket, in addition to the non-Supreme Court cases.

Emancipation: This text examines a broad range of perceived or actual legal rights and freedoms that impact the lives of young American teens. This volume focuses on the history of children's rights in the United States, noting the importance of the line dividing child from adult: the age of majority.

Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in America: The Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in America is a comprehensive, alphabetically-organized reference source on human rights and civil liberties that are legally recognized in the United States. The 677 entries address civil rights issues from a variety of perspectives, such as race, gender, age, medical status or conditions, physical and mental challenges, group membership, religion, and many others.

Encyclopedia of the American Judicial System: studies of the principal institutions and processes of law: This encyclopedia covers all aspects of the American legal system, including the substance of American law, the processes that produce legal principles and the institutions that enact and enforce the law. The 88 original essays treat the history of each topic, emphasizing the social context of each period and the economic and political pressures that have shaped interpretation.

Encyclopedia of the Fourth Amendment: This work provides a unique overview for individuals seeking to understand the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It covers key concepts, events, laws and legal doctrines, court decisions, and litigators and litigants regarding the law of search and seizure.

Encyclopedia of United States Indian Policy and Law: This encyclopedia examines the thought-provoking and fascinating history of relations between the United States and Native Americans. Extensive introductory essays trace the development of federal Indian policies from the days of the Continental Congress to the present and evaluate the role the "Indian question" has played in the United States's political development. In nearly 700 A-Z entries, more than 200 culturally-diverse scholars from a wide range of disciplines shed light on the topics critical to a better understanding of U.S.-Indian relations.

Gale Encyclopedia of American Law: This encyclopedia covers today's leading cases, major statutes, legal terms and concepts, notable persons involved with the law, and important documents. The text includes topics such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, physician-assisted suicide, and more.

Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law: This encyclopedia fills a much-needed gap between legal texts focusing on the theory and history behind the law and more practical guides dealing with the law and its everyday effect upon its citizens. Containing approximately 200 articles, the Encyclopedia includes: brief descriptions of each issue's historical background; covering important statutes and cases; profiles of various U.S. laws and regulations; and details of how laws and regulations vary from state to state.

Nolo's Encyclopedia of Everyday Law: answers to your most frequently asked legal questions: Written by Nolo's team of attorneys, this encyclopedia answers more than 1,000 of the most frequently asked questions about everyday legal issues, including: credit and debit, child custody, elder care, and bankruptcy.

Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History: This encyclopedia is a comprehensive, international, interdisciplinary reference work that includes approximately 1,000 articles on all aspects of legal history throughout the world, from ancient to modern times. Articles deal with private law, public law, and constitutional/higher law throughout the world; each article is signed by one of the set's many noteworthy contributors, which include many scholars and experts.

Religion and American Law: an encyclopedia: Originally published in 2000, this encyclopedia comprehensively describes and analyses important cases and legal controversies between religion and state. The book has contributions from numerous distinguished history and law professors and practicing attorneys of the period. It provides short and articulate encyclopedic-style entries, which capture the color, richness, and complexity of the topics covered.

Sexuality and the Law: an encyclopedia of major legal cases: This dictionary includes more than 100 essay/entries that deal with important legal issues without descending into jargon. This book describes more than 100 significant court decisions concerning sexuality.

West's Encyclopedia of American Law: This encyclopedia provides information on more than 5,000 legal topics in American law. It includes completely revised articles covering important issues, biographies, definitions of legal terms, and more. Legal issues are fully discussed, including such high-profile topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, physician-assisted suicide, and thousands more.