The Peter Rodino
Law Library

Black's

Law Dictionary

Black’s "is the definitive legal dictionary for lawyers, law students and laypeople alike. Black's Law Dictionary is known for its clear and precise legal definitions, substantive accuracy, and stylistic clarity — making it the most cited legal dictionary in print.”

Black's is available in book form from the Circulation Desk, online through WestLaw, and, believe it or not, as an application on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

The Bluebook

A Uniform System of Citation

Now in its Nineteenth Edition, The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is the bible of the legal citation.

Every law student should own one, but it's also available at the Circulation Desk and on our electronic databases page.

New Jersey Law Journal

Legal Weekly

A weekly devoted to everything legal in New Jersey. A must read for those planning to practice in the state

Available at the newspaper rack, Circulation desk and the electronic databases page.

American Jurisprudence

A legal encyclopedia

"Am. Jur," or American Jurisprudence, is one of the two major casefinders for American law (the other is Corpus Juris Secundum, or CJS). Both cover the legal landscape through a series of subject area treatments that cite cases from all jurisdictions. They are not authoritative, but they are terrific ways to get started.

Hard copy is availble on the 4th Floor. These resources are also available through Lexis and Westlaw, with a hyperlink to the case cited.

Fifty-Two Words

My Husband Taught Me

“Fifty-Two Words My Husband Taught Me,”
a book about love, inspiration and the power of the Constitution.

Author and attorney Joy Rodino writes a poignant memoir about the wisdom she learned from her husband of 16 years, Congressman Peter Rodino, an expert on the power and relevance of the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution.

Seton Hall Law Archived Exams

Your prof's earlier examinations

Stressed about studying for final exams? Check out the Seton Hall Law Final Exam Books with old exams from Seton Hall professors dating back to 1988! These books are available of the fourth floor of the Rodino Library.

No time to come into the library? Click here to access Seton Hall Archived Exams online.

FRCP

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Did you know that the most recent version of the Fed. R. Civ. P. are available FOR FREE online?

Model Rules

of Professional Conduct

If you're looking for an ethical compass as you wade through a sea of legal dilemmas, check out the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, available for FREE online! Click here for access...

A hard copy of the Model Rules is also available in the Rodino Library.

WorldCat® Online

Catalog Services

WorldCat® is an online catalog union that combines the collections of over 71,000 libraries. The catalog has over 1.2 billion physical and digital assets in more than 360 languages.

If you’re looking for a scholarly work and having trouble locating a copy, WorldCat® is the way to go.

Paul Axel-Lute's

Internet Law Guide

Paul Axel-Lute’s guide provides a comprehensive survey of state, federal, and international law topics, but the focus is heavy on New Jersey law.

The guide has links to New Jersey statutes, the constitution, and information on some pending legislation. It is a great source for free information all compiled in a single location.

New Jersey Lawyers

Diary and Manual

The New Jersey Lawyers Diary and Manual is a comprehensive bar directory for New Jersey. Inside this gilt garnet cover, you will find the name, mailing address, phone number, fax number, and year of bar admission for the members of New Jersey’s bar.

In addition, you can find the addresses and phone numbers for NJ municipal courts, superior courts, county jails, county officials and more. There is even a listing for NJ judges that includes their courtroom number, chambers number, and direct phone numbers.

This beauty is published every year, and is the best way to keep up to date information on the practitioners of law in New Jersey. The Rodino Library has print copies and and an online subscription for NJ and NY!

Popular Name Tables

Ever walked into a meeting and had statutory acronyms and popular names thrown at you, without the slightest comprehension of what those names or acronyms might mean? Let a popular name table help you out. Learn more here…

Legal Information Institute

Cornell Law

Most law students like the word "free", especially when it is combined with quality legal information. If you’re looking for quality, free, online legal information, then look no further than the Legal Information Institute.

The Legal Information Institute is run by Cornell Law School, and it provides a wealth of legal information for free online.

If you need to find a lawyer, information about a topical area of the law, a federal court opinion, the U.S. constitution, a state constitution, or other federal, state, or international laws, then check out the FREE Legal Information Institute.

Above the Law

Trying to stay up to date on the happenings of the legal world? Looking to impress a potential employer at your next interview? Just want to know the latest dirt? Just want to know the latest dirt?

Be in the know and keep a pulse on the hottest gossip and biggest news in the legal profession by checking out the legal tabloid Above the Law. It’s helpful to maintain a general idea about what’s going on in the legal profession, it’s full of hot gossip, and the stories are sure to keep you entertained.

Do you think you’re Above the Law?

Social Sciences Research Network

SSRN

The Social Sciences Research Network is an eLibrary consisting of “over 227,800 scholarly working papers and forthcoming papers and an Electronic Paper Collection currently containing over 195,200 downloadable full text documents.”

If you want to stay current on an academic topic, create a free user account to download free copies of thousands of recent scholarly articles right now!

Oyez.org 

The Site for SCOTUS Media

Court watching? Oyez.org is a site devoted to Supreme Court media. Not only is it any easy way to access Supreme Court opinions but it also has audio of all recent arguments before the Court, a calendar of events, in-depth information about the Justices.

Oyez even has a historical view of all Justices' voting records dating back to 1953, and a catalog of advocates who have appeared before the court.

Study Aids

Available at the Circulation Desk

Looking for some help with a difficult concept from class, or getting ready to study for exams? The library has the Understanding Series, Examples and Explanations, Nutshells and more. Just ask at the circulation desk!

HeinOnline

HeinOnline is the world’s largest image-based legal research database. It can be accessed from the Library’s electronic resource page and contains pdf files of a variety of legal resources such as legal journals, government documents, foreign and international law materials, legal classics, and world trials.

To access it, just click this link and login with your SHU username and password!

American Law Report

ALR

If you need to get up to speed on a new area of law quickly, the ALR may be a great resource. It organizes specific legal issues, “together with a complete list of every case – in every jurisdiction – that discusses it.”

ALR (both the general and the federal editions) can be accessed through Lexis and Westlaw. The library also maintains a collection of the hardcopy volumes, located on the fourth floor. Find out more here...

ABA Journal

Legal News

ABAJournal.com is a great way to stay current on legal news. The website offers breaking legal news updates, legal analysis and stories covering trends, people, and finance in the profession.

But you don’t have to visit the website to stay up to date. You can receive free daily or weekly e-mail newsletters, and access ABA Journal content from iPhones, blackberries and twitter!

The Redbook

Legal Style Manual

The Redbook is the bible of legal writing, answering all those niggling questions that confront you when you’re finalizing a paper or brief. It offers advice concerning grammar, punctuation, footnotes, citations, and even overall document design.

The Redbook is available at the Rodino Library circulation desk.

NJ Bar Exams

Archives

New Jersey Bar Exams offer sample essay questions and answers from past exams on its website. Practice makes perfect! Take advantage of these free bar study aids.

NY Bar Exams

Archive

New York Bar Exams offer sample essay questions and answers from past exams on its website. Practice makes perfect! Take advantage of these free bar study aids.

BNA

Legal News

BNA publishes “more than 350 daily, weekly, monthly, and up-to-the-minute news services covering the full range of legal, legislative, regulatory, and economic developments that impact the business environment around the nation and the world.”

Access BNA from our electronic databases webpage; and login in with your PirateNet username and password. You can then subscribe to e-mail newsletters for areas of law such as tax, intellectual property, corporate law, environmental law, employment law, health law and general litigation.

NJ Judiciary

Website

The New Jersey Judiciary website is a valuable resource containing information on the New Jersey court system. Its contents include NJ Supreme and Appellate Court opinions, unpublished trial court opinions, and a judges and staff directory.

Google Scholar

Legal opinions and journals

Quickly find a statute, public law, or case by typing the legal citation directly into Google Scholar, and selecting Legal opinions and journals.

HG.org

Worldwide Legal Directories

HG.org is a resource containing legal directories as well as information on the government and the legal profession.

On HG.org, you can find a directory of attorneys, lawyers and law firms near you. Also, you can get legal advice, litigation support services and comprehensive information about the law. Check it out here...

UCC

Uniform Commercial Code

“The Uniform Commercial Code, first published in 1952, is one of a number of uniform acts that have been promulgated in conjunction with efforts to harmonize the law of sales and other commercial transactions in all 50 states within the United States of America.”

The Guantánamo Lawyers

Inside a Prison, Outside the Law

The Guantánamo Lawyers, edited by Seton Hall Law Professors Denbeaux and Hafetz, contains over one hundred personal narratives from attorneys who have represented detainees held at “GTMO” as well as at other overseas prisons, from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to secret CIA jails or “black sites.”

Seton Hall Law students edited and contributed their stories to this groundbreaking book.

The Life and Times of Richard J. Hughes

The Politics of Civility

The Life and Times of Richard J. Hughes by Professor John B. Wefing explores the influential public service of this two-term New Jersey governor. Hughes is the only person in New Jersey history to serve as both governor and chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. This biography illuminates the governor’s accomplishments between 1962 and 1970.

The Premier Supreme Court Fantasy League

FantasySCOTUS.net

Bored with fantasy sports leagues and can’t get enough of SCOTUS? Try FantasySCOTUS and "play like the 10th justice."

This Fantasy League allows you to compete against your friends, colleagues, and adversaries to determine who has the greatest ability to predict the outcome of Supreme Court cases. At the end of the Term, you will be ranked against your fellow "Associate Justices," and the winner will receive the venerable title of the Chief Justice of Fantasy SCOTUS.

iTunes U

Click. Sync. Learn.

Do you seek to expand your learning into subjects outside the law? Do you find yourself unable to satiate your burning desire for knowledge?

If you seek to broaden your horizons, study under the best faculty at the world's best research universities, and find greater fulfillment, then you need to check out iTunes U available on your iTunes.

There are full courses available in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, law, art, and everything in between, all from some of the most prestigious universities in the world.

To access iTunes U, just open your iTunes, head to the iTunes store, and then click the tab for iTunes U. Courses are searchable, or you can just browse the offerings of different colleges and universities as they interest you.

Putting Down Roots

Fr. Joseph Muzquiz and the Growth of Opus Dei

In his new book: Putting Down Roots, Professor John F. Coverdale discusses the beginnings of Opus Dei in the United States and tells the story of Fr. Joseph Muzquiz, who came to America in 1949 to begin Opus Dei.

Rosetta Stone

Arabic, French & Spanish

Interested in learning Arabic, French or Spanish during a study break? The Rodino Law Library now has Rosetta Stone software for these languages.

Unlike tapes, videos or books that passively feed you language, Rosetta Stone allows you to hear, write and pronounce words; match the words to images; speak aloud to finish sentences or phrases; and refine your pronunciation by emulating native speakers.

To use Rosetta Stone Arabic, French or Latin American Spanish, please click here for the instructions.

Zotero

Firefox Extension for Citation Management

Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free Firefox extension that helps you collect, manage, and cite your research sources.

In addition to automatically capturing citations, Zotero enables users to store bibliographic information, screenshots of webpages, and pdfs. Zotero, which is available in over 30 languages, also allows you to create footnotes from within Microsoft Word.

Lincoln & the Law

A Library of Congress Digital Collection

The Library of Congress has digitized many of the works and artifacts that document Abraham Lincoln's achievements, including some of his work as an attorney.

Click here to take a look at the rare documents and photographs included on the LOC's "Lincoln and the Law" website.

Fastcase for the iPhone & iPad

Have you ever found yourself in a courtroom hallway preparing for oral argument and wishing that you could search for a few more cases? Would you like to be able to log some legal research time during your subway or bus commute? Now you can with Fastcase for the iPhone and iPad.

This free application uses smart-search technology from Fastcase's fully-featured Web-based legal research application, which allows you to sort the most relevant results to the top of the list, customize and re-sort search results, and integrate citation analysis tools right into the results list. 

Facebook

facebook.com/SHLawLibrary

Become a fan of Seton Hall Law’s Rodino Library on Facebook! Our Librarians will keep you updated in topics including legal study aids, legal research tips, new technologies, and items of interest to the Seton Hall Law community.

Habeas Corpus After 9/11:

Confronting America's New Global Detention System

Habeas Corpus after 9/11 examines the rise of the U.S.-run global detention system that emerged after 9/11 and the efforts to challenge it through habeas corpus. Habeas expert and Seton Hall Law Professor Jonathan Hafetz gives us an insider’s view of the detention of “enemy combatants” and an accessible explanation of the complex forces that keep these systems running.

Measuring The Costs Of Chapter 11 Cases:

Professional Fees in American Corporate Bankruptcy Cases

This book by Seton Hall Law Professor Stephen J. Lubben examines the costs of both large Chapter 11 cases, that are the subject of much academic and popular attention, and the more typical Chapter 11 cases.

Louis D. Brandeis:

A Life

Melvin Urofsky has written the first full-scale biography in twenty-five years of one of the most important and distinguished justices to sit on the Supreme Court. Louis Dembitz Brandeis had at least four “careers.” As a lawyer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he pioneered how modern law is practiced. He, and others, developed the modern law firm, in which specialists manage different areas of the law. He was the author of the right to privacy; led the way in creating the role of the lawyer as counselor; and pioneered the idea of pro bono publico work by attorneys. As late as 1916, when Brandeis was nominated to the Supreme Court, the idea of pro bono service still struck many old-time attorneys as somewhat radical.

Justice Brennan:

Liberal Champion

This book by Seth Stern and Stephen Wermiel is a sweeping and revealing insider look at court history and the life of William J. Brennan Jr., widely considered the most influential Supreme Court justice of the twentieth century. First appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Brennan became the Supreme Court’s leading liberal during his 34 terms as a justice.

Scorpions:

The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices

Noah Feldman’s Scorpions tells the story of four great justices: their relationship with Roosevelt, with each other, and with the turbulent world of the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. It also serves as a history of the modern Constitution itself, exploring the constitutional battles of the Roosevelt era (1940s and 1950s) and their contemporary relevance.

LexisNexis practice guide:

New York e-discovery and evidence

Need practical guidance on how to preserve, obtain and use electronically stored information (ESI) in both federal and state court litigation in New York? Check out Seton Hall Alumnus Kyle C. Bisceglie’s 2011 edition on New York e-Discovery and Evidence, available on Reserve at the Circulation Desk.