Secondary sources are great places to start your legal research project as such publications help define the legal terms or topic and cite to primary authorities and other resources in that area of law. In general, review the Law Library's Secondary Sources Research Guide for more information.
A legal encyclopedia is a comprehensive set of brief articles on legal topics. It is arranged similarly to a general encyclopedia, such as Encyclopedia Britannica, with topical articles arranged in alphabetical order. There are both nationally-scoped and jurisdictionally-specific legal encyclopedias, though not every state has a legal encyclopedia available. The jurisdictions for which an encyclopedia is available are:
National legal encyclopedias will often also include selective discussions of state law. Though they will by no means comprehensively cover every state in each of their articles, the cases and information provided in these encyclopedias (e.g. Key Numbers) can still often be used to assist in finding out more about a specific state's law. The two major national legal encyclopedias are American Jurisprudence 2d and Corpus Juris Secundum; you can find more information on these on our Secondary Sources guide.
Treatises and practice materials generally focus on a single area of law and are written by experts in that area. They can range from broad, multi-volume sets to more narrowly-focused, one-volume titles. Nationally-scoped treatises (like those you can find in our Treatise Finders) often include information on state laws; however, some states also have treatises and practice materials specific to a particular area of law within that jurisdiction.
Both legal databases will allow you to perform a search across multiple jurisdictions.
Our topical legal research guides will also cover resources that discuss a major legal subject matter that may be treated by multiple states.
To identify additional books, both in print and electronic format in the Law Library, on a legal topic that is discussed across multiple U.S. jurisdictions, search through the catalog's Advanced Search feature, by "Law Library Catalog" and for Subject is(exact) Law and legislation -- United States -- States AND Any field contains [keyword]. The results should lead you to publications covering your legal research topic.
HeinOnline: Subject Compilations of State Laws is an extensive bibliography of articles, books, court cases and other documents on hundreds of legal topics spanning across multiple jurisdictions. The latest edition is from 2017-2018.
A law review that analyzes a legal topic within a state or across multiple states and cite to primary and more secondary sources may help with your state legal research process. While some state law reviews and bar journals may be freely available on the publisher's website, most may also be found at: