by Mari Cheney
A variety of free and low-cost services are available at the Utah State Law Library. Even though the law library is physically located in Salt Lake City, many of the library’s services are available to attorneys throughout Utah via our document delivery service and the Utah State Courts’ website.
Databases
The law library’s public computers provide free access to HeinOnline, Pioneer, and Westlaw. If you are outside the Salt Lake area and can’t make it into the law library, but know the citation you want to access via one of these databases, contact the library for a document delivery.
HeinOnline provides access to over 1300 law review titles, many of which pre-date LexisNexis or Westlaw coverage. HeinOnline also provides access to many federal titles, including the United State Code, United States Statutes at Large, the Federal Register, and the Code of Federal Regulations. Interested in legal history? HeinOnline provides access to a full reprint of English Reports (1220-1867) and through the Legal Classics Library, Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England.
Pioneer is a clearinghouse of databases provided by the Utah State Library Division. Any Utahn with a public library card can access Pioneer from their home, office, or school computer. Don’t have a public library card? You are welcome to use one of our public computers to access Pioneer. Pioneer databases include the Legal Collection on EBSCO, an online research database, which contains some titles not available on HeinOnline, business periodicals, and Utah’s newspapers, with archival and current coverage.
The law library’s Westlaw subscription includes access to all state and federal case law and all state statutes. Utah-specific databases include access to current and superseded Utah Code Annotated, Court Rules, and Administrative Code. In addition, search popular secondary publications such as American Law Reports, American Jurisprudence 2d, and Federal Practice and Procedure. Searching Westlaw is free, however, we do charge for printing or document delivery. Save money by bringing in your flash drive and save Westlaw documents as PDFs.
Utah Materials
The law library’s print collection of more than 58,000 volumes includes valuable Utah materials not available anywhere online.
• Court of Appeals briefs from the inception of the court in 1986 to present and Supreme Court briefs from the 1940s to present.
• Utah legislative history materials including territorial and state session laws, House and Senate Journals, and superseded and current Utah Code, Court Rules, and Administrative Code.
• A complete set of reported Utah opinions.
• Utah-specific secondary sources including Mangrum & Benson on Utah Evidence, Trial Handbook for Utah Lawyers, Utah Civil Practice, Utah Family Law, Utah Probate System, and Utah Real Property Law.
Federal Government Materials
The law library is a federal depository library, selecting about 4% of the available federal publications. Our federal depository collection focuses on primary legal material and includes federal statutes, regulations and court and agency decisions. Titles include the United States Code, United States Statutes at Large, the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and the United States Reports.
Treatise Collection
Secondary sources in print include legal encyclopedias and legal dictionaries, treatises on a wide variety of topics including bankruptcy, contracts, DUI defense, insurance, and torts. The law library’s holdings include a collection of self-help books written for the non-lawyer on a variety of topics including criminal law, landlord-tenant, small claims, and employment law.
Document Delivery
We are a statewide library, and provide document delivery services to anyone, anywhere. Within copyright guidelines, we can provide copies of anything from our collection.
Fees are 25¢ per page to copy, scan, and email documents. If you prefer to receive the document delivery request via fax, the cost is $5.00 for ten pages and 50¢ per additional page. To receive the document delivery request via mail, the cost is 25¢ per page plus $3.00 postage.
Court Website
Don’t forget that the Utah State Courts’ website is a valuable resource from which you can request a transcript, access XChange, search the court calendar, comment on proposed court rules, find the latest jury instructions, and read the latest appellate court opinions.
You’ll also find a variety of court-approved forms including collecting a judgment, modifying child support, filing non-public information, parenting plan, registering a foreign order, temporary orders, and voluntary relinquishment of parental rights.
Questions?
Contact the law library for more information about any of these services.
Phone: 801-238-7990
Email: library@email.utcourts.gov
Chat: www.ucourts.gov/lawlibrary/contact
Text: 801-432-0TXT (801-432-0898)
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