Below are the current available digitized collections from the Law Library of Congress.

American Indian Constitutions and Legal Materials

The Law Library of Congress collection contains a variety of American Indian legal materials. This webpage offers links to over 400 American Indian legal materials, spanning both 19th century items and constitutions and charters drafted after the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act.

Code of Federal Regulations

The Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) is "the codification of the general and permanent rules by the department and agencies of the Federal Government." This is a historical collection of the Code of Federal Regulations dating from 1938-1995.. **Current collection spans 1938-1969; expanded years will be added soon.**

Federal Register

The Federal Register is the official daily publication for Presidential Documents, Executive Orders, proposed, interim, and final rules and regulations, and notices by Federal Agencies, as well as notices of hearings, decisions, investigations, and committee meetings. This collection includes volumes 1-58 (1936-1993).

Haiti: Legal Bibliography

The Law Library of Congress collection contains the following Haitian law titles. The titles in the public domain will be digitized by the Law Library of Congress and made available through various locations including the Library of Congress catalog. The goal of this project is to offer a comprehensive legal collection for Haiti.

John Adams and the Boston Massacre Trial

In 1770 young lawyer John Adams, future President of the United States, served as defense counsel in the trial of eight British soldiers accused of murder during a riot in Boston. Adams's impassioned speech in defense of the soldiers resulted in their acquittal. This page shows the covers of five reports and transcripts of the court proceedings, and includes the full text of three of these items from the Law Library of Congress's Rare Book Collection.

Lincoln and the Law

The Law Library of Congress's historical collection vividly illustrates three periods in which the law played a prominent part of the Lincoln era: Lincoln the Lawyer, Habeas Corpus and the War Powers of the President, and The Assassination: Trials. Each era includes the full text of several items from the Law Library of Congress's Rare Book Collection.

Military Legal Resources

The William Winthrop Memorial Library at the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School in Charlottesville, VA, holds extensive collections of primary source materials and publications in the field of military law. Selections from these collections are now being made accessible via the Law Library of Congress.

Miranda v. Arizona: The Rights to Justice 

A digitized selection of the most salient documents and other resources related to the landmark Supreme Court case of June 13, 1966.

National Transportation Safety Board Orders, Petitions, and Decisions

The Law Library has digitized a collection of orders, petitions, and decisions from the National Transportation Safety Board. The earliest year is 1973 and the latest is 1982, though the majority are between 1977 and 1981.

Piracy Trials

The Law Library of Congress has digitized its collection of pre-1923 piracy trial materials. This historical collection of piracy trials is critical for understanding how the various nations of the world handled piracy issues before the year 1900.

Publications of the Law Library of Congress

This collection features research reports and other publications on a wide range of legal topics in response to requests or recurring interest from Congress and other federal government entities on issues concerning foreign, comparative, and international law (FCIL). In addition to current research products on FCIL topics, the full scope of this collection will include historical legal reports that have been previously unavailable to the public. The reports contain comparative analysis of foreign and international law from the period of the 1940s to the present. These digitized and born-digital historical reports will be released in phases. The Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports holds our current reports. The information provided reflects research undertaken as of the date of writing, which has not been updated unless specifically noted, but will nonetheless be of historical interest.

Serial Set

The U.S. Congressional Serial Set, commonly known as the Serial Set, is a compilation of journals, reports, and documents from House and Senate proceedings as well as documents from executive departments and independent agencies. The scope of the collection will cover documents published between the 15th (1817) and 103rd (1994) Congresses.

Spanish Legal Documents

The Law Library of Congress has digitized its collection of 15th to 19th century legal documents from the Iberian Peninsula. It covers “a collection of covenants of judicial contests between people, noble men and civil and religious institutions in Spain – Reales Cédulas –Pragmáticas Reales of the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries.”

Statutes at Large

The Law Library of Congress has digitized this collection of laws passed by the United States Congress and aims to make historic Statutes at Large increasingly more accessible to the public in this ongoing project.

United States Code

The Library of Congress has made available the collection of historical volumes of the United States Code (main volumes and supplements). The earliest date begins with the 1925 edition and continues through the supplements to the 1988 edition.

United States Reports

The United States Reports is a series of bound case reporters that are the official reports of decisions for the Supreme Court. This collection includes dates 1754-2004 or volumes 1-542.

United States Treaties

The Law Library of Congress has digitized this collection of treaties and aims to make historic treaties accessible to the public in this ongoing project.

World War I: Declarations of War from Around the Globe

From the death of the Archduke to the Armistice on November 11, 1918, over 20 countries issued various forms of declarations of war that can be found in the official government publications of the time. This collection highlights those declarations that are available at the Law Library of Congress.

Last Updated: 12/30/2020