Internet Legal Resources

The following web sites offer legal information that may be useful to police officers:

Michigan Law | Federal Law | General Legal | Criminal Justice Statistics

Michigan Law

Attorney General Opinions- The Michigan Attorney General Opinion web page includes a variety of methods for searching opinions and a numerical list of all opinions issued.

Michigan Administrative Code- Includes links to Michigan administrative rules promulgated by departments of Michigan's executive branch, including rules governing forensic science, traffic codes, and breath testing.

Executive Orders- The Office of the Governor's web site provides access to orders issued by the governor.

Michigan Complied Laws - The Michigan Legislature web site offers tools to search Michigan statutes and pending legislation. 

Michigan Courts - The Michigan Supreme Court web site offers a variety of court-related information including court rules, recent decisions, and a learning center. 

Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council- Offers downloadable documents for police and prosecutors. 

State Law Library- The Law Library of Michigan site offers a variety of legal research tools including research guides, access to state laws and rules, and advice on law library research.

Federal Law

The Federal Judiciary- Provides links to federal courts at all levels. 

FirstGov- An official U.S. government web site that permits a search of all online resources offered by the federal government from a single web site.

Library of Congress- Includes access to current and past federal legislative history (Senate and House committee hearings, bills, prints, etc.) and the Congressional Law Library.

U.S. Government Printing Office- Compiles links to publications of the three branches of the federal government including the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations. 

General Legal

Cornell Law School- Offers links to all federal and state laws. 

Findlaw.com- Commercial web site that offers general legal research tools. 

LexisONE- This commercial web site offers legal research guides, free legal forms and information, and pay as you go options for more advanced research.

Municode- This commercial web site offers access to municipal codes from throughout the United States.  It includes free basic searches and other fee-based resources.

Criminal Justice Statistics

Bureau of Justice Statistics- Provides statistics concerning general crime trends, specific crime issues (such as drug or gun crime), and other justice system issues.

National Archive of Criminal Justice Data- Analyzes criminal justice data to address specific criminal justice and criminology research issues.

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics- Compiles criminal justice statistics from more than 100 sources, with the data presented in table format.

FedStats- Provides links to statistics gathered by more than 100 federal agencies.

U.S. Census Bureau- Includes a wide variety of statistical information gathered by the Census Bureau including geographical, business, and income-related statistics.

Census Statistical Abstract- The Census Bureau's abstract is a comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.