United States Constitutional Law

First Amendment/ Freedom of Expression

In this example, a website publisher wants to challenge the constitutionality of a federal statute that seeks to protect children from being exposed to harmful materials on the Internet by requiring individuals (who want to view this information) to provide identification that proves they are over the age of 18. The publisher’s claim is that this law violates the First Amendment by making it inappropriately burdensome for adults to access this constitutionally protected information.
 

To research this problem, you will first want to familiarize yourself with the topic of First Amendment, Freedom of Expression/Free Speech.

• First, you may want to consult one of the treatises listed in this guide. Check the index for entries for this area of constitutional law.
• You could also search Gould Law Library’s Catalog for a book on this particular issue. (Remember to check out the section of this guide on Library of Congress Subject Headings!) If you search by subject, using one of the subject headings listed, you will find books that should be helpful. For example:
  • Update on the Internet and the First Amendment, David L. Hudson
  • First Amendment law in a Nutshell, Jerome A. Barron 
• You can also search for a law review article on topic. Hein Online, described in the online database section of this guide, is a good place to find law review articles on specific topics.
  • On Hein Online, choose “Law Journal Library,” then use the search tab at the top of the page. You can also do an “advanced search,” from the link directly beneath the search bar.
  • With the advanced search feature you can limit your search to a particular subject and a select time period, e.g., you can choose “constitutional law” as your subject and limit the dates to be between 2000 and 2009, then hit enter. The following query: “First Amendment” AND “content-based” AND internet AND children, yielded 416 results, many of which were relevant.
• Now that you have familiarized yourself with this topic, you’ll want to find cases on point. A good way to do this is to conduct a search on either Westlaw or Lexis. For this example, you can search using the same query that was used on Hein Online. This yields several cases on point. Don’t forget to Keycite or Shepardize!

Fourth Amendment Search & Seizure

In this example, a motorist was arrested and convicted of drug possession with intent to sell, after a large amount of marijuana was discovered in his car when he was pulled over for a missing headlight. The motorist is challenging the conviction, on the basis that the search of his car, during a routine traffic stop, was unreasonable, and therefore violated the Fourth Amendment.

To begin your research, you will want to familiarize yourself with the Fourth Amendment, following the same steps outlined in the previous example.

• Consult one of the treatises, listed in this guide and check the index for entries on Fourth Amendment and Search and Seizure. Westlaw also has two relevant databases that focus on this topic, which you may want to consult. These databases are: Searches & Seizures, Arrests and Confessions and Warrantless Search Law Deskbook.
• You could also search by subject in Gould Law Library’s Catalog for a book on the Fourth Amendment. For example, if you search by subject: United States -- Constitution. 4th Amendment, you will find the following book:
  • Making Sense of Search and Seizure Law: A Fourth Amendment Handbook, Phillip A. Hubbart
• You also can conduct an advanced search for a law review article on Hein Online. If you choose “constitutional law” as your subject and limit the dates to between 1990 and 2009 and enter the following query: “search and seizure” AND reasonableness, this will return many relevant results.
• Next you’ll want to search either Westlaw or Lexis to find cases on point. You can utilize the same query you used for this topic on Hein Online.
• Finally, for further constitutional law research, you may want to consult the authoritative websites and online guides provided in this guide. The membership organizations listed are another useful resource if you would like to further pursue this field of law.