Representing Yourself in Court: Low Cost/Free Sources

The web portal of the US Government. It also provides web links to state, local and tribal government resources.

Contains information on federal legislation.

Contains information on federal legislation.

Provides links to state judicial systems and individual courts.

Search opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court from 1791, US federal district, appellate, tax and bankruptcy courts from 1923, and state cases from 1950.

Provides access to federal and state court cases, the U.S. Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, and state statutory codes. Coverage dates vary by jurisdiction.

Provides information on a wide range of legal topics including family law, immigration, criminal law, real estate, traffic tickets, and bankruptcy.

(American Bar Association Division for Public Education)
Information about legal rights and how the law affects everyday situations in the topical areas of: real estate, auto/vehicle, personal finance, family law, workplace law, health care law, working with lawyers, and consumer/tech law.

This non-profit organization's primary mission is consumer protection. They have a number of publications for consumers on their website.

FastCase is a low cost research service targeted at small firms and solo practitioners. It contains federal and state court cases, statutes, regulations, court rules, and bar publications. Dates of coverage vary by source and jurisdiction. Click here for pricing details. Iowa State Bar Association members receive complimentary access. Law students in or from Iowa can become ISBA members at no cost.

The PACER Case Locator (PCL) is a national index for federal district, bankruptcy, and appellate courts. The PCL serves as a search tool for PACER, and you may conduct nationwide searches to determine whether or not a party is involved in federal litigation. Each night, subsets of data are collected from the courts and transferred to the PCL. [Law students can also access docket information using Bloomberg Law.]