Primary Sources: Legal Sources

Missouri Digital Heritage: The Dred Scott Decision

Library of Congress Dred Scott v. Sandford - Primary Sources

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Exhibit: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877) - The Dred Scott Decision

 Photographs from 1925 Tennessee vs. John Scopes "Monkey Trial"  in Smithsonian Archives

The Scopes 'Monkey' Trial on virtual Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Scopes Trial in the Clarence Darrow Collection, University of Minnesota Law Library Special Collections.

Clarence Darrow's FBI file in the FBI Digital Vault.

The Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project consists of an electronic collection of primary source materials relating to the Salem witch trials of 1692 and a new transcription of the court records.

The Cornell University Witchcraft Collection Part of Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell's Witchcraft Collection contains over 3,000 titles documenting the history of the Inquisition and the persecution of witchcraft, primarily in Europe.

Modern Translations of Several Ancient Near Eastern Laws may be found in

Roth, M., Hoffner, Harry A, Michalowski, Piotr, & American Council of Learned Societies. (1995). Law collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor (2nd ed., Writings from the ancient world ; no. 6). Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press. Available as an eBook with a JJay login

Chapters include English translations of:

• A. Sumerian Laws including Laws of Ur-Namma, ca. 2100 B.C.E., City of Ur, p. 13
• B. Babylonian Laws including Law Code of Hammurabi, ca 1750 B.C.E., Babylon),  p. 71
  • Excerpts of  this same translation of the Law Code of Hammurabi are also freely available on the John Jay Justice Reader.
• C. Assyrian Laws including Middle Assyrian Laws, ca 1076 B.C.E, City of Aššur, p. 154
• D. Hittite Laws 1650-1180 B.C.E., Anatolia (Turkey) 

Many English translations of these and other Ancient Near Eastern texts may be found in: Hallo, W., & Younger, K. (2003). Context of Scripture : Canonical Compositions, Monumental Inscriptions and Archival Documents from the Biblical World. Leiden: BRILL. available as an e-book with a JJay logon

Famous Trials  By Professor Douglas O. Linder

John Jay Library Criminal Trial Transcript Collection

John Jay Library Criminal Trial Pamphlet Collection (info on)

John Jay Library Special Collections Guide

John Jay Library Digital Collections

Research Guide on NYC Criminal Court records

Research Guide on Primary Sources

Research Guide on Humanities and Justice Studies

An introduction to Archival Research

October 2018 National Archives "Today's Document" Citizen Archivists takeover (student participation encouraged).