FAQ: How do I find federal statutes in the library? For example, I need to find which federal law covers the shooting of a US soldier on federal property.

Start with Keyword Searching with Google

Shapiro Library offers access to the Nexis Uni database which does give you online access to federal statutes. However, it is not very easy to search for federal statutes by keyword if you do not know the exact text or wording of the statute. It will be easier to start with a Google search (which has a much more robust and forgiving search engine) to try and find the statute that covers this situation.  You will have to play around with the keywords and it will take time. 

By using the following keywords (“United States Code” AND homicide on federal property) I was able to find out that Title 18 of the code is probably the one I need to look at. 

Browse/Search Title by Section to Find Statute Citation

In order to figure out which chapter and section I used Google’s site search to search Cornell University Law School’s Legal Information Institute This link opens in a new window which has all of the codes on their Website.  I want to search the title 18 codes to see which one talks about the shooting/murder/homicide of federal employees. The search in Google looks like this:

Site:[Website you want to search] [keywords]

Site:https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I federal employee AND homicide

The sixth result in my results list was Part 1 (of Title 18): chapter 51 § 1114 which speaks to this particular situation.  Now that you have the citation that you need, 18 U.S. Code § 1114, you can go into Nexis Uni and get more details about this specific code.

Alternatively, you can also try searching with keywords directly in Cornell University Law School's Legal Information Institute using the search box in the top right, like title 18 AND federal employee AND homicide. 

Search by Citation in Nexis Uni

You may find Nexis Uni by clicking on the A-Z Database List link from the Library Homepage and clicking on the All Subjects drop down menu above the alphabet and selecting Law from the list. 

Below are instructions to do a federal statute search within Nexis UniThis link opens in a new window, which offers an annotated version of the statute which includes notes, history, amendments, secondary sources (cases that cite the statute), and cross references.

1. Click on Legal from the menu along the top of Nexis Uni's homepage.
2. Find the Search Statutes & Legislation option and click on it. 
3. Enter the citation in the Citation field, ex. 18 USCS § 1114 and hit search. 
4. Once you have the statute that you are interested in, please note that Nexis Uni provides an option to see neighboring sections of the statute if you use the About this Document Browse feature to the right of the document.  

If you still are not able to find the federal statute you need after trying these steps, please contact Research Support through chat or at ask@snhu.libanswers.com, and we can help you brainstorm keywords or offer additional suggestions.

More Information

• Anatomy of a Statute This link opens in a new window
• What are Statutes? This link opens in a new window