The Arizona Memory Project

The Arizona Memory Project (http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov) is a digitized collection providing access to primary sources in Arizona’s libraries, museums, archives, and other cultural institutions.  The collections range from government documents, photographs, maps, to objects that chronicle Arizona’s past and present. Here are some collections that may help legal researchers:

1. Arizona Appellate Briefs

This collection contains about 37 appellate briefs filed in 1982 and 1983.

2. Arizona Attorney General Opinions

This collection provides researchers with the attorney general opinions issued prior to 1999. The attorney general opinions from 1999 to 2014 are available at the Attorney General’s website.

3. Arizona Digital Newspaper Program

[Technically, this is not a part of the Arizona Memory Project; This is a separate project by the Arizona State Library.]

ADNP is a digitized collection of Arizona newspapers from 1859-1922. Researchers looking for historical documentations of Arizona may find this helpful.

4. Arizona State Archives – State, County, and Local Government Records

The records in this collection date back to 1860s. The government records included here represents a very small portion of the records at the Arizona State Archives. Thus, if this collection does not show what you are looking for, please visit http://www.azlibrary.gov/arm or contact Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.

5. Favorite Searches & Popular Items

Arizona Memory Project has features that enable researchers to search for oral history collections, maps collections, government publication collections. For example, if you click the search button next to “search government publication collections,” the database will automatically select the collections related to government publication.

The “Popular Items” box contains links to annual reports, legislative study committee reports, House received reports, and Senate received reports. This would be a good resource for those looking for Arizona legislative history materials.

The Arizona Memory Project features historical materials featuring a variety of topics. It is free, and materials are added to the collections regularly. So please take a look at the Arizona Memory Project. The University of Arizona also has digital collections related to pre- and early statehood legal materials.

Don’t Forget to Vote!! – The 2014 Midterm Elections

November 4, 2014 (tomorrow!!!) is the day for the 2014 midterm elections. Here are several free electronic resources related to election.

1.  OpenSecrets.org

This is a database providing information on federal campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis. You can search campaign donors by name, state, zip code, occupation of donor, or recipient.

2. Election Law Research Guides

Many academic law libraries have created research guides on various legal topics, including election law. Here are a few examples:

University of Chicago D’Angelo Law Library

Georgetown Law Library

University of Washington Gallagher Law Library

Oklahoma City University School of Law

3. Arizona Department of State – Office of Secretary of State

The website for Office of Secretary of State features resources concerning Arizona elections. You will find information on campaign finance, forms for initiative/referendum/recall, and a variety of manuals and handbooks.

4. Election Law at Moritz

Created by the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, this website features information on major pending cases, news, and commentaries on voter ID law, voter registration, provisional balloting, and other issues related to election administration.

5. Roll Call

Roll Call provides news coverage on congressional elections, fundraising charts, polls, and election maps.

6. Title 52 of the United States Code

Provisions on voting and election from Titles 2 and 42 have been reclassified to create Title 52, Voting and Elections. The texts were not altered, and the provisions were merely moved to Title 52. Visit the Office of Law Revision Counsel for more information.