There are two databases that will provide access to key legal cases and state and federal laws. They are:
WestLaw Campus Research
Full text access to federal and state case law, statutes, regulations and administrative codes, as well as, European Union information, law encyclopedias, law reviews and citators. Coverage starts with 1990s.
TIP: Consider citing one of the major immigration cases listed below that have impacted migration to the U.S. after WWII.
California ’s Constitution of 1879
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
Yick Wo v. Hopkins (U.S. Supreme Court, 1886)
Page Law (Federal Statute, 1875)
Scott Act (Federal Statute, 1888)
Cable Act (Federal Statute, 1922)
Japanese Exclusion Act of 1924
California ’s Alien Land Law of 1913
Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986) 8 USC 1101
Ozawa v. United States (U.S. Supreme Court, 1922)
Perez v. Sharp (CA Supreme Court, 1948)
Oyama v. United States (U.S. Supreme Court, 1918)
Loving v. Virginia (U.S. Supreme Court, 1967)
Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934 (Federal Statute)
Civil Liberties Act of 1988 ( U.S. Statute)
H.R. 2297 (2003) (Filipino Veterans’ Benefits)
Lum v. Rice (U.S. Supreme Court, 1927) Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Lau v. Nichols (U.S. Supreme Court, 1974)
Regents of U.C. v. Bakke (1978)
Plyler v. Doe (U.S. Supreme Court, 1982)
The University of Texas v. Hopwood (5 th Circuit, 1996)
Immigration Act (1952, 1986, 1990, 1996)
Grutter v. Lee Bollinger ( U.S. Supreme Court, 2003)
Gratz v. Lee Bollinger ( U.S. Supreme Court, 2003)
John Doe v. Kamehameha Schools (9 th Circuit, 2006)
1996 Welfare Reform Act
Mendez v. Westminster (U.S. District Court, 1946 & 9 th Circuit, 1947)
Local or state propositions are primary documents regardless of whether or not they were approved by the electorate.
To view California Ballot Propositions from 2000-2009 use the California Ballot Propositions, Los Angeles County Law Library.
TIP: Research a California Proposition dealing with immigrant issues. For example:
Proposition 187 (1994) The goal of Proposition 187 was to make unauthorized residents of California ineligible for public benefits.
Proposition 209 (1996) Amended the California Constitution to prohibit public institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity. Undercut the use affirmative-action criteria in university admissions decisions.
Proposition 227 (1998) Requires California public schools to teach Limited English Proficient (LEP) students in special classes that are taught nearly all in English. This provision had the effect of eliminating "bilingual" classes in most cases.