The reference librarians at the Ross-Blakley Law Library are happy to help you find or navigate research resources. Librarians are available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.
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Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (COL) Students
ASU Library One Search
To see a complete list of materials available in the library related to criminal law, postconviction justice, defense, and prosecution, search the catalog for SUBJECT: Criminal Law -- United States, SUBJECT: Public Defenders -- United States, or SUBJECT: Prosecution -- United States. Otherwise, peruse the list below.
Arizona Practice Series (West Academic, current)
The Arizona Practice Series is a multi-volume set that is written for Arizona legal practitioners. It offers explanatory text, checklists, and forms in each subject-specific volume. In addition to the print volumes located in the Law Library, this series is available on Westlaw (Westlaw password required). The topics covered within the set include:
Arizona Legal Forms–Criminal Procedure (West Academic, current)
Criminal Procedure is Volume 7 of the Arizona Legal Forms set. The volume has forms for all actions authorized under the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure as well as commentary on the forms. Maricopa County and Pima County Superior Court forms are also included. The print set is located in the Reference Collection of the library, near the Reference Desk, and is kept current. All volumes are also available on Westlaw (Westlaw password required).
Arizona DUI Trial Notebook (Bruce H. Chalk & Christina Cabanillas, eds., 2021)
This volume covers issues such as the constitutionality of DUI statutes, the stop, contact, testing, pretrial, trial, post-trial, and other miscellaneous issues. The appendices include DUI laws, relevant regulations, sample voir dire questions, sample questions for officers and experts, DUI jury instructions, and a table of authorities.
Revised Arizona Jury Instructions (Criminal) (State Bar of Arizona, 2016)
Includes standard instructions, with sources, use notes, and comments. In addition to the print volumes located in the Law Library, this resource is available on Lexis+ (Lexis+ password required).
Criminal Practice Manual (Westlaw password required)
The Criminal Practice Manual is a practitioner-focused resource that provides overviews and analysis of criminal law topics. It has extensive practice guidance including court documents, checklists, tactics, and explanations.
Federal Criminal Discovery (Robert M. Cary et al., 2021)
Handily summarizes evidentiary and procedural issues regarding discovery in federal criminal proceedings, including disclosure of evidence favorable to the defendant, disclosure from government, witness statements, and subpoenas for documents. It discusses ethical considerations and enforcement of discovery rules.
The Rights of the Accused Under the Sixth Amendment (Paul Marcus et al., 2021)
Explores the effects of various legal regimes governing implementation of Sixth Amendment rights including the right to a speedy trial, the right to a jury trial, the right to be informed about accusations, and the right to confront accusers.
Bloomberg Law Dockets (Bloomberg Law password required)
Bloomberg Law provides access to state (including Maricopa County Superior Court) and federal dockets. Case dockets provide valuable information about the legal issues and events of a case and the people involved, including the judges, attorneys, and parties. Generally, docket information will be most useful for researching trials.
Criminal Justice Abstracts (available on campus or remotely with ASURITE)
Criminal Justice Abstracts indexes journal articles dealing with criminal justice and related disciplines and contains the full text of selected resources.
Law360: Criminal Practice (available on campus or remotely with Lexis+ password)
The Law360 Criminal Practice page provides timely news and analysis on criminal law and enforcement across U.S. jurisdictions.
Lexis+ Criminal Law & Procedure (Lexis+ password required)
This Lexis+ page provides direct access to federal and state criminal cases, federal criminal statutes, briefs, pleadings, and motions from criminal law cases, as well as relevant secondary sources and news.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) is a federally funded resource offering reports, journals, statistics, and other information on subjects relating to criminology, criminal justice, substance abuse, corrections, police, and crime victims.
Westlaw Criminal Law (Westlaw password required)
This Westlaw page provides direct links to a criminal law case search, a listing of federal and state criminal law statutes, a listing of federal and state criminal law regulations, and subject-specific secondary materials that include treatises articles, forms, and newsletters.
ABA Criminal Justice Section
The Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association provides access to general criminal law resources, as well as resources pertaining to specific fields of criminal law through the Resources tab of its homepage.
Arizona Court Rules
Westlaw provides free access to an unannotated version of the Arizona Court Rules.
CrimProf Blog
This blog, part of the Law Professor Blog Network, is edited by Kevin Cole, a criminal law and procedure professor at the University of San Diego School of Law..
State Bar of Arizona Criminal Justice Section
The Criminal Justice Section of the Arizona State Bar Association provides links to a number of criminal law resources through its Criminal Justice Resources page.
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure: Post-Conviction Procedures
Title VII concerns post-conviction relief for federal defendants. It is available at:
Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure
Rules 31 and 32 concern appeals and post-conviction relief after criminal convictions. They are available at:
American Bar Association: Post-Conviction Remedies
The ABA provides guidance for policymakers and practitioners on post-conviction practice.
Arizona Courts: Post-Conviction Relief
Information on the process and time limits, as well as template forms for filing post conviction relief.
Postconviction Remedies (Brian R. Means, 2019)
This two volume treatise explains the rules of postconviction review and related legal issues, including jurisdictional issues, timing, and court rules. Also available on Westlaw (Westlaw password required).
State Postconviction Remedies and Relief Handbook with Forms (Donald E. Wilkes, Jr., 2019)
This treatise collects and explains the law and court rules governing postconviction remedies in the states. Arizona is included in Volume 1; Volume 4 provides templates for filing claims for postconviction relief in the states, including Arizona.
Another Bite at the Apple: A Guide to Section 2255 Motions for Federal Prisoners (Janice Bermann, 2009)
This book examines the federal statute governing postconviction remedies and related statutes governing review of criminal convictions. It also explains timing and jurisdiction issues, cases and other law defining the scope of available relief, and proceedings in the court system.