PG 350: Judicial Process and Policy Making: Media Commentary

Media commentary is a good way to find out what is being said about your statute and learn more about the controversy surrounding it.

To find articles in newspapers and popular new magazines, you can search for the statute according to its popular name using the following databases:

-          Academic Search Complete

-          Business Source Complete

-      JSTOR

-         Legal Collection 

-         Nexis Uni

-        Reader’s Guide Retrospective 

Be sure to cover the following...

1. Overall, what is the purpose of the statute/why was it passed?

2. Controversies about the statute

3. Identify and discuss the part of the statute that gives rise to the controversy before the Supreme Court

If your statute was enacted over 20 years ago, you may need to use a combination of online database and print indexes that specialize in coverage of older resources. 

Readers' Guide Retro (1890-1982)

New York Times Article Archives (1851-present)

American Periodical Series