Pritzker Legal Research Center: Standout Summer Research Resources: 50 State Surveys

50 State Surveys

A 50-state survey is a specialized secondary source that compares laws on a particular topic across all 50 states. They might be as lengthy as a book treatment or as slim as a list of states with simple citations to relevant cases, statutes, or regulations.

Surveys of Statutes, Bills and Regulations

Lexis and Westlaw offer 50 state statutory and regulatory surveys. You can find them on both services by clicking on the Content [types]-->Statutes link on the home page and then looking in the Resources box on the right side of the screen. Alternatively, start typing 50 state survey… and select the suggested source from the dropdown list. Be sure to note the date of the survey and update your research.

National Survey of State Laws (HeinOnline)
Now in its 9th edition, Rich Leiter's comprehensive resource is available in HeinOnline. Side-by-side comparisons in chart form of noteworthy state laws as well as those of popular interest.
National Conference of State Legislatures Bill Tracking Database
Search by topic, year, status (e.g., pending, enacted, to governor, etc.) or browse list of topics. Updated regularly, but see topical database for currency.
50 State Surveys available via NUsearch
Use the library’s discovery tool to find surveys published by the American Bar Association, Bloomberg BNA and more. Suggested searches include “50 state survey” or “fifty state survey” or “state by state survey.”
Subject Compilations of State Laws (HeinOnline)
Bibliography of thousands of citations to surveys published in books, articles, legal loose-leafs, and government publications. Referenced articles often contain surveys in a footnote or appendix and the text of the article can provide additional context. Biennial publication that dates back to 1960; available on HeinOnline.
Justia 50-State Surveys
Justia compiles state laws on over forty topics into easily digestible formats so that consumers and researchers can compare the differences between laws of different states.

Chartbuilders

Bloomberg Law – State Law Chartbuilder
Covers dozens of discrete topics within nine broader areas of law. The created chart can then be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet. Find under Practitioner Tools.
VitalLaw – Smart Charts
Choose a practice area and then look to the “Practice Tools” section for that topic in the upper right side of the page. Smart Charts include summaries and analysis of specific statutory sections. Note that not all practice areas have accompanying jurisdictional charts.
Lexis Practice Advisor – State Law Comparison Tool
Select Lexis Practical Guidance on the left side of the homepage: on the Practical Guidance page find the Comparison Tool under “Tools and Resources.” The tool is not available for all practice areas, but does exist for Bankruptcy, Labor & Employment, Data Security & Privacy, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, Insurance, Intellectual Property & Technology, and several other Practice Areas.
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A U.S. Federal option is also available for many topics in the State Law Comparison Tool, particularly useful for certain Labor & Employment topics.
Westlaw Jurisdictional Surveys
Start with the citation of a statute, an index term that describes your topical target, or select a topic from the predefined topic page. Jurisdictional Surveys then compiles an inventory of related laws on the topic, curating a list of statutory sections that account for varying terminology across all jurisdictions. You can also use the tool to refine the list of statutory sections to focus on identifying and analyzing statutory variances and similarities.

Constitutional Comparison

State Constitutions of the United States
2nd ed., CQ Press, 2006. Print only. Available in library at D,REF KF4530 .M33 2006. Summarizes provisions of state constitutions by topic. Table comparing constitution provisions by topic.
State Constitution Research Guide
From the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University Bloomington: Information on researching state constitutions and their history. Includes a 50-State A to Z list of resources for finding the full text of state constitutions, information on amendment process, pending and historical amendments, artifacts and documents.
State Constitutions Illustrated
State Constitutions Illustrated is a collection of the constitutions of the 50 states of the United States, together with related documents and resources. Containing the text of every constitution that has been in force for every state with the original, consolidated and current texts and an extensive collection of documents from before statehood, State Constitutions Illustrated provides comprehensive coverage and allows researchers to compare multiple editions from multiple sources.
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Available through Northwestern's subscription to HeinOnline.