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Finding the Law: Cases, Statutes, and Regulations

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Title: Finding the Law: Cases, Statutes, and Regulations


1
Finding the LawCases, Statutes, and Regulations
  • Ann Hemmens
  • University of Washington Gallagher Law Library
  • September 13, 2007
  • http//lib.law.washington.edu/ref/basiclegalresear
    chTLInstitute.ppt

2
Presentation available online
  • http//lib.law.washington.edu/ref/basiclegalresear
    chTLInstitute.ppt

3
Goals
  • Basic introduction to U.S. legal research
  • Basic introduction to U.S. legal citation format
  • Tour of Gallagher Law Library

4
Primary Secondary Authority
  • Primary
  • Statement of "the law" from bodies with
    law-making authority
  • Secondary
  • Explain, interpret, and help you locate the
    primary law
  • Includes Treatises, Hornbooks, law review
    articles, legal encyclopedias, Restatements,
    Nutshells etc.

5
Organization of Federal State Governments
6
How do Sources of Law Interact?
  • Court interprets a statute
  • An earlier court decision is overruled by same
    court
  • Statute held unconstitutional by a court
  • Legislature writes statute in response to a case
  • Agency proposed rules in response to statute.

7
Issues in Legal Research
  • What type of law might govern your question?
  • statutes? regulations? cases?
  • Which jurisdiction?
  • federal or state or both?
  • Did you update your research?

8
Court Structure Federal State
Federal State
Court of Last Resort U.S. Supreme Court WA Supreme Court
Intermediate Appellate Court ? Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Circuit map WA Court of Appeals
Trial Court ? U.S. District Court for Western District of WA King County Superior Court
9
U.S. Legal Citation Format
  • The Bluebook A Uniform System of Citation (KF245
    .U5 2005 18th ed. in Reference Area)
  • Going Beyond Casebooks Exercise,
  • http//lib.law.washington.edu/ref/beyondcase.htm

10
Legal Citation format for CASES
  • Pate v. Threlkel, 661 So.2d 278 (Fla. 1995)
  • Party 1 v. Party 2, volume number reporter
    name page number (jurisdiction sometimes
    year).

11
Tools for finding cases on particular subjects
  • Digests
  • Index to National Reporter System. Find federal
    and state cases by legal issue or subject. Topic
    and Key Numbers. Examples Federal Practice
    Digest, Pacific Digest.
  • American Law Reports (ALR) and law review
    articles (secondary sources)
  • Provide in-depth analysis of legal topic or case.
  • Examples
  • Marjorie A. Shields, Annotation, Liability for
    Conversion and Misappropriation of Genetic
    Material, 121 A.L.R.5th 315 (2004).
  • Edward J. Janger, 3 Genetic Information, Privacy
    and Insolvency, 3 J.L. Med. Ethics 79 (2005).
  • Lexis Nexis Academic (from UW Libraries LAW
    webpage)

12
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13
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14
Lexis Nexis Academic
  • Available from UW Libraries LAW Subject webpage
  • http//www.lib.washington.edu/subject/Law/
  • Cases, statutes, regulations

15
Statutes
  • Organized chronologically
  • Session laws
  • U.S. Statutes at Large (Stat.)
  • Laws of Washington
  • Organized by subject (current laws in force)
  • Code
  • U.S. Code
  • Revised Code of Washington

16
Legal Citation Format U.S. laws
  • Public Law
  • Pub.L. No. 107-56
  • Statutes at Large
  • 115 Stat. 276
  • Codes
  • 42 U.S.C. 9601-9675 (2004)
  • Title United States Code Sections (year)

17
Image of U.S. Public Law
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
    Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191.

18
Annotated Codes
  • Commercially-published
  • Include text of law history
  • Provide citations to cases, regulations, law
    review articles, encyclopedias, forms
  • Updated promptly
  • United States Code Annotated (USCA)
  • United States Code Service (USCS)
  • on LexisNexis Academic Congressional

19
Finding Statutes
  • Popular Names Table
  • USA Patriot Act (Pub. L. 107-56, 115 Stat.
    276)(Oct. 26, 2001)
  • National Bone Marrow Registry Reauthorization Act
    of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 274)
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
    Act (HIPAA)
  • Index volume of USCS or USCA
  • Cases
  • Secondary sources (law review articles etc.)

20
Finding Statutes - online
  • Lexis Nexis Congressional and Academic
  • Thomas (http//thomas.loc.gov)
  • Washington State Legislature (http//apps.leg.wa.g
    ov/billinfo/)

21
Where do you find Constitutions?
  • Federal
  • United States Code Annotated (USCA)
  • United States Code Service (USCS) on LexisNexis
    Academic Congressional
  • GPO Access, http//www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/
    index.html
  • State
  • Revised Code of Washington (RCW)
  • All 50 state statutes on LexisNexis Academic
  • Cornells Legal Information Institute,
    http//www.law.cornell.edu/statutes.html

22
Administrative Law
  • Rules, regulations, and decisions created by
    administrative agencies (federal and state).
  • Authorized by Statute
  • Power to issue regulations adjudicate disputes
    delegated to executive agencies by Congress via
    an enabling statute.
  • Procedural Standards? YES Administrative
    Procedure Act (APA) (5 USC 551 et seq.).
  • Notice of proposed rule
  • Comment period
  • Final rule response to comments

23
U.S. Regulations
  • Federal Register
  • Published daily
  • Includes
  • proposed regulations new regulations
  • Presidential documents Executive Orders
    Proclamations
  • Code of Federal Regulations
  • Published annually
  • Includes current rules regulations in force
  • Index finding tables

24
Citation Format Regulations
  • 65 Fed. Reg. 3415 (Jan. 21, 2000)
  • Volume Federal Register Page (date)
  • 7 CFR 319.76 (2003)
  • TitleCode of Federal RegulationsSection (year)

25
Sample Regulation
  • 42 CFR Part 121

26
How to find Regulations?
  • Index to the Code of Federal Regulations
  • CFR Index volume (KF70 at Ref Area)
  • USCS Index to the CFR (KF 62 at Ref Area)
  • Wests CRF Index (KF70 .A34 at Ref Area)
  • Federal Register Index
  • Unified Agenda (published in April October)
  • Annotated Codes
  • United States Code Annotated (USCA)
  • United States Code Service (USCS)
  • Secondary Sources

27
Regulations Online
  • LexisNexis Academic and Congressional
  • GPO Access, http//www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/

28
Secondary Sources
  • Law Reviews
  • Full-Text on Lexis Nexis Academic
  • Use an index to find articles, LegalTrac
  • Books
  • Law Library Catalog
  • UW Libraries Catalog

29
Update Your Research
  • Cases use online citator (Shepards or Keycite)
  • Statutes check pocket parts supplements
    (print)
  • Regulations use List of Sections Affected (LSA)
    Federal Register (print)

30
Free Websites with U.S. Legal Information
  • Internet Legal Research http//lib.law.washington.
    edu/research/research.html
  • Cornells Legal Information Institute
    http//www.law.cornell.edu/
  • Findlaw http//www.findlaw.com/
  • GPO Access http//www.gpoaccess.gov/
  • Thomas http//thomas.loc.gov/
  • U.S. Supreme Court http//www.supremecourtus.gov/i
    ndex.html

31
Conclusion
  • Cases, Statutes, Regulations law reviews
    available
  • In PRINT at Gallagher Law Library
  • ONLINE via UW Libraries Law subject webpage
    (http//www.lib.washington.edu/subject/Law/)
  • Questions? Ask a Librarian lawrefst_at_u.washingto
    n.edu
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