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U.S. Legal Research: Complete Guide (PDF)
U.S. LEGAL RESEARCH: STATUTES (Primary Source)
CONTENTS:
I. Introduction to Primary Legal Sources
II. Introduction to Statutes
III. Federal Statutes
IV. State Statutes
V. Internet Resources for Statue Statutes
I. Introduction to Primary Legal Sources
In legal research vocabulary, the term “primary sources” refers to sources of the law itself. In other words, primary sources of law are the texts of enactments by governments containing rules that govern a jurisdiction. In sum, secondary sources of law (discussed above) are works about the law; primary sources are the law itself.
There are two different general designations for primary sources of law: official and unofficial. Official primary sources of law are texts that are published and/or printed by the enacting government. Unofficial primary sources of law are texts of law published by private publishers (often, but not exclusively, West or Lexis Publishing).
In some jurisdictions, there is no official publication of certain resources and only the unnofficial version exists. For example, federal case law at the appellate and trial level is only published by West. In law practice, attorneys are usually required to cite to an official source, where one exists. However, for legal research, always use the unofficial source because the private publishers will add value to the text of the primary law by including tools and materials that will aid in the legal research process.
Each branch of government, both at the federal and state level, produces law. Understanding the overall landscape of the legal sources is helpful before beginning research of one source or one area of law. The chart below is a simplified overview of the universe of federal law, listing the major types of law publications of each branch. Most state governments will produce law in a similar set-up.
|
|
The Constitution |
|
|
Branch of Govt. |
Judicial |
Legislative |
Executive |
|
Type of Law Produced |
Case Law |
Statutes |
Regulations |
|
Chronological Publication of Law |
Case Law Reporters |
Session Laws (Stat. at Large) |
The Federal Register |
|
Publication of Law By Subject |
None |
United States Code (USC) |
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) |
|
Note that each government branch produces law that is published chronologically. The public laws and regulations are then published in codes by subject. Case law is not published by subject (thus, research case law requires a “finding tool” to locate cases by subject). The following sections will discuss research of each type of primary law in detail.
II. Introduction to Statutes
A statute is a law that is passed by the legislature and signed by the executive (president or governor). This law is first published, soon after enactment, as a slip law (in paper form). The slip laws for each legislative session are then published in a set of session laws, containing all the statutes passed in that session, in chronological order.
Then, each statute is codified (organized by subject) and put into a code near other statutes that deal with the same subject. Put differently, codes are statutes that are arranged by topic, reflecting the statutes on any given subject that is currently in force, regardless of when passed. Contrast this with session laws that only reflect a particular statute at the moment it was passed or amended
The code should be used for most types of statutory research. Because the codes in electronic databases are usually up to date, it is usually not necessary to consult session laws.
Use session laws: (1) for historical research, since a code is constantly evolving to reflect statutes currently in force, as repealed and amended statutes (and sections of statutes) are integrated into the code; or (2) to see a full statute as it read when passed, since a single statute that address different subject areas can be split and placed in separate sections of the code.
III. Federal Statutes
Federal Session Laws: once enacted, federal statues are called public laws and are identified by a public law number (citation form: P.L. 107-10). Since 1789, federal public laws are published in chronological order in session laws called the Statutes at Large (citation form: 888 Stat. 496).
Statutes at Large (Stat.)
Law Cases and Statutes (LAW), Firestone
KF50 .xU5
Organized by Public Law number (P.L., Pub. L.).
Statutes at Large (electronic)
- Hein Online (Articles & Databases from Library Web Page)
- Lexis Congressional Universe (click Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws)
- Library of Congress (1789-1875) (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsl.html)
Federal Code: federal statutes are codified into the official United States Code (U.S.C.). Each subject area in the code is called a “title” and a statute is identified by a title and section: 8 U.S.C. § 1701.
United States Code (U.S.C.) – official government publication
Law Cases and Statutes (LAW), Firestone
KF62 2000 .A2
Editions prior to 1988 are located in Firestone (F) stacks
Unofficial U.S. Codes: private publishers publish annotated versions of the U.S. codes (as well as state codes). The annotations include a short summary of the history of the code section, citations to secondary sources related to the code section, practice materials and forms related to the code section, and citations to case law that is related to the code section. The unofficial codes are updated much faster than the official (using “pocket parts” inserted into the back cover of the volume). Use the unofficial codes when conducting statutory research.
For all West-published annotated statutes: use the General Index to locate a statute or, if you know the name of the statute, use the Popular Name Table.
United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.) – published by West
Law Cases and Statutes (LAW), Firestone
7691.922.23
United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.) – published by Lexis
[Note: Princeton does not own this set.]
Electronic Unofficial Codes (*Note – statutes are a resource that many experienced researchers agree is easier used in print, especially to find which statute is related to your subject. Because codes are already organized by subject, using the index and flipping the pages can be more effective than electronic full-text searching):
Lexis (U.S.C.S.)
Westlaw (U.S.C.A.)
IV. State Statutes
West publishes most annotated state statutes, although there are other publishers. Princeton University Library owns the following state session laws and codes in print. For other states, use the electronic databases.
Acts of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey
Law Cases and Statutes (LAW), Firestone
7787.07]
Holdings: 1776 through current
These are the session laws for New Jersey.
New Jersey Statutes Annotated (N.J.S.A.)
Law Cases and Statutes (LAW), Firestone
KFN1830 1937 .A42
This is New Jersey’s statutory code.
Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Firestone Library (F)
7813.12
Holdings: 1861-2001, no. 116
Princeton does not own Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated by West in paper and Pennsylvania does not publish an official code. There is also no official web version of the Pennsylvania consolidated or session laws.
Laws of the State of New York Passed at the Sessions of the Legislature
Firestone Library (F).
7795.35
Holdings: 35th session (1812)- 224th session (2001)
Princeton does not own McKinney’s Consolidated Laws of New York Annotated (New York’s code) by West in paper.
V. Internet Resources for State Statutes
Most state legislatures will include the state statutes on their web sites.
New Jersey State Legislature:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/
Scroll down on the left hand side for a browsable version of the State Statutes; a keyword search is available. There are also Chapter Laws (New Jersey’s session laws) from 1996+. Chapter Laws show the laws as they appeared when they were passed (a chronological listing), as compared to the NJSA that compiles the statutes with amendments and annotations by subject. Bills are available back to 1996 as well.
New York Laws
http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?sl=0
From the State Assembly, view the consolidated laws, unconsolidated laws, or search by chapter number. Search for current bills by keyword or number from this site.
