Legal
Research Class Notes
Not
all states are alike!
There
are two “quick references” in the Bluebook.
One is for legal memoranda, one is for law review notes. Only a small portion of the book is dedicated
to memoranda.
For
this assignment, you should cite to the annotated code, but if you already
cited to the official code, that’s okay.
More
on statutes and legislative history
You
can find state Constitutions in their codified statutes.
All
states have two basic forms of statutes: session laws and codes.
All
states have some form of annotated code, and all codes are available in
multiple formats: paper, Lexis or Westlaw, or on the states’ web sites. The states’ web sites don’t have annotated
versions.
To
update, use pocket parts and annual supplements. If you’re updating electronically, use
session laws. For example, you can
search the Ohio General Assembly website by keyword or by ORC provision. When a bill passes in session laws, you can
find out where in the Code it’s going to appear.
Federal
statutes
The
U.S. Constitution can be found in the U.S. Code and Annotated Codes as well as
in the state codes, Lexis and Westlaw, and on the web.
Be
wary of what you find on the web. Anyone
can post any government document, but there’s nothing that says they can’t
change it around.
Session
Laws
The
official source is United States Statutes at Large.
An
unofficial source from West is
This
is the official, unannotated text, published every six years. The current edition was published in
2000. The Code is divided into 50
Titles. It’s not useful for current
research because it’s too slow and doesn’t have annotations.
Annotated
Codes
West
puts out United States Code Annotated (USCA), and Lexis puts out United
States Code Service (USCS). These
are unofficial.
One
difference between the USCA and the USCS is that the USCA uses the “key
numbering” system.
USCA
gets updated with annual pocket parts, interim Supplements and USCCAN Supplements
(session laws).
Alternatives
You
can use Lexis and Westlaw to search for a citation. These have online annotations. You can also look through secondary sources
like articles, treatises, encyclopedia entries, and looseleaf services.
The
traditional way to do statutory research
1. Go to the
index of the annotated code
2. Read the
statute and review its annotations
3. Update the
text and annotations (i.e. pocket parts and legislative service)
4. Read and
update the relevant cases
The
snazzy new way to do statutory research
1. Do a text
search for a word or phrase or citation
2. Read the text
and check the date of the latest amendment and review its annotations
3. Update the
statute via session laws
4. Read and
update any relevant cases
Legislative
history
You
can interpret statutes by reading documents generated during the legislative
process. The idea is to find out what
the legislators were intending to do with the law. You can study committee reports, hearings,
and floor debates.
However,
this is not a universally accepted method of statutory interpretation. If you bring this to a partner, opposing
counsel, or judge, they might not think this is all that important. If the legislators wanted something in the
law, why didn’t they put it in the law?
Legislative
history can also be ambiguous.
Four types of legislative
history
1. Least authoritative – bills, which can be helpful in determining intent. Changes in language, addition or deletion of
particular provisions.
2. Hearings – testimony of experts or interested parties with specific
knowledge. They can also contain
transcripts, charts and reports.
3. Floor debates – what legislators said about legislation.
4. Most authoritative – committee reports – why did a committee recommend a
bill? Includes analysis by section, and
dissenting views.
You
can find committee reports on USCCAN.
C-SPAN
has influenced the Congressional Record, you can’t go back and change things
except for basic grammatical errors and the like.