Legal
Research Class Notes
We
talked about legislative history.
Today,
we’ll get into regulations.
House
& Senate Committee Reports
·
These are the most important documents you can get
your hands on to research legislative intent.
·
They’re written by Congressional committees on
specific pieces of legislation.
·
So, if you’re short on time, look at these reports
first!
Sources
of Committee Reports
·
USCCAN – This contains all session laws from 1940 to
the present, and will have at least one committee report for all
·
Lexis & Westlaw
·
Congressional Universe – sponsored by the
Congressional Information Service (CIS) – it contains a comprehensive indexing
& publication of Congressional reports & hearings, and is available in
paper, microfiche, or electronic versions.
Other
Useful Stuff
·
Congressional record – but be careful, because this
is not always a transcript of just what was said on the floor.
·
Committee prints – these report on various issues,
though not specific legislation.
Quiz!
·
Session laws are released in chronological order,
while codes are in order by topic.
·
The USCA has helpful references to cases and stuff,
but on the other hand, the U.S. Code is the official, authoritative version.
·
P.L. 107-60 means the 60th law passed by
the 107th Congress.
·
You can find the authoritative meaning of a word in
the Definitions sections of a statute.
·
A parallel citation is a reference to a regional
reporter that gets you to the same case as in a state reporter.
Federal
regulations[1]
These
are rules issued by federal agencies under the authority granted by a statute. They add “flesh” to a statute; they give it
real meaning.
What
is a rule? It is a statement designed to
effect policy.
Example
– McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill
When
the bill passes, it goes through a gauntlet of federal administrative agencies
like the Federal Election Commission.
These agencies interpret and implement the statutes. The FEC decided to exempt issue ads, which
ticked off both McCain and Feingold and a whole bunch of other people. The Supreme Court is expected to look at this
law because it brings up First Amendment issues.
It’s
a lot easier to change a regulation than it is to change a law.
Regulations
are sort of a new form of law
·
Tariffs came about in the 18th century.
·
The Interstate Commerce Commission was around from
1887 to 1995.
·
The Federal Trade Commission started in 1914.
·
The New Deal caused an explosion in the number of
federal agencies and in the number of regulations.
Other
developments
Publication
of the regulations started in the mid-1930s with the Code of Federal
Regulations and the Federal Register.
The
expansion of federal regulation goes in fits and starts, but
suffice to say that there are many, many, many regulations.
The
105th Congress passed the Paperwork Reduction Act, which in turn led
to GPO Access which is online.
How
to ditch a regulation[2]
·
The regulation is amended or repealed.
·
The enabling statute is changed.
·
A court declares the rule invalid.
Some
other forms of administrative actions
·
Decisions of administrative courts/panels
·
Policy statements
·
Interpretive or procedural rules
·
Guidelines & handbooks
·
Memoranda & letters
·
Attorney General’s or General Counsel’s opinions
Form
of publication
·
Final regulations are found in codes (subject
arrangement) or in registers (chronological arrangement).
·
Proposed regulations are also published in the
register of the federal government and some states.
Sequence
of publication
·
Proposed regulations are published in the Federal
Register so you have a chance to voice your opinion on them.
·
Notice of hearings is published in the Federal
Register.
·
The final regulations are published in the Federal
Register and Code of Federal Regulations, both of which are official
sources.
Code
of Federal Regulations
·
Codified
·
50 titles (corresponding roughly to the titles in
the U.S. Code)
·
Arranged by subject then agency
·
Final regulations only
·
Published annually (rolling)
·
Not annotated
What’s
a rolling publication?
All
50 titles are not published all at once, but rather, one quarter of the titles are republished every three months.
Federal
Register
·
Chronological compilation
·
Proposed and final regulations
·
Plus notices of hearings, Presidential
Proclamations, Executive Orders
·
Published 5 times a week year-round
·
Very large: more than 83,000 pages in the year 2000
·
Not annotated
When
to use the Federal Register
·
When the regulations are too new for the CFR
·
To see proposed regulations
·
To see regulations without amendments
·
To update regulations in CFR
Both
the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations are
available on the Internet. The Federal
Register runs a little slow online.
Formats
for CFR and FR
·
Paper
·
Lexis & Westlaw
·
WWW
·
Microform