Overview of Legal Research
This research guide contains a brief introduction to legal materials and the process that establishes societal law.
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Definition of the "Law"
The "law" is defined as a body of rules of conduct that can be enforced in court. In the United States it is a mosaic of the Constitution, federal and state statutes, treaties, federal and state court decisions, administrative agency regulations, executive orders and local ordinances. This mosaic can be grouped into the following three basic categories:
- Statutory Law includes federal and state statutes and constitutions as passed by legislative bodies.
- Case Law includes decisions of courts and judicial bodies.
Case law can be subdivided into:
- Common law - body of rules created through judicial decisions. These operate under the doctrine of "precedent" or stare decisis (Latin for "let the decision stand"). This means that past decisions guide the determination of current disputes. While this creates an element of stability the common law system also reacts and adapts to developments in society and technology over time.
- Civil law - body of rules expressed in a code of written law that can be applied by judges.
- Administrative Law includes regulations issued by governmental regulatory agencies. These are based upon statutory authority given to agencies that allows them to create more detailed rules that define responsibilities and permissible actions in their regulatory areas of responsibility.
Forms of Legal Information
Similiar to other scholarly areas legal materials can be divided into those that contain original decisions and actions and those that describe, explain or analyze them.
Primary Sources - publications which contain the original decisions and actions of legislative, judicial, and administrative bodies. See Federal and California Primary Legal Sources for those available through the HSU Library.
Secondary Sources- publications that describe, explain, or analyze the law. These publications are typically prepared by scholars, lawyers, and other commentators, and have no official legal authority. These may be textbooks, treatises, encyclopedias, commentaries, journal articles, indexes, and other publications. See Secondary Legal Sources and Finding Tools for those available in the HSU Library or on the Internet.
When starting legal research it is best to begin with secondary sources that give an overview on a topic and cite leading laws and cases. Law review papers published in legal journals are also an important starting source. See Articles and Databases: Legal Resources for databases that index law review papers.
Legal Citation
Statutes, regulations, and court cases are extensively cited in both primary and secondary legal sources. Legal citation uses a standardized set of abbreviations and formatting that allows one to reference them with precision so that others can find and use them. Legal Citation and Abbreviations lists a number of useful guides and dictionaries to legal citation. Following are examples of legal citations to common federal and California legal sources:
- Statutory Law
- Pub. L. 106-67 = the 67th public law passed by the 106th Congress of the United States
- 16 Stat. 217 = volume 16 of the US Statutes at Large, page 217
- 20 U.S.C. 1681 = title 20 of the United States Code, section 1681
- Cal. Stat., 1995, ch. 818 = Statutes of California for 1995, chapter 818
- (i.e., the 818th law passed in 1995)
- Cal. Pub. Res. Code 342 = California Public Resources Code, section 342
- Case Law
- 416 U.S. 312 = volume 416 of U.S.
Reports, page 312
- 67 C.2nd 350 = Volume 67 of California Supreme Court Reports, Second Series, page 350
- Administrative Law
- 42 F.R. 32514 = volume 42 of the Federal Register, page 32514
- 43 C.F.R. 3590 = title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 3590
- 22 C.C.R. 66261 = title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, section 66261
The Legal Process
The following sources provide a basic introduction to the legislative, judicial and regulatory process:
- Federal
- How Our Laws are Made (Johnson--Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives) 2000 (print copy available in Docs Y 1.1/7:106-197) Introduction to the federal legislative process.
- How Federal Laws are Made (Want Publishing) 1984 (ref KF 4945 Z9 H68 1984)
- How Laws are Made (Ben's Guide to U.S. Government) Simple introduction to the federal legislative process.
- California
- Glossary of Legislative Terms (California State Legislature)
- How a Bill Becomes a Law (flowchart) and Overview of Legislative Process (text) (Legislative Council of California) Explanation of the legislative process in California.
- Lifecycle of a Bill (California State Capitol Museum) Includes interactive chart.
- The Legislative Process: a Citizen's Guide to Participation (Governor's Office of Planning and Research) Provides advice on how the California legislative process works; how to appropriately lobby members of the Legislature on issues and bills, both in person and through writing and telephone; how to read actual bill text; and the specific mechanics of how a bill goes from concept to law.
- Federal
- Understanding the Federal Courts (Administrative Office of the United States Courts) Provides an introduction to the federal judicial system, its organization, and its relationship to the legislative and executive branches of the government.
- California
- Overview of the California State Court System (Santa Clara Superior Court)
- Federal
- Administrative Law Research (West's Instructional Aid Series) PowerPoint presentation covers the federal rulemaking process and sources for federal regulations.
- The Federal Register: What It Is and How to Use It Tutorial (National Archives and Records Administration) (An older print edition is available in Docs AE 2.108: F31/2 Legal Alcove) Includes an introduction to the federal rulemaking process and sources for federal regulations. See also the Parallel Codification of Legislation and Regulations which is excerpted from the tutorial.
- Federal Regulations: Laws Behind the Acts (About.com Guide to U.S. Gov Info/Resources) Includes three parts--the federal rulmaking process; the type and number of regulations; and the Congressional control of regulations.
- Reg Map (General Services Administration) Chart that gives an overview of the federal rulemaking process.
- Rulemaking: how government agencies write law and make policy (Kerwin) 2003 (KF 5411 K37 2003)
- California
- How to Participate in the Rulemaking Process (California Office of Administrative Law)
Statistics
Statutory Law
| Number of Congressional bills introduced each Congress (two year cycle): |
8,000 |
Statistical Abstract of the U.S. and Résumé of Congressional Activity |
| Number of Congressional bills enacted each Congress: |
500 |
Statistical Abstract of the U.S. and Résumé of Congressional Activity |
Case Law
| Number of annual petitions filed with U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari (judicial review): |
7500 |
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics |
| Number of annual U.S. Supreme Court opinions: |
90 |
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics |
Administrative Law
| Number of Final Rules annually in Federal Register: |
4,000 |
Ten Thousand Commandments |
| Number of annual pages in Federal Register: |
70,000 |
Ten Thousand Commandments |
| Number of pages in Code of Federal Regulations: |
120,000 |
Federal Regulations: Laws Behind the Acts |
Putting It All Together--An Example
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What is the body of law on the protection of wild horses and burros? |
- Statutory Law
- A federal statute with the popular name Wild Free-Roaming Horses
and Burros Act was passed in 1971 by the 92nd Congress as Pub.
L. 92-195. The statute was officially published in Statutes at
Large as 85 Stat. 649 and it was codified, along with subsequent
amendments to the original 1971 act, in the United States Code
as 16
U.S.C. 1331-1340.
- Secondary sources consulted to find this information:
- Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names (source listed in Federal and California Primary Legal Sources)
- Conservation and the Law: a Dictionary (Donahue) (source listed in Environmental / Natural Resources Law)
- Federal Wildife Laws Handbook with Related Laws (Musgrave) (source listed in Wildlife - Laws and Regulations)
- US Code Table of Popular Names (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute) (source listed in Federal and California Primary Legal Sources
- Legislative History
- Congressional Hearings
- Protection of Wild Horses on Public Lands. Hearings, Ninety-second Congress, First Session, on H.R. 795, H.R. 5375 and Related Bills. April 19 and 20, 1971 (United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Subcommittee on Public Lands ) 1971 (available in the HSU Library on CIS microfiche 1971 H441-18)
- Protection of Wild Horses and Burros on Public Lands. Hearing, Ninety-second Congress, First Session ... April 20, 1971 (United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Subcommittee on Public Lands ) 1971 (available in the HSU Library on CIS microfiche S441-17)
- Committee Reports
- House Report 92-480 Requiring Protection, Management and Control of Wild Free-roaming Horses and Burros on Public Lands: Report (to Accompany H.R. 9890) (United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs) 1971 (available in the HSU Library in Serial Set 12932)
- Senate Report 92-242 Protection, Management and Control of Wild Free-roaming Horses and Burros on Public Lands: Report (to Accompany S. 1116) (United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs) 1971 (available in the HSU Library in Serial Set 12929)
- House Report 92-681 Protection, Management, and Control of Wild Free-roaming Horses and Burros on Public Lands: Conference Report (to Accompany S. 1116) (United States. Congress) 1971 (available in the HSU Library in Serial Set 12932)
- Sources Consulted
- Digest of Public General Bills & Resolutions (Docs LC 14.6) (source listed in Federal and California Primary Legal Sources)
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CIS Annual: Legislative Histories of US Public Laws (Docs Abstr KF 49 C62) (source listed in Federal and California Primary Legal Sources)
- Secondary sources consulted to find this information:
- Case Law
- There have been two major federal court cases that have ruled on the
legality of this statute. In Kleppe v. New Mexico (published
in United States Reports as 426 U.S. 529) the United States
Supreme Court in 1976 ruled that the act is a valid exercise of Congress's
power under the Property Clause of the Constitution. In Mountain
States Legal Foundation v. Hodel (published in Federal Reporter,
Second Series as 799 F. 2nd 1423) the 10th Circuit Court
of Appeals in 1986 upheld the statute against claims that it resulted
in a taking of private property by protecting wild horses grazing on
private lands.
- Secondary sources consulted to find this information:
- Conservation and the Law: a Dictionary (Donahue) (source listed in Environmental / Natural Resources Law)
- Corpus Juris Secundum (source listed in Secondary Legal Sources and Finding Tools)
- United States Code Service in the LexisNexis Academic database. The "Interpretation Notes and Decisions" annotated section includes major judicial and administrative decisions interpreting each code section. (source listed in Federal and California Primary Legal Sources)
- Secondary sources consulted to find this information:
- Administrative Law
- Federal administrative regulations relating to wild horse and burro
protection and management appear in the Code of Federal Regulations
in two parts since the code is organized by agency and both the U.S. Forest
Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management are the responsible agencies.
Regulations appear in 43
C.F.R. 4700 and in 36
C.F.R 222
- Sources consulted to find this information:
- United States Code Service in the LexisNexis Academic database. The "Code of Federal Regulations" annotated section gives citations to parallel CFR regulations under each code section. (source listed in Federal and California Primary Legal Sources)
- Code of Federal Regulations Index and Finding Aids section on Parallel Table of Rules and Authorities lists by statutory authority (US Code, etc.) parallel regulations codified in the CFR. (source listed in Federal and California Primary Legal Sources)
- United States Code (Cornell University, Legal Information Institute). For many code sections includes citations to parallel CFR regulations. (source listed in Federal and California Primary Legal Sources)
- Sources consulted to find this information: