Statutes
Basic Legal SkillsJanuary 10, 2005
Research Process Review
• Preliminary Analysis– Secondary sources
– Key words & phrases
• Statutes
• Mandatory Precedent
• Persuasive Precedent
• Refine, Double-Check & Update
Gallagher Collegeof Statutory Knowledge
1. Primacy of statutes
2. Strategies for finding statutes
3. Methods for updating statutes
“ I am born.”
• Artificial insemination• Birth certificates & registration• Health screening of newborns• Human cloning• In vitro fertilization• Safe havens / Baby Moses• Surrogate parenthood
“I go to school.”
• Bilingual education• Compulsory attendance• Corporal punishment• Education for All
Handicapped Children Act
• Immunizations• Moments of silence• No Child Left Behind Act• School records privacy• Teacher certification
“I get a life!”
• Credit• Drivers’ licensing• Drunk driving• Health insurance• Landlord & tenant• Marriage & divorce• Real estate• Rules of the road• Ski laws
“I go to work.”
• Drug-testing• Fair employment• Labor relations• Occupational &
professional licensing• Wages & hours• Workers’
compensation
“I get old and die.”
• Elder abuse• Living wills• Medicare & Medicaid• Nursing homes & assisted living facilities• Social Security• Wills & inheritance
Lesson One
Look for statutes early in the legal research process
Law IN Order
Date
• “Session laws”
• U.S. Statutes at Large (Stat.)
• Laws of Washington
Subject
• “Code”
• U.S. Code (U.S.C.)
• Revised Code of Washington (R.C.W.)
Deciphering Citations
Americans with Disabilities Act
• Pub. L. No. 101-336
• 104 Stat. 327
• 42 U.S.C. § § 12101 et seq. (Titles 1-50)
Growth Management Act
• Laws, 1990 1st ex.s. c 17
• RCW 36.70A (Titles 1-91)
Official vs. Unofficial Codes
Official, unannotated
• Gov’t published• Current laws• History notes• Index• Tables• Popular names table
Unofficial, annotated• Commercially
published• Official code contents• Citations to articles,
cases, regulations, forms & practice materials
Compare
Cornell’s Legal Information Institute
42 U.S.C. § 12112
Westlaw, United States Code Annotated
42 U.S.C.A. § 12112
Searching for Statutes
• Secondary sources
• Indexes
• Tables of contents
• Popular names
• Full-text online
• Agency websites
Find the Statute
What is the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death action in Washington State?
• RCW by title
• RCW search
• WA-ST-ANN on Westlaw (terms)
• WA-ST-ANN on Westlaw (index)
• ARCW on LexisNexis
Indexes and Popular Names
• Westlaw– USCA-IDX & USCA-POP– USCA links to index & popular names table– WA-ST-ANN & WA-ST-IDX
• USCS Popular Name Table on Lexis
• Popular Name Table on LII
• Print setsAUTOMOBILES
Motor Vehicles, generally, this index
Hints
• Be creative, flexible & persistent
• Consider synonyms
• Recheck secondary sources
Child?
Infant?
Minor?
Juvenile?
Issue?
Offspring?
Youth?
Rugrat?
Lesson 2
Use multiple approaches to identify relevant statutes
Update!
• Determine how up to date the source is
• Lexis & Westlaw update statutes almost daily
• Free Internet sites & print sources may be equally current (or out of date)
More Updating Options
• Online– Office of Law Revision
Counsel– RCW Sections
Affected
• Print– Pocket parts– USCCAN– Legislative services
Lesson 3
Update the statute
Review
1. Look for statutes early in the legal research process
2. Use multiple approaches to locate relevant statutes
3. Update the statute
Excellence in online searching
Cases: mandatory and persuasive precedent