legal bib outline

8/7/2019 Legal Bib Outline

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INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL RESEARCH

common law (a/k/a case law) - law created by judicial system as set forth by judicial opinions

statutes - law created by legislative process; a/k/a "code," when organized by subject

stare decisis - "to stand by that which is decided"; judicial system must follow precedent when making currentjudicial decisions

good law - has the resource upon which you rely been updated, repealed, or reversed?in order to be sure you are relying on good law,you must update your research

primary authority - actual law; a document that is created as part of the legal process; statements of law fromgovernmental entities, such as legislature, courts, or executive agencies (i.e., statutes, case law, regulations)

secondary authority - about the law; "everything else"; written by legal commentators; discuss, explain, andanalyze what the law is or what it should be; provide extensive citations to primary materials and otherrelevant secondary materials; a description of the law or commentary about the law, or anything that is notprimary authority (i.e., treatises, law review articles, annotations, nutshells)

mandatory authority - binding authority or authority that the court is obligated to follow (ex: all GA lowercourts are required to follow precedent set by GA Supreme Court)

persuasive authority - authority that courts are not obligated to follow (i.e., precedent from another circuit)

federalist system - balance of power between federal government and states; federal gov't has lawmakingabilities in some areas and the states in others

federalism - two levels of gov't: federal and state

separation of powers - ensures that none of the three branches of gov't usurps powers of other branches

Organization of federal and state governments: CONSTITUTION

legislative - statutes - Stat., U.S.C., O.C.G.A.

judicial - cases - U.S., Fed.3d, Ga., Ga. App., S.E.2d

executive - regulations, administrative decisions - F.R., C.F.R., Ga. Register

Court system and corresponding reporters

Federal

U.S. Supreme Court - U.S., S.Ct., L.Ed.2d

Circuit Court of Appeals - F., F.2d, F.3d

District Court - F.Supp

Georgia

Georgia Supreme Court - Ga., S.E., S.E.2d, S.E.3d

Georgia Court of Appeals - Ga. App., S.E., S.E.2d, S.E.3d

Superior Courts - not reported!

How sources of law interact:

court interprets a statute

an earlier court decision is overruled by same court

legislature writes statute in response to a case

agency proposes rules in response to statute

RESEARCH PROCESS

background research in secondary sources

locate and analyze primary sources

validate and update primary sources (Shepardize or KeyCite)

ask if additional information is needed


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SECONDARY SOURCES

mostly written by practioners in field

provide:

a. basic research and analysis (someone else has already done the work)

b. references to primary law and other secondary sources (statutes, leading cases, etc.)

c. current state of the law (you don't have to piece together how newer cases modify old ones)

judges rely on secondary sources, as well

LAW SCHOOL BOOKS

Treatise - learned, exhaustive, in-depth set of scholarly works on a particular subject area - may besingle or multi-volume -available on GIL, West, and Lexis - ex: Prosser on Torts, Nimmer on Copyrights,Chisum on Patents

Hornbook - simple to complex - treatise in one volume - easier to understand than treatises - give youwhat you need to know (not exhaustive) - current editions in Law Student Study Aid section - West andothers

Nutshell - simple - good to familiarize yourself with foreign topics - current editions in Law StudentStudy Aid section; older editions located in general stacks - West

Outline - Gilberts, Emmanuels - oversimplify - GSU does not collect outlines

LEGAL DICTIONARIES

Black's Law Dictionary (Westlaw) / Ballentine's Law Dictionary (Lexis) - single volumes; define legalterms - both located in Reference Collection

Words and Phrases - multi-volume set; judicially defined terms - Row 31 Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations - decoder - compiled, arranged, and edited by law librarians

- also available online via Lexis

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

more descriptive than analytical

provide brief statement of the law - pull together an enormous body of legal literature, definitions,rules, and practice points derived mainly from case law

sections may be written by experts or editorial staff who are not legal scholars

most useful at beginning of research project to provide overview of specific topics and briefly outlineissues that may be involved - can be good finding tools at early stage or used as a checklist of issuesat a late stage

often oversimplified; each article only as good as its author; should NEVER be cited as authority -

ALWAYS track down quoted source, read it in context, and cite to that instead; emphasize case lawand generally do a poor job with statutory or administrative law subjects

Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) - West - provides far more case citations than does AmJur, esp. citationsthat highlight jurisdictional splits - pocket parts update print version annually and a new general indexis published annually (very broad...refer to volume indexes for detailed references - pocket parts veryimportant - law library no longer collects CJS

American Jurisprudence (2d) - AmJur 2d - West - green set - practice-oriented - less comprehensivethan CJS, but sometimes easier to use - designed to complement annotations in American Law Reports(ALR) - general index is more detailed than that of CJS, but you must also search volume-specific index- table of "Statutes and Regulations" gives more emphasis to non-case law than does CJS - pocketparts update print version annually and a new general index is published annually - usually morecurrent than CJS - linked to AmJur Practice Series (ALR, AmJur Forms, Pleadings and Practice, Proof ofFacts, Federal Procedure); also includes new topic volumes

State Encyclopedias - many (but not all) states have an encyclopedia focusing exclusively on the lawsof that state - may be called encyclopedia, jurisprudence, or practice - more useful than nationalencyclopedias - describes state law on a particular topic and gives brief history of development of lawin that state as well as a discussion of leading cases and/or relevant statutes - GA has: Encyclopedia ofGeorgia Law, and Georgia Jurisprudence (more current)

RESTATEMENTS

published by American Law Institute (ALI) - judges, lawyers, and law professors

goal: to lend some order to common law - an attempt to organize and codify it

stemmed from reaction to conflicting cases in early 1900s

scholarly approach to creating ideal rules of practice

carry no authority until adopted by judge


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Restatement 2d is an entirely different publication

13 Restatements cover broad areas of law, such as contracts, property, and torts

most volumes have a TOC at front, followed by text in chapter, title, and section order

each section states specific findings of section followed by comments from drafters

detailed index is found at end of volume or in the last volume

persuasive authority - as of March 1999, courts cited Restatements 144,629 times

PERIODICALS

finding tools for primary sources (footnotes)

find, describe, and analyze legal topics

persuasive, but notauthority

types:

i. law reviews (see below)

ii. bar association journals - very current; often, first to report on decision

iii. commercial journals and newsletters - narrow issues, more like an alerting service

iv. legal newspapers - provide legal notices and fluff

LAW REVIEWS / LAW JOURNALS

what are they?

general and practice specific

include lead articles (faculty), notes and comments (students), book reviews (sometimes) consist of long, technical, scholarly articles that are heavily footnoted - footnotes are research

gold (use them to find primary and secondary sources)

typically not current - takes a while to write and a longer while to publish

where are they?

hard copy - 1st floor of Law Library

electronic 1980 - West and Lexis

how do you accessL. Rev. Articles?

Current Law Index- online version: LegalTrac - >1980

Intro to Legal Periodicals and Books (ILPB) - >1908 (hard copy in Ref. Coll. - organized byvolume - look in every volume to complete a thorough search)online version - Intro to Legal Periodicals - >1981

both indexes are available in print, Westlaw, and Lexis

online versions - search by author, title, subject, or keyword

print versions - search by author, subject, case name, or statute name

articles older than 1980:Intro to Legal Periodicals Retrospective -


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Form Books / Practice Sets - standard forms used to file documents with courts or businesstransactions - almost every step of legal procedure uses a form - these provide examples - ex: GeneralAmJur, West Forms, Specific GA Family Law

LEGAL DIRECTORY - Martindale Hubbell

Blue Pages - arranged: state, city, alphabetically

White pages - paid advertisements

GA hard copy available in Circulation

www.martindale.com

GIL - online catalog - searches books, journals, videos, etc. - new version: GIL-Find (beta) - we use Library ofCongress system (almost all call numbers begin with "KF")

LOOSELEAF SERVICES

Characteristics

can be updated by inserting and removing loose pages as law changes

updated as often as once a week

typically stored in volumes with adjustable binders

a one-stop research source for a particular subject area b/c they include primary sources (i.e., statutory,regulatory, and judicial materials) and secondary sources (i.e., editorial analysis, citators, alert services,and indexes)

Forms

interfilled - adding and removing pages from 3-ring binders

newsletter services - kept current by adding a newsletter with the most current developments in a topicalarea - ex: United States Law Wee (USLW), published by BNA, makes text of Supreme Court slip opinionsavailable in print within a week of being released (also available in electronic format)

Updates - frequent (sometimes weekly) - often kept in binders to accommodate constant updating

Currency

interfilled services - current if the most recent changes have been added or removed; as a general rule, itis safe to assume that a looseleaf set is about one month behind - sometimes, looseleaf services willinclude a tabbed section dedicated to providing information about currency of a set (behind tab is a first-page insert indicating sections affected by last update, date of last update, and perhaps the initials of thefiler who completed update)

newsletter services - current if you have the most recent newsletter filed

Organization

by paragraph numbers - accompanying indexes will reference paragraph numbers

page number at top, paragraph number at bottom (symbol precedes number)

may be gaps in sequence for future use

some paragraphs are extracted as they become outdated - may be removed from set entirely or kept in"transfer binders" (softbound volumes shelved at end of set) - outdated material may still have someresearch or historical value

Finding Aids

Topical Indexes - all looseleaf services have topical indexes - some may have more than one (ex: acumulative index and a new developments or new matters index)

Tables and finding lists - helpful resources to locate primary source documents within looseleaf services

Citators - some looseleafs include citators, which are very helpful when trying to locate resources on atopic within a looseleaf service

Roadmap for Looseleaf Services - explains how to navigate a set - appear in many forms - usually in the firstvolume or the index volume - ex: CCH has a red tab, other publications have an "About This Publication" tab

Additional Features of Looseleaf Services

extra related materials - ex: Standard Federal Tax Reporterhas tab for tax calendars and tables,depreciation tables, etc.

editorial analysis - ex: in CCH publications, the analysis is distinguished by a black box

new matters volume - contains most cutting-edge information

citators - direct you to citing resources on your topic within looseleaf

Cost - tend to be expensive (usually at least $1000 per set; some sets cost several thousand) - high cost is
http://f/www.martindale.comhttp://f/www.martindale.com


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attributed to frequent updates, editorial analysis, and hybrid of primary and secondary sources that must bepulled together

Electronic Format - many available electronically; advantages of online looseleaf services include: timeliness,email updates, multiple-subject searches, and full-text searches

Examples

CCH IntelliConnect - Standard Federal Tax Reporter

BNA - Labor and Employment Law Library

Citation

Bluebook Rule 19.1 4 Lab. L. Rep. (CCH) 9046


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CASE LAW - JUDICIAL BRANCH

FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM

there are 13 Circuit Courts - 11 numbered, plus Federal Circuit and D.C. Circuit

GA is in the 11th, along with AL and FL

GEORGIA COURT SYSTEM

Supreme - 7 justices

Court of Appeals - 4 divisions, 12 judges

Superior Courts - 49 circuits, 200+ judges

State, Juvenile, Probate, Magistrate, and Municipal Courts

REPORTERS

the sets of books which publish cases are called reporters - each has a designated abbreviation

courts decide which cases to publish - not all cases have written opinions and not all opinions are published

"unpublished"(a/k/a unreported and non-precedential) decisions are now published in the FederalAppendix - since 2007, circuit courts can no longer restrict citation of unpublished federal decisions

States vary in treatment of unpublished decisions Supreme Court has no rule; COA treats unreportedopinions as neither a physical nor binding precedent

four types of reporters:

federal - report federal cases

regional - report cases from a group of states

state - report cases from a specific state

subject - report cases from various jurisdictions which deal with a certain area of law

GA cases are reported in: Ga. Rep, Ga. App. Rep., and S.E.

organized by court, jurisdiction, and/or geographical location

arranged in chronological order (roughly), based on date opinion issued

do not contain any other documents from case - only the opinion is published - you can sometimes find onlinememoranda, court filings, etc.

parallel citations often given (required in GA courts)

official and unofficial versions - both contain identical opinion text, but unofficial versions have "fluff"

official - published by gov't - immediately starts opinion (no fluff)

unofficial - not published by gov't - full party names, short decision, summary of case

reporters containing opinions of U.S. SUPREME COURT

United States Reports - U.S. - official - Government Printing Office (GPO)

Supreme Court Reporter - S. Ct. - unofficial - West (topic and key number)

U.S. Supreme Court Reports Lawyers' Edition - L. Ed., L. Ed. 2d - unofficial - Lexis (annotations)

reporter containing opinions of U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

Federal Reporter - F., F.2d, F.3d - West

reporter containing unpublished opinions of U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

Federal Appendix - F. App'x - West (2001+)

reporter containing opinions of U.S. DISTRICT COURTS

Federal Supplement - F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d. - West

REGIONAL reporters - West Regional Reporters include appellate decisions for each state - U.S. is divided intoseven regions, each with a reporter - GA is in S.E.

Atlantic Reporter

North Eastern Reporter

North Western Reporter

Pacific Reporter

South Eastern Reporter

South Western Reporter

Southern Reporter

STATE reporters

Ga. - Georgia Reports


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Ga. App. - Georgia Appellate Reports

not all states have their own, in which case you must refer to regional reporter

all cases published in reporters are also available on Westlaw, and most are available on Lexis (some olderstate cases aren't on Lexis)

CASE PUBLICATION PROCESS

print: slip opinion -> advance sheet -> bound reporter

slip opinion

published almost immediately - issued by clerk

no editorial enhancements individual page numbering - all citations will begin at p.1

not indexed

advance sheet

collection of slip opinions

semi-permanent pamphlet with paper cover

bound in chronological order with cases issued around the same time

cases are sequentially numbered and indexed

page numbering reflects eventual place in bound reporter

often contain publisher's editorial enhancements

primary way reporters are updated

bound reporter

permanent volumes

hard cover

uses same page numbers as advance sheets; chronological, etc.

after several advance sheets are issued, they are finally cumulated into a bound volume

official versions do not have editorial enhancements

online: opinion text only -> editorial enhancements (unofficial)

opinions posted on a court's official website will not include enhancements

West and Lexis usually post a case as soon as they get it, then add enhancements, assigning their owncitations until one is officially designated - you can use West and Lexis citations until slip opinions arepublished numbered sequentially

editorial enhancements appear in unofficial reporters only

star pagination - used to distinguish pagination when cases are in more than one reporter - West andLexis work together - *, **, ***, etc. indicate page numbers according to order of appearance in paralle(a/k/a string) citations

ELEMENTS OF PUBLISHED DECISION

caption lists names of parties and discloses whether case is civil or criminal

docket number assigned by court clerk

citation and parallel citations

syllabus summary of cases facts and courts holding prepared by editors; not part of the decision andtherefore not primary legal authority

headnotes summaries of individual points of law in a case as identified by commentators or editors; cannotbe cited as primary authority

names of counsel

star pagination shows where pages of text of other reporters begin and end

opinion author

full text of opinion

CITATIONS

reference to where a case/decision/opinion is printed in a book

volume number, reporter abbreviation, page number

PARALLEL CITATIONS

Bluebook now requires that in a document submitted to a state court, all citations to cases decided by courtsof that state should include a citation to the official reporter, if available, in addition to a regional reporter


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when case is printed in different books, citations to more than one book may be given

ex: 539 U.S. 194, 156 L.Ed.2d. 221, 1232 S.Ct. 2297


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CITATORS: SHEPARDS & KEYCITE

PURPOSE

update primary law (cases, statutes, and regulations)

keep research current make sure what youre using is still good law (hasnt been overruled or reversed)

dont get sued for malpractice!

finding tool for other primary law and secondary sources

provide access to other court documents

updating cases:

o cited authority the case youre updating

o citing authorities the subsequent cases that have discussed, explained, distinguished, disagreed

with, or merely cited your cited authority

updating statutes determine whether it has been amended, renumbered, or repealed; see which cases andsecondary sources have cited it also referred to as cited and citing authorities

updating regulations see Administrative Law discussion below also referred to as cited and citingauthorities

When should I update?

o You should use a citator to update every case, statute, or regulation you think is relevant to the legal

issue youre researching find out ASAP whether it is still good law (before you waste your time)

o You should also check again when you finalize your memo, brief, etc. statutes, especially, because

they may be significantly rewritten or may no longer exist by the time you submit your paper

Which citator should I use?

o BOTH Shepards and KeyCite

o They wont always have the same cases, statutes, etc. listed as citing authorities

o They have different features

Shepards includes statutes among cited authorities; KeyCite doesnt

KeyCite includes administrative materials among citing authorities; Shepards doesnt

Shepards reports whether an administrative regulation has been cited in a case, but does notreport whether there is a proposed rule that may affect that regulation; KeyCite does

SHEPARDS (Lexis)

begun in 1873 by Frank Shepard back then, people were pasting Shepards into actual reporters, so theywouldnt have to refer to another book referred to as Shepardizing

saves time and consolidates work

in print and online, for cases, statutes, and regulations

continues in print, but most have stopped buying it

provides:

o Prior History / Subsequent Appellant History jurisdiction, then reverse chronological order

o Citing Decisions

o subsequent treatment by other cases cautionary, positive, neutral analyses

o parallel citations

o citations to secondary sources

three ways to access onlineo front page

o Shepards tab

o From case, statute, or regulation

Signals


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o

Do not rely on these they are only guides just because there is a red or yellow doesnt mean case isall bad (might refer to another legal issue entirely

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES (TOA)

o Lists cases your case cites

o Status check of all cases cited in your case are they still good law too?

o Also use to determine strengths and weaknesses of opposing counsels cases

KWIC v. Full View

o Full shows everything that has cited case being updated

o KWIC shows only those citing authorities that have some form of analysis, plus recent citingauthorities that havent yet been analyzed

FOCUS limit your results by:

o Jurisdiction this should always be used (for mandatory authority)

o Headnote

o Date

o Type of analysis

o Can also limit within limited results

Shepards Alerts - automated updates - delivered by email, upon log-in, or via printer

KEYCITE (West)

Developed in 1996 because West couldnt use Shepards anymore

Online only for cases, statutes, and regulations

Provides:

o Full History includes graphical view

o Citing References provides hyperlink for every case that cites your authority

o Links between cases, statutes, regulations, and proposed legislation

o Citations to secondary sources (including statutes)

Accessing KeyCite

o From front page, left tab, or center of screen

o From case, statute, or regulation

Signals

o Again, do not rely on these read the case

o Depth of treatment stars (unique) more is better

o Quotes (unique) indicate that the citing case or administrative decision directly quotes cited text

Limit KeyCite Display by:


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o Headnotes

o Jurisdiction

o Date

o Document type

o Depth of treatment unique to KeyCite

o Locate like Shepards FOCUS, but has Connectors/Expanders that show you which symbols to use to

combine words and to specify proximity of those words to one another

o Can further limit within limited fields

Secondary Sources KeyCite does not include statutes as an option

Table of Authorities lists cases cited in your case

KeyCite Alerts automated updates - delivered by email, upon log-in, or via printer


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AMERICAN LAW REPORTS (ALR)

Use A.L.R. at beginning of research to get overview of topic; if not relevant annotation, look elsewhere

Annotation exhaustive compilation and analysis of all case law (state and federal) in the country related to aon selective topic; like a legal research memorandum focused on a very narrow issue

Annotation structure leading case (often unsettled, controversial, and interesting subjects) published in fulltext, followed by lengthy discussion/commentaries around the topic of the leading cases

Case view (cases are published at end of volumes and are only referenced at beginning of annotations):

o Annotation reference: Title

o Case nameo Parallel citation

o Editors summary

Annotation view:

o Annotation

o Title

o Annotation author

o Reference to practice materials

o A.L.R. reference

o Table of contents (topical outline of annotation subjects) annotations and subtopics are very specific

o Table of jurisdictions represented may not contemplate your jurisdiction, but canstill be useful

dont limit yourself to your jurisdiction, as cases outside of it may be more closely related to your factpattern and can still be used as persuasive authority

o Text of annotation

o Scope discusses things notincluded in annotation

o Cross references to related annotations

Annotations do NOT provide answers to legal questions (just a discussion), but you can synthesize one basedon cases provided

Published in many series

o A.L.R. 1st-3d both state and federal cases these will be too old to use

o A.L.R. 4th-6th state cases only (1980-present)

o A.L.R. Fed. and A.L.R. Fed. 2d federal cases only (1969-present)

Organized by publication date

About 20 annotations per volume

UPDATING:

o MultivolumeA.L.R. Index shelved at end of all series

o Subject matter index

o Covers all series, except first

o Always check pocket parts updated annually

o Online updating occurs electronically within the documents

UPDATING:

o Annotation History Table located in back ofA.L.R. Table of Laws, Rules, and Regulations volume

o Supplemented/amended updates existing annotation; read both

o Superseded old annotation isnt good; new one replaces old one; only read new one

o Online you will be alerted if an annotation has been supplemented or superseded

Citation (Bluebook Rule 16.7.6)

o Authors full name, Annotation, Title, volume / A.L.R. series / page (copyright year)

Available online with West and Lexis


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DIGESTS

Multi-volume index to case law

Includes brief summaries or digests of the opinions of reported cases on a topic

Use Headnotes, which apply to all West publications in all U.S. jurisdictions

o Editorial enhancements by West editors

o Concise statements of each legal issue discussed in the opinion - rewritten portion of opinion in easier

terms which directly apply to topic (click to link to original text of opinion)

o Consecutively numbered to provide easy access into the opinion

o Arranged by West Topic and Key Number system

Form detailed outline of all legal issues discussed in cases

Allow researchers to locate other cases on a particular issue

In a digest, legal issues are subject-arranged within topics (about 400 topics, further divided into subtopics),then numbered so each issue is represented by one Topic and Key Number

Cover all U.S. jurisdictions

o Consult Abbreviations of Courts page located in front pages of all digest volumes

o Federal Practice Digest covers all federal courts

o State digests

Cover both state decisions and federal decisions arising in that state

Nevada is only state that doesnt have a digest

GA S.E. Digest and Georgia Digest

o Regional digests

7 regional reporters, but only 4 regional digests (Atlantic, North Western, South Eastern, andPacific)

If your region doesnt have a digest, consult your states digest

GA South Eastern Digest

How to use the digests:

o Start by finding relevant Topics and Key Numbers

o Two methods:

One Good Case approach

o When you are aware of a case that deals with the issue

o If you know the citation, locate the case in a West reporter

o If you know the case name, but not the citation,

Use the Table of Cases in the jurisdictions digest to find the citation

Locate the case in West Reporter

o Scan the Headnotes in the reporter to determine which are most relevant to your issue

o Record the topic and key numbers of headnotes relevant to the issue youre researching

Descriptive Word Index approach

o Each West digest has a Descriptive Word Index (detailed subject index)

o You may need to search for legal terms or concepts rather than factual terms

o [you can also search via topic (not recommended) or Table of Cases (need jurisdiction)]

o

Select digest which most closely matches your jurisdictional needso Find the alphabetically arranged topic within digest set

o Locate Key Number within topic

o Headnote from case will be followed by case citations (arranged by highest court, then alphabetically)

o READ THE CASES do not depend on the abstract for the holding synopsis/headnotes are sometimes

based on dicta also, you may not agree with Wests editors interpretations of decisions

UPDATING:

o Pocket part or free standing supplement (huge pocket part) at end of each digest volume - only lists

updated Topics and Key Numbers

o Pamphlet updating entire digest end of set published annually only lists updated Topics and Key

Numbers


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o Supplements determine last volume of Reporter indexed check inside cover of latest digest update

to determine last reporter volume included

o Advance Sheet connected to reporters, not digests at end of set publishes newest cases not

cumulative (check every Advance Sheet!)

Both West and Lexis offer digest searching, but only West uses the Topic and Key Number system


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ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

What is it?

Rules, regulations, and decisions created by administrative agencies (federal and state executive branches)

Very large body of law

Just as important as cases and statutes

U.S. Government Manual tells you which agencies cover which specific subject areas

Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 USC 551, et seq.) governs procedural standards

o Requires agencies to publish proposed rules and allow public comments

Notice of proposed rule

Comment period

Final rule and response to comments

o Goals: transparency and accessibility due process and public participation requirements

o Two federal models 1691 and 1981

o States have their own versions of APAS

o GA has 100+ agencies

Enabling statutes (in heading of text) grant power to agencies laws enacted by legislature that createagencies and give them specific powers to deal with particular areas

Agencies bodies that have been created by the legislature to implement and carry out the will of thelegislature in a certain area (Congress cant do it all); governmental entities affective rights and duties of

individuals Agency = board, commission, authority, department, etc.

Agency documents include rules, regulations, licenses, advisory opinions, orders, decisions, etc.

How does it work?

Somewhat like legislatures authorized to promulgate regulations which have same force as statutory law

o Quasi-legislative

o Rulemaking activity

Somewhat like courts through enforcement and litigation of regulations in agency decisions

o Quasi-judicial

o Decision-making activity administrative law judges decide cases and publish opinions, but they are

hard to find and do not serve as precedent (no stare decisis in administrative law)

Somewhat like executive branch enforce decisions

Also investigative ability to research/monitor compliance

Process of making regulations

Agency publishes advance notice of rulemaking and solicits comments before proposing new regulation

Agency proposes new regulation

o Publishes draft in Federal Register, calls for comments and maybe a hearing (regular citizens can

participate more transparent than adjudication)

o Considers comments and hearing testimony, if any

Agency revises draft regulation, publishes final version with notice that it is final rule in Federal Register

Regulations are later compiled into subject matter arrangement (codified) in Code of Federal Regulations

Process summary:

Regulation proposed

Draft version published in FR

Public comment

Final version published in FR

Codified in CFR

Regulations

Not laws because they arent created by legislature, but they do have force of law

May be challenged in court, but a plaintiff must first exhaust all administrative remedies

Federal Register(FR)

Daily (M-F, except federal holidays) 70,000+ pages per year


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Arranged chronologically w/ each issue alphabetized by agency

Proposed rules and regulations include preambles (similar to legislative history of a bill)

New rules and regulations

Presidential documents executive orders and proclamations (Title 3 of CFR)

Notices (not codified in CFR)

Notices of Sunshine Act Meetings (not codified in CFR) Sunshine Act requires agencies to give notice of theirmeetings to public and to hold open meetings unless agency decides a meeting should be closed under anexemption of the act notices must be published in FR one week prior to meeting

Federal Register Index finding tool

Official online version: GPO

No comments or news items in FR

Pre-codification citation ex:Importation of Fruits and Vegetables, 60 Fed. Reg. 50,379 (Oct. 3, 1995) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. pt. 20)

How to find comments

Regulations.gov

o For regulations recently in the pipeline

o New goal is to be one-stop for all administrative activity

o For now, many, but not all, agencies participate varying levels of participation

Agencys website

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

Codified version of all final rules and regulations in force

Updated annually on a staggered basis 4x/year (1/4 of CFR is republished each quarter)

Divided into 50 titles representing different subject areas on federal regulation (do not always correspond withUSC)

Published in same sequence as statutes arranged by subject/agency - chronologically and topically

CFR Index and Finding Aids one volume published by GPO annually indexing by subject, agency, andauthorities a crapshoot (better to use one of Wests four volumes b/c they are more detailed)

Online:

o You cannot find portions of regulations that are no longer effective you MUST consult books

o West has RegulationsPlus, which makes doing regulatory research similar to doing statutoryresearch

Direct citations to cases, administrative decisions, secondary sources, etc.

Easy cross-references

USCS under enabling statute Library References / Administrative Law

USCA under enabling statute Code of Federal Regulations

Citation ex:FTC Credit Practices Rules, 16 C.F.R. 444 (2005)FTC Credit Practices Rules, 16 C.F.R. 444 (2005), WL 16 CFR s 444FTC Credit Practices Rules, 16 C.F.R. 444 (2005), LEXIS 16 CFR s 444

UPDATING

Note date of CFR volume containing section you want to update

Go to List of CFR Sections Affected(LSA) monthly pamphlet which lists any new or proposed rules affectingCFR since last publication cumulates quarterly check inside cover, which provides publication date of LSAand the CFR titles that it updates if the section youre looking for is affected, you will be referred to an FRpage number

A list of CFR sections affected for time period not covered by latest LSA is available in the last FR issue of eachmonth not covered by the LSA look for Reader Aids table near back of each FR volume

If using GPO website, you must check List of CFR Sections Affected

SHEPARDIZING use Shepards CFR Citations to learn more about treatment of regulations by courts


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FEDERAL STATUTES

Legislative Process

Bill is introduced

Passed by both House of Representatives and Senate in Congress

Signed by President or Presidents veto is overridden

Enrolled Bill becomes Public Law (a/k/a statutes, acts, legislation)

Public Laws are incorporated into statutory code by subject area (U.S.C., U.S.C.A., or U.S.C.S.)

Public Laws as Slip Laws and Session Laws

Public Laws may:

o Add a section to a code

o Change language in a section

o Repeal a section

o Renumber a section

First published by Government Printing Office (GPO) as a Slip Law

o Pub. L. number

o U.S. Statutes at Large citation

o S. or H.R. bill number

Next published as Session Law

o

Organized in chronological ordero Compiled for each session of Congress

o Useful because:

Contains original words of an act, before it is amended

You may need to find a law that has been repealed or deleted from code

Finally, codified

o U.S. Statutes at Large

official govt publication

3-5 year lag in publication of volumes

No general index only an index to each congressional session

Citation ex:

84 Stat. 2078 (1971)o U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN)

West

Monthly pamphlets reissued in bound volumes after each congressional session

Good source for selective printed legislative history material

Reprints report(s) it determines to be most closely related to the PL, which is useful if you needto determine the meaning of a statute (you can refer to reports for meaning and legislative intent ofstatutes language)

o Advance

Lexis pamphlets

End up in United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.)

o Online: Lexis Congressional Universe

Thomas

U.S. Statutes at Large Law Library / National Digital Library Program

U.S. GPO Access, Public, and Private Laws

West and Lexis

FEDERAL CODES

United States Code (U.S.C.)

o Official published by GPO

o Updated annually with hardcover cumulative supplements arrive as late as two years


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o Reissued every six years

o References U.S. Statutes at Large citations

o Includes historical notes and cross-references to related sections

o Bluebook says you must cite U.S.C. (unless not yet published), but there are problems with this and

attorneys usually cite U.S.C.S. or U.S.C.S.

o Problems:

Slow 2-year time lag

No references to interpreting case law (not annotated)

Do not use b/c you will miss current laws

United States Code Service (U.S.C.A.)

o West

o Legislative detail Historical and Statutory Notes

o Annotations Notes of Decisions

o Library references / research guides West Topic and Key Numbers

o Subject Index and Popular Names Table

o Coverage of cases is comprehensive references every case that mentions a U.S.C. provision,

regardless of whether the case holding is redundant; also references cases that reject a code provisionsrelevance

o Updating: check pocket parts, softbound pamphlets at end of set, and monthly U.S.C.C.A.N.

United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.S.)o Lexis

o Legislative detail History; Ancillary Laws and Directives

o Annotations Interpretive Notes and Decisions

o Library references / research guides A.L.R. references

o Editors identify relevant cases by weeding out redundancies and inapposite references fewer casesthan U.S.C.A., but contain longer annotations of relevant cases and more administrative cases

o Indexes and tables at end of set

o Updating:

Pocket parts or separate pamphlets

Cumulative Later Case and Statutory Service organized by citation

Monthly U.S.C.S. Advance Service arranged by public law number most current resourceUPDATING PRINTED CODES AND ONLINE CODES

Be wary of a statute that has not been altered in some way statutes seldom remain unchanged for very long

You can easily determine whether a law has been updated:

o Check copyright date on back of title page in hard-copy volumes

o Check annual pocket parts

o Check interim pamphlets and statutory supplements

Online

o Check currency note at beginning of document

o West use KeyCite to identify pending legislation that might affect statute

FINDING STATUTORY MATERIALS WITH SUBJECT

General Index at end of set reference relevant title and section number

Table of Contents browse not recommended

Online language hard to anticipate

FINDING STATUTORY MATERIALS WITH NAME OF LAW

Popular Name Table end of codes

FINDING STATUTORY MATERIALS WITH CITATION

Go to volume, turn to page

West use Find

Lexis use Get a Document

TYPES OF STATUTES


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Enabling statutes give authority to administrative agencies

Reception statutes GA former British laws we are taking the laws of England as of this date, except thosewhich conflict with our constitution

Specific statutes


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SLIP LAWS

1st published form ofstatute

SESSION LAWS

GPO compresses slip laws

CODES

Codified, bound volumes

ARRANGEMENT Individual pamphletcontaining text of law

Chronological order Topical

PRIMARY USE Immediate reference Authoritative version of astatute (final authority ifthere is any question re

wording or language)Legislative intent / history

Research

PUBLICATION Individual pamphlet nosearch options

Official: Statutes at Large

Unofficial: U.S.C.C.A.N.

Official: U.S.C.

Unofficial:U.S.C.S. (Lexis)U.S.C.A (West)

CITATION P.L. 110-181 107 Stat. 181

Do not cite USCCAN!

11 U.S.C. 523 (2000)

11 U.S.C.S. 523 (2000)

11 U.S.C.A. 523 (2000)


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GEORGIA LEGAL RESEARCH

CONSTITUTION

Current ratified 1982, effective 1983; repeals older versions

11 state constitutions between 1777 and 1983

O.C.G.A. volume 2

West Ga. Code Ann. vol. 2

CODES

O.C.G.A. Official Code of Georgia Annotated Lexis

o Code of 1983

o Citations by 53 titles, chapters, sections

o History notes; citations to GA cases and secondary materials

o Conversion tables (for Georgia Code Annotated)

o West and Lexis

Ga. Code Ann. Code of Ga. Annotated West

o Began publication in 2003

o Key Numbers; citations to West treatises and publications

o More annotations than O.C.G.A.

o Numbering same as O.C.G.A.

o No conversion tables

o West only

Georgia Code Annotated Harrison (1933-2002) - cited in cases before 1981 Ga. Code Ann. 14-1134

SESSION LAWS

Georgia Law

Annual two volumes each year (general and local) annual indexes not cumulative

Purpose clause in preambles

Effective date specified or July 1

Citation ex:1982 Ga. Laws 256

Also available on GALILEO

BILL TRACKING www.legis.state.ga.us

West

Lexis

State Bar

GeorgiaTrack

LEGISLATURE

www.legis.state.ga.us (provides session laws and unannotated version of GA Code)

40 working days per year, starting 2nd Monday in January

Two-year terms

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Official sources:

o House and Senate Journals

o Georgia Laws (preambles)

Unofficial sources:

o Peach Sheets (GSU Law Review)

o Mercer Law Review

o West

o GALILEO Carl Vincent Institute

CASE LAW IN PRINT

Official:
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/http://www.legis.state.ga.us/http://www.legis.state.ga.us/http://www.legis.state.ga.us/


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o Georgia Reports (Ga.) Supreme Court decisions also @ www.gasupreme.us

o Georgia Appeals Reports (Ga. App.) Georgia Court of Appeals decisions also @ www.gaappeals.us

Unofficial:

o South Eastern Reporter (S.E. and S.E.2d)

o Georgia Cases

Trial court decisions

o Not reported or published

o Georgia Trial Reporter verdict summaries

o Wests Jury Verdicts

PRINT DIGESTS

Georgia Digest 1st and 2nd series

South Eastern Digest 1st and 2nd series

GEORGIA RULES AND REGULATIONS

Official compilation looseleaf w/o index

GeorgiaNet via SOS

Georgia Government Register

West Ga. Regulation tracking

Lexis Ga. Rules and Regulations, RegAlert, state regulation tracking

LOCAL ORDINANCES www.municode.com 159 countiesENCYCLOPEDIAS

Encyclopedia of Ga. Law (Harrison)

Georgia Jurisprudence (Ga. Jur.)
http://www.gasupreme.us/http://www.gaappeals.us/http://www.municode.com/http://www.municode.com/http://www.gasupreme.us/http://www.gaappeals.us/http://www.municode.com/

legal bib outline

Documents