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Statutes

Statutes. Basic Legal Skills January 13, 2006. Research Process Review. Preliminary Analysis Secondary sources Key words & phrases Statutes Mandatory Precedent Persuasive Precedent Refine, Double-Check & Update. Gallagher College of Statutory Knowledge. Build on what you know

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Statutes

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  1. Statutes Basic Legal SkillsJanuary 13, 2006

  2. Research Process Review • Preliminary Analysis • Secondary sources • Key words & phrases • Statutes • Mandatory Precedent • Persuasive Precedent • Refine, Double-Check & Update

  3. Gallagher Collegeof Statutory Knowledge • Build on what you know • Explore options for finding statutes

  4. What? Who? Why? How? • A body of laws written by legislatures (U.S. Congress & state) • Under constitutional authority • Concerning rights & obligations of residents & businesses

  5. Lesson One Look for statutes early in the legal research process

  6. 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.) Law IN Order

  7. Deciphering Citations Americans with Disabilities Act • Pub. L. No. 101-336 • 104 Stat. 327 • 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq. Growth Management Act • Laws, 1990 1st ex.s. c 17 • RCW 36.70A

  8. 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 Official vs. Unofficial Codes

  9. Compare Cornell’s Legal Information Institute 42 U.S.C. § 12112 Westlaw, United States Code Annotated 42 U.S.C.A. § 12112

  10. Searching for Statutes • Google? • Secondary sources • Indexes • Tables of contents • Popular names • Full-text online • Agency websites

  11. Westlaw

  12. LexisNexis

  13. Hints • Be creative, flexible & persistent • Consider synonyms • Recheck secondary sources Child? Infant? Minor? Juvenile? Issue? Offspring? Youth? Rugrat?

  14. Lesson 2 Use multiple approaches to identify relevant statutes

  15. Update! • Determine how up to date the source is • Lexis & Westlaw update statutes frequently • Free Internet sites & print sources may be equally current (or out of date)

  16. Review • Look for statutes early in the legal research process • Use multiple approaches to locate relevant statutes • Update the statute

  17. Gallagher Guide Statutory Research Checklist, http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/statute.htm • Basic approaches • Links to guides & tutorials

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