Transcript Federal Legal Print Materials Legal Writing Prof. Glassman - - Spring 2011

Federal Legal Print Materials
Legal Writing
Prof. Glassman - - Spring 2011
Federal Sources Include •
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Secondary Sources
Statutes, Constitutions, Court Rules
Regulations
Cases
Similar Ohio and Federal Resources
–Primary
Ohio Revised Code,
Annotated
Ohio Administrative
Code
Ohio St., Ohio App. And
Ohio Misc Reporters
United States Code
Annotated (or USCS)
Code of Federal
Regulations
U.S. Reports, Federal
Reporter ,Federal
Supplement
Similar Fed & Ohio - Secondary
Ohio Jurisprudence
Federal Procedure,
Lawyers Ed., (AmJur,
CJS – states & fed)
Ohio Digest
Federal Digest
Practice Books – ex.
Baldwin's Ohio Practice
Practice Books – ex.
Wright and Miller,
Federal Practice &
Procedure
ALR (all states)
ALR Fed
Research Issue
Whether an illegal alien is entitled to refugee
status based on his fear of persecution and
is entitled to asylum in the United States?
Public Law (Slip Law) (“Act”)
Statutes at Large
U.S.Code
Codification
• The public law then changes the statutory code to:
• bring all laws on the same topic together
• eliminate all repealed or expired statutes
• unite amendments with the original statute
• This process is called codification
• Visual example - Patriot Act
United States Code
divided into 50 titles, often called codes
• Title 17 is the Copyright law
• Title 26 is the Tax Code
Official United States Code (USC)
• Issued every six years with annual update
• NO references to interpreting case law,
regulations
Annotated Codes: USCA (West),
USCS (Lexis)
Cross-references
(to other USCA sections)
Library references (to
many secondary sources)
References to topic
and key numbers
Law review and journal
commentaries
Texts and treatises
History and Notes of Decisions
• Citation to Statutes at
Large, historical notes
• Notes of decisions,
summaries of cases
interpreting the statute.
• For some statutes,
decisions notes may be
hundreds of pages long.
• See sample documents, starting at page 2
Print Research Aids
• General Index
• Popular Name Table
United States Code Annotated Updates
• Cumulative pocket parts
• Interim pamphlets & statutory
supplements include new public
laws, recent notes of decisions
(case summaries).
Federal Register
Administrative Sources – Regulations Federal Register
• Published every week day, except federal
holidays
• Contains Proposed and Final Regulations,
arranged chronologically
• Lists CFR parts affected
CFR
Code of Federal Regulations
• Regulations from the Federal Register are
codified and arranged by subject in the CFR
• A regulation is cited by title, part, and section, i.e.,
37 CFR 2.167 (Title 37, Part 2 Section 167)
CFR
Updating Regulations in Print
• LSA: List of CFR Sections Affected
– Issued monthly
– Indicates final and proposed
changes made since the last
publication of the CFR set
– Free E-CFR on the web, current
within one day
• See page 16 of the pdf document for an
example of CFR
US Supreme Court Print
• United States Reports – Official
– Citation format :410 US 113
• Supreme Court Reporter (West’s)
– Citation format: 93 S. Ct. 705
• United States Supreme Court Reports
(Lawyer’s Edition)
– Citation format 35 L.Ed.2d 147
Federal Reporter and Federal
Supplement
• 13 U.S. circuit courts of appeal
• The decisions of the circuit
courts are published in the
Federal Reporter® Citation
format: 37 F.3d 300
• Federal district (trial) level
courts selectively published in
Federal Supplement, 1932Citation format: 75 F. Supp.2d
881
Other Federal Cases
• Federal Appendix
• Federal Rules Decisions
• Bankruptcy Reporter and Digests
Print Finding Tools for Federal
Cases
• Federal Practice Digest (for all federal cases)
• US Supreme Court Digest; Digest of US Supreme
Court Reports, Lawyer’s Ed
• References in treatises, encyclopedias, annotations
in codes
• Shepard’s US Citations
• U.S. Law Week
• (Google Scholar or other free web database)
Federal Court Rules - Print
• Supplement to Title 28 USCA (civil), Title
18 USCA (criminal)
• Rules volumes USCS
• Federal Local Court Rules
• Soft cover annual compilations
• Federal Practice treatises
Agency Decisions, Orders
Opinions
• Publication patterns vary – check for
official reporter
• Commercial looseleaf services
• Agency websites – e.g.: National Labor
Relations Board Decisions and Orders ;
- US Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Appeals Board Decisions
Federal Secondary Sources
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Finding tools
Commentary and analysis
Persuasive authority
Forms and practice aids
Legal Encyclopedias
• Broad overview of a topic
• Cites to primary
and secondary materials
• Arranged Alphabetically
• Index, Table of Contents
• Table of Laws & Rules volumes
Corpus Juris Secundum
(C.J.S.)
AMERICAN LAW REPORTS; ALR FED
• “Annotation” often called an ALR
article
• There are annotations focusing on
various narrow and specific questions
of law
• Also, Annotations dealing with
particular cases
• There is not an article for every legal
issue, but the issues that are covered are
very detailed and in depth
• Federal Series (ALR Fed. ALR Fed 2d),
1969-, analyzes only federal issues.
-- Sixth Series (ALR6th), Fifth Series (ALR5th),
Fourth Series (ALR4th), 1980 – to date,
analyze only state issues
– Third Series (ALR3d), Second Series (ALR2d),
First Series (ALR) 1919 - 1980 analyze both
state and federal issues
Finding Aids
ALR Indexes
• Multivolume ALR Index
– lists articles by subject matter
– includes all ALR volumes, except
those in the First Series
• ALR Federal Quick Index
• ALR Quick Index for ALR 3d, 4th, and 5th series
ALR articles
• Have jurisdictional table of cases – lists
cases for each state or federal jurisdiction
• Also an outline, research references, index,
table of laws and rules.
• See pdf example at page 19
Updating ALRs:
• Step One: Check the Table of Laws, Rules and
Regulations volume (Annotation History Table) to
see if the article is superseded
• Step Two: ALR3rd-ALR6th and ALRFed - check
the pocket part. ALR2d - Later Case
Service. ALR - Check the Bluebook of
Supplemental Decisions.
Treatises/Practice Books
• Focus on particular legal topic
Examples:
• Wright and Miller, Federal Practice and
Procedure
• Nimmer on Copyright:
How to find Treatises
• Library Catalog, Scholar
• Library Research Guides
• Major Legal Treatises and Services by Subject
• Ask the Librarian
• See pdf – example of practice book at page
28
Research Guides
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Federal Legal Materials
Legislative History Research Guide
Civil Procedure Resource Guide
Evidence Law Resource Guide