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Basic Law Reference
Tips from the Maryland State Law Library
for Maryland AskUsNow!March 2008
What do we mean by “the law”?
BLR 3/2008
Types of Law
BLR 3/2008
Regulations(Issued by executive
agencies)
Statutes(Passed by the
legislature)
Cases(Decisions from the
courts)
Levels of LawFederalLegislative:U.S. Congress
Regulatory:Federal Agencies
Judicial (Case):Federal Courts
State (Maryland)Legislative:General Assembly
Regulatory:State Agencies
Judicial (Case):Court of AppealsCourt of Special
Appeals
LocalLegislative:County Council
Regulatory:Rare
Judicial (Case):none
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Terminology• Glossary at:
www.lawlib.state.md.us/glossary.htm• Black’s Law Dictionary or other legal
dictionary
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Don’t get thrown off
by the vocabulary
– look it up!
COMMON TERMS:
Judicial (case) law: case, docket, decision, opinion, reported, unreported
Statutory law: legislation, bill, act, statute, code
Regulatory law: regulation, rule, agency, register
The Maryland Court System•District Court
•Circuit Court
•Court of Special Appeals
•Court of Appeals
•Other courts
BLR 3/2008http://www.mdcourts.gov/courts-organization.pdf
District Court
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•Created in 1970 to replace municipal and people’s courts
•Administered on a State level (Chief Judge)
•Criminal jurisdiction: all misdemeanors and some felonies
•Civil jurisdiction: landlord-tenant cases small claims ($5000 and below) some domestic violence some civil claims between $5000 and $25,000
•Arguments are before a judge only; no juries
•Issues a DECISION, but not a written OPINION
Circuit Court
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•One in each county; administered on a county basis
•Civil jurisdiction: amounts over $25,000 jury trials divorce
•Criminal jurisdiction: serious felony cases such as murder
•Appeals: from District Court, Orphans’ Court and certain administrative agencies
Court of Special Appeals
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•Appeals from the Circuit Court, and others
•Hears ALL appeals presented to it
•There are thirteen (13) judges; cases are heard before a panel of three (3)
•Oral arguments are presented by each side; no witnesses; no facts argued
•Issues a written OPINION, but not all opinions are REPORTED
Court of Appeals
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•Highest (“supreme”) court in Maryland
•Selective about the cases it hears – writ of certiorari (“cert”) or by choice, except death penalty cases which they must hear
•There are seven (7) judges; every case is heard by all seven
•No facts are argued
•Adopts rules of procedure for all Maryland courts
The Legal Reference Question
• Interpretation vs. Information• Process vs. Theory• Identifying the level and type of
law required• Primary vs. Secondary Sources
BLR 3/2008
FormsA note on forms: though there are official forms from the
Maryland District Courts for many issues (garnishment, peace orders, etc.), there are very few actual forms for the Circuit Courts (with the exception of family law matters). Filings submitted to the Circuit Courts follow format rules provided in the Maryland Rules. Some of the Rules have nice specific formats, some just inform the filer of the content necessary.
There are many, many commercially-published forms books with samples for litigants to follow. These are available in law libraries, and probably a few public libraries. There is also an online database, available from Gale, of suggested forms. The State Law Library is currently evaluating this product with the idea of purchasing a subscription for patron use.
BLR 3/2008
Primary vs. Secondary Sources• Primary: comes from or is designated as
official by the actual body creating the law: Legislative – codes, statutes, legislation Executive – regulations, orders Judiciary – cases, court rules
• Secondary: provided or generated by a non-primary-creating source, such as a commercial publisher or non-profit legal agency: Legal encyclopedias (AmJur, CJS, MLE) American Law Reports (ALR) Treatises (textbooks) Law reviews and journals Locating tools: digests and citators (Shepard’s, KeyCite)
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Annotated Code of Maryland
Annotated simply means added notes that are a secondary source
Code means that the statutory language has been organized (codifed) by topic
Black volumes vs. Red volumes
The 1957 Code
Replacement volumes
Pocket parts
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A word on Code organization…“Annotated” means containing research and case notes to aid in further research. These notes are added by the publishers and are therefore copyrighted, and only available in the print version of the Code or the fee databases
“Article” refers to the breakdown by topic within the Code. An older edition of the Code (1957 ed.) used number designations to break up topics. Beginning in the 1970s these numbered breakdowns have been “recodified” – rewritten for clarity, reorganized and renamed by topic rather than number.
“Title” refers to the breakdown within each Article. “Subtitle” further breaks down the topics
See citation slides for breakdowns…
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Law Citations: Codes & Statutes
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Ann. Code Md. Family Law 13 102(a)
Annotated Code of Maryland
Article Title
Subtitle / Section
Ann. Code Md. Family Law §13-102(a)
Ann. Code Md. Family Law 13 102(a)
Annotated Code of Maryland
Article Title
Subtitle / Section
Ann. Code Md. Family Law §13-102(a)
Law Citations: Court Rules
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Md. Rule 6 301
Maryland Rules of Procedure
Title Chapter
Md. Rule 6-301
Law Citations: Regulations
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COMAR 10.07.03.24
COMAR 10 07 03 24
Code of Maryland Regulations
Title
Subtitle
Chapter
Regulation
Law Citations: Cases
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Batson v. Shiflett, 325 Md. 684, 602 A. 2d 1191 (1992)
Batson v. Shiflett 325 Md. 684 602 A. 2d 1191 (1992)
Parties to the case
Volume Page
Parallel citation
Date
Reporter
Print Resources: Best Bets
• Annotated Code of Maryland• Maryland Rules (accompany the Code set)• Maryland Law Encyclopedia• Nolo / Sphinx publications• Other key Maryland titles:
Maryland Recommended Titles list for Maryland Circuit Court Libraries available at:www.lawlib.state.md.us/Countylibrarymaterials.htm
BLR 3/2008
Law on the Internet:Website Reliability
• What does the domain name indicate?(.edu, .gov, .us, .com, .net, .org)
• Are references cited and documented?• Is the content updated and up-to-date?• Is there contact information for
owner(s), editors and/or authors?• Has the site been recommended by a
reliable source?
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Web Resources (Maryland)
• Maryland Judiciarywww.mdcourts.gov
• Maryland State Law Librarywww.mdcourts.gov/lawlib
• Maryland People’s Law Librarywww.peoples-law.info
• Maryland General Assemblywww.mlis.state.md.us
• University of Maryland Thurgood Marshall Law Library web site has very good in-depth material on doing legal researchwww.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/researchguides
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Web Resources (Federal)
• U.S. Government Printing OfficeGPO Accesswww.gpoaccess.gov
• Cornell University’sLegal Information Institutewww.law.cornell.edu
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Referrals: Where and How?
• Maryland State Law Library(410) [email protected]
• County Law Librarieswww.lawlib.state.md.us/CLLD/Directory_CCLL.html
• State Judiciary• Government Agencies• Non-profit Organizations
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MSLL Favorite Referrals• GENERAL AND PROCEDURAL
Clerk’s Offices: www.mdcourts.gov• LANDLORD / TENANT
Baltimore Neighborhoodswww.bni-maryland.org
• FAMILY LAWWomen’s Law Center: www.wlcmd.orgCircuit Court Family Law Clinicswww.courts.state.md.us/family
• CONSUMER ORIENTEDAttorney General’s Consumer Protectionwww.oag.state.md.us/Consumer/
• LAND DEEDS AND RECORDSRegisters of Wills: www.registers.state.md.us
BLR 3/2008