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