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Free legal research links to the four main sources of U.S.
& California law EZ Legal Research Constitutions Case Law Statutes Administrative Regulations Constitutions Constitutions
provide for a governments authority to exist. In addition, constitutions often
enumerate the rights and duties of the government and its citizens. The U.S. Constitution does the foregoing
in addition to establishing the organization of the three branches of the
federal government: the executive branch, the legislative
branch, and the judicial branch. In almost all systems of
government, the constitutional rules carry the most weight and will prevail
when they conflict with other rules promulgated within that system. Each This is an official
website. It contains a
hyperlinked table of contents to the California Constitution. Search the California Constitution by keyword. This copy of the U.S. Constitution is organized by Preamble,
Articles, Signers and Amendments ( Searchable
by keyword, includes annotations (Findlaw.com) |
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Foundational Documents Related to the U.S.
Constitution are those documents that preceded the U.S. Constitution, such as
the Articles of Confederation, and other writings and documents that were
generated while the Constitution was being formulated. The Articles of Confederation are the documents that were the basis for
the United States Government prior to the adoption of the Constitution. From the Indiana
University School of Law website. First published in 1788,
this collection of 85 essays by Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton, John
Jay, and James Madison, was aimed at garnering public support for the
proposed Constitution. The |
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Statutes are
legislative enactments or laws passed by legislative bodies at the federal or
state level. At the local level,
such enactments are called ordinances. Statutes do not
carry as much weight as constitutional provisions. Statutes must not conflict with
constitutional provisions. Full text of all 29
California Codes organized in a table of contents-style This is an official
website where users can search |
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California Legislative
History This is a searchable
list of all Senate and Assembly bills introduced since 1993 Get full text of bills,
resolutions & constitutional amendments. Also check status, history,
votes, analyses, and veto messages The LRC reviews This is an agency of the
legislature that analyzes policy and budget. California
Legislative History (A How-To Guide) This handy guide from Legislative History Clearinghouse This webpage
contains a complete range of Legislative History, Legislative Intent, and
other Legislative Research Services and Information compiled by Jan Raymond,
an attorney whose company provides legislative histories for a fee. Check status, history, votes, analyses, and
governor's veto messages.
Also, get full text of bills, resolutions & constitutional amendments |
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Federal Statute Links Full text access the
U.S. Code via This is a searchable, official U.S. Code This official U.S. Code
is organized by title From the Legal Information Institute at |
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Federal Legislative
History Federal legislative
history refers to any of the materials generated in the course of creating
federal statutes. Federal legislative
history can include such things as House of Representatives
and Senate committee reports, floor debates and histories of actions taken. Federal legislative history is used for
discovering sources of information about the legislative intent. THOMAS is your link to
official federal legislative information. Get full text of bills,
bill history, and Congressional debates. Federal
Legislative History (A How-To Guide) This link explains how
to conduct a legislative history for a federal statute (from The History of Bills lists legislative actions on bills that are
reported in the Congressional Record. |
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Case law, also known as
common law, is the body of law developed through the years from court
decisions. Courts are required to follow
these prior decisions, called precedents, if the prior case was decided by a
higher court within the jurisdiction, and the case under review has similar
legal issues and facts to that of the prior case. This is known as stare decisis,
which is Latin for let stand that which has been decided. Courts
are often called upon to explain and clarify the meaning of statutes. California Supreme Court
& California District Courts of Appeal opinions from 1934 to present. Lexis-Nexis is now the
publisher of California Official Reports. Their website provides free access to official Federal Case Law Links Free
access to U.S. Supreme Court opinions from FindLaw.com. Search by citation,
party name, or search the full text of opinions by key word. Or, browse U.S.
Supreme Court Decisions: by
volume, by
year U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals
Opinions Free access to U.S.
Circuit Courts of Appeals opinions from FindLaw.com. Searchable by circuit,
date, docket number, party name, or full text. |
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State and federal
administrative agencies have a dual role in that they can act
quasi-legislatively by enacting rules and regulations which have the force of
law, and quasi-judicially by hearing certain types
of disputes and issuing binding legal opinions. Examples of federal administrative agencies include the
Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental
Protection Agency. California Code of Regulations The California Code of
Regulations contains the text of the regulations that have been formally
adopted by state agencies. California
Office of Administrative Law
The Office of
Administrative Law reviews administrative regulations proposed by state
agencies for compliance with the California Administrative Manual
The State Administrative
Manual is a reference source for statewide policies, procedures, regulations
and information developed and issued by authoring agencies such as the
Governor's Office, Department of General Services (DGS), Department of
Finance (DOF), and Department of Personnel Administration. Calif. Attorney General Opinions As the chief law
officer of the state, the California Attorney General provides legal opinions
upon request to designated state and local public officials and government
agencies on issues arising in the course of their duties. The formal legal
opinions of the Attorney General have been accorded “great respect” and
“great weight” by the courts. Legal opinions of
the Attorney General issued since 1986 may be viewed on this website and
searched using the online search links below. In addition to searching
opinions by year and by key words or phrases, you may now search for opinions
by specific citations. Federal Administrative Regulations Links The Code of Federal
Regulations contains the text of rules that have been adopted by various
federal agencies. Most CFR provisions are
contained in the United States Code. Electronic Code of Federal
Regulations Not an official legal
edition of the CFR, but is easy to use. You can locate the text of all regulations by topic. Executive
Orders of the President Executive orders are
official documents used by the President of the Codification of Presidential Proclamations
and Executive Orders From the Office
of the Federal Register.
(April 13, 1945, through January 20, 1989.) Weekly
Compilation of Presidential Documents Published each Monday,
the compilation contains statements, messages, and other executive branch
materials released the preceding week. |
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Disclaimer
This website was
developed for educational and
informational purposes only. The creators of the site are not attorneys. None
of the information on the site is intended to be legal advice. You should
consult with an attorney prior to acting on any information found here. This
site contains links to sites on the Internet owned and operated by third parties. We are not responsible for the availability of,
or the content located on or through, any such third-party site. Use the
information found on this site, and on the external sites,
at your own risk. Any similarity to other
legal research websites is unintentional, and given the nature of such sites,
may be unavoidable. |
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