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Legal research links to the four main sources
of U.S. & California law provided
free by Navigate the site using
the links below: Constitutions Case Law Statutes Administrative Regulations Introduction American law is primarily derived
from four sources: constitutions, case
law, statutes and administrative regulations. This website has a section
devoted to each of those four sources of law.
In addition, there is a section on executive orders and treaties. Each section below contains links to free
resources for California and U.S. law in each of the four categories of law. Constitutions Constitutions
provide for a government's 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,
the legislative, and the judicial. 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 U.S.
state also has its own constitution. Cities and counties may have charters,
which serve as a kind of constitution at the local level. 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
(Cornell University) Searchable by keyword, includes
annotations (Findlaw.com) 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
University of Oklahoma has assembled a collection of U.S. historical
documents in chronological order from the pre-colonial era to the present. |
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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 often called ordinances. Statutes do
not carry as much weight as constitutional provisions. Statutes must not
conflict with constitutional provisions. California
Statute Links Full
text of all 29 California Codes organized in a table of contents-style This
is an official website where users can search California statutes by chapter
number. When legislative bodies enact statutes, they are first published in
large volumes with chapters containing all the statutes passed during that legislative
session. These so-called session laws are not grouped together by topic, but
chronologically in the order in which they were enacted in each session. So,
in these volumes containing session laws you may find, for example, a law
dealing with crime next to a law dealing with regulations for dry
cleaners. Later, the new statutes are
published in the appropriate code books. California's
official version of the Uniform Commercial Code California Legislative History Directly
related to statutes is something called the legislative history of a
statute. The legislative history of a California
statute refers to any of the materials generated in the course of creating
California state statutes. California legislative history can include such
things as state Assembly and Senate committee reports, analyses prepared by
legislative counsel, floor debates and histories of actions taken. California legislative history is used for discovering sources
of information about the legislative intent.
The following links are useful for compiling a
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 California statutes and case law and recommends legislation to
make reforms. This
is an agency of the legislature that analyzes policy and budget. California
Legislative History (A
How-To Guide) This
handy guide from Hastings College of the Law explains how to conduct a
legislative history for a California statute. 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 Cornell University's Legal Information
Institute From the Legal
Information Institute at Cornell University Federal Legislative History As
mentioned above, all statutes have a 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. The following links are useful for compiling a
federal legislative history: 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
Georgetown University). 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 concept is also known as stare decisis,
which is Latin for “let stand that which has been decided.”
Courts are also frequently called upon to explain and clarify the meaning of
statutes. Google Scholar for Case Law Google Scholar (Main search page) Google
Scholar (Advanced search page) California
Case Law Links 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 California case
law. California Supreme
Court & Courts of Appeal Slip Opinions A slip opinion is an opinion that is either not
published or not yet published in a reporter. Slip opinions generally are
available from the court directly either in print or on its web site. Slip opinions certified for publication or
ordered published in the Official Reports in the last 120 days are posted at
the above link. 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. U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals Opinions Another good source for
U.S. Supreme and Circuit Court of Appeals opinions is AltLaw,
a free, full-text, searchable database of U.S. case law providing from the
U.S. Supreme Court, since 1805; and the U.S. Circuit Appeals Courts, since
1950 |
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State
and federal administrative agencies have a dual role. These agencies can act
quasi-legislatively by enacting rules and regulations which have the force of
law. These agencies can also act quasi-judicially by hearing disputes
involving the application of their own administrative regulations. These
agencies can then issue binding legal opinions. Examples of federal
administrative agencies include the Internal Revenue Service and the
Environmental Protection Agency. California
Administrative Regulations Links 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's Administrative Procedure
Act, transmits these regulations to the Secretary of State and publishes
regulations in the California Code of Regulations. 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 California Attorney General have been accorded
“great respect” and “great weight” by the courts. Legal opinions of the California Attorney
General issued since 1986 may be viewed on this website. 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 (CFR) 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. |
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Treaties
and Executive Orders Two
often overlooked source of law are treaties and executive orders. Treaties are formally signed agreements
between two or more countries. Executive
orders are orders issued by the head of the executive branch of the state or
federal government. U.S. Presidents
have issued executive orders since 1789, usually to help direct the operation
of executive officers. Some orders do have the force of law when made in
pursuance of certain Acts of Congress, when those acts give the President
discretionary powers. Treaty Links Office
of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs This
site is the principal U.S. government repository for U.S. treaties and other
international agreements. Executive Orders Links Executive Orders of the
Governor of California The
link above contains current and archival executive orders issued by the
governor of California dating back to 1999. Executive
Orders of the President of the United States Executive
orders are official documents used by the President of
the United States to manage the federal government. 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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E-Z Legal Research Constitutions Case Law Statutes Administrative Regulations Back to Updated May 6,
2010 |