Federal Legal Print Materials

Legal Writing

Prof. Glassman - - Spring 2011

Federal Sources Include -

• Secondary Sources

• Statutes, Constitutions, Court Rules

• Regulations

• Cases

Similar Ohio and Federal Resources –Primary

Ohio Revised Code, Annotated

United States Code Annotated (or USCS)

Ohio Administrative Code

Code of Federal Regulations

Ohio St., Ohio App. And Ohio Misc Reporters

U.S. Reports, Federal Reporter ,Federal Supplement

Similar Fed & Ohio - SecondaryOhio 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• bring all laws on the same topic together• eliminate all repealed or expired statutes• unite amendments with the original statute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

Cross-references(to other USCA sections)

Law review and journalcommentaries

Library references (tomany secondary sources)

References to topic and key numbers

Texts and treatises

Annotated Codes: USCA (West), USCS (Lexis)

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).

Administrative Sources – Regulations -Federal Register

• Published every week day, except federal holidays

• Contains Proposed and Final Regulations, arranged chronologically

• Lists CFR parts affected

Federal Register

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

CFR

• 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, 1932- Citation 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

• 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.)

• “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

AMERICAN LAW REPORTS; ALR FED

• 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

• Federal Legal Materials

• Legislative History Research Guide

• Civil Procedure Resource Guide

• Evidence Law Resource Guide