Primary Materials - Federal
Below are links to the various types of US Primary Materials:
Case Law
Statutes
Regulations
Case Law Reporters
Federal case law will be divided between three branches: U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeal (Circuit Courts), and the U.S. District Courts.
Case citations are the easiest way to retrieve a case (it is possible to find cases by party name, but may not be as exact). Case citations are structured by volume number, reporter abbreviation, and first page of the case.
U.S Supreme Court Cases: these opinions are binding on all courts in the U.S.. Supreme Court opinions are published in 3 different case law reporters: United States Reports (the official reporter) - "U.S.", Supreme Court Reporter (West) - "S. Ct.", and Lawyers' Edition (Lexis) - "L. Ed.". Sample citation for Brown v. Board of Ed. of Topeka: 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873.
Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal: There are 12 regional circuits, as well as a federal circuit for specialized cases. Opinions are binding on the District Courts within the Circuit. Circuit Court opinions are published in unofficial reporters (West): Federal Reporter - "F.", Federal Reporter Second Series - "F.2d" and Federal Reporter Third Series - "F.3d".
Federal District (Trial) Courts: There are 94 judicial districts, including at least one in each state, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and three U.S. Territories (Virgin Islands, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands). The District Court opinions are published in unofficial case reporters (West): Federal Supplement - "F. Supp." and Federal Supplement Second Series - "F. Supp.2d"
Earlier Federal Cases (dating before the Federal Reporter series) are available in Federal Case "F. Cas." bound volumes
Finding a Case
By Citation: is the easiest way of locating case law. Case citations may be found by using secondary source materials. Once you have one case citation, it is also possible to find more cases on the same topic by seeing what cases were cited by your case, and what cases cite to your case.
By Party Name: both Westlaw™ and LexisNexis™ allow users to search by party name. However, unless it is a very unique name, this is not the most effective way of locating case law.
By Topic: Westlaw™ and LexisNexis™ allow for full-text searching to find a case on a topic. For training on effective full-text searching, please schedule a training session with the Westlaw and LexisNexis representatives.
Digests: A digest is a multi-volume index to the law organized by topic and "key number" classification system. The topics are broad areas of law, with the "key numbers" providing a more narrow subtopic. West's General Digest includes a "Descriptive-Word Index" to find authorities using words that describe the legal concept you are interested in.
Case Law Status Verification
The law is constantly evolving. It is important to always check to make sure the case you have found is still good law, and to be aware of what other courts held on the relevant points of law. This has often been referred to as "Shepardizing" a case. There are two main case law citators to verify the status of your case - on LexisNexis™, it is Shepards and on Westlaw it is Keycite. Keyciting and Shepardizing are also a method for finding other cases and secondary sources relevant to your topic.
KeyCite: KeyCite will let you see the history of the case you are checking - earlier rulings in the same litigation, as well as subsequent history in the case - rulings after the opinion you are interested in; KeyCite will also provide a link to "Citing References" to view a list of cases, administrative materials, secondary sources, briefs, and other court documents that cite your case.
Shepards: Also provides both prior and subsequent history of the case, as well as tabs for "Citing Decisions" for other cases which cite to your case, and "Citing Law Reviews, Treatises, . . . and other Secondary Sources" including court documents.
Both citations use signal indicators to let you know what type of subsequent history or treatment the case has received. Red flags (Westlaw) or red stop signs (LexisNexis) will let you know that there has been negative treatment of your case - that part of the case was overruled or reversed.
Courtesy of LibGuides at New York University Law Library
What is a Statute and Where is it Published?
A federal statute is a written law passed by the legislature and signed into law by the executive (President).
The statute is published initially as a slip law. Each slip law is published individually and assigned a number. All slip laws for a particular legislative session are then compiled into a set of "session laws."
Federal session laws are compiled, in chronological order in the "Statutes at Large." U.S. Statutes at Large is the official source, published by the GPO, for the laws and resolutions passed by Congress. The Statutes at Large is also available online through HeinOnline and ProQuest Congressional. The Library of Congress also offers free access to session laws, from 1973 to the present, through Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet. United States Code Congressional & Administrative News ("U.S.C.C.A.N.") is an unofficial source of federal session laws published by West.
The statute is then incorporated into the Statutory Code - a compilation of all statutes in force for the jurisdiction - by subject matter.
The United States Code (U.S.C.) is the official source of the Federal Code. It is published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. It is published every six years and updated in the interim with annual bound cumulative supplements. It is also available online through the US GPO. There are also two unofficial versions of the Code - The United States Code Annotated ("U.S.C.A.") (also available on Westlaw) and United States Code Service ("U.S.C.S.") (also available on Lexis) - which are updated more frequently than the official Code. These unofficial codes are annotated with digests of cases that have interpreted statutory provisions, and also include helpful tables and indexes.
For a more in-depth look at statutory research, see the following:
Statutory Research
As with case law, the best place to start when doing statutory research is by using secondary source materials. Secondary sources such as legal treatises, encyclopedia, and law review articles will often refer to the controlling statutes in an area of law and are good starting places for statutory research.
There are 51 Titles in the U.S. Code. Code titles are divided into chapters, which are further divided into sections. Only the title and section numbers are used to cite to particular code sections. For example, if you were looking for the statute that prohibits debt collectors from harassing consumers: Title 15 covers "Commerce and Trade" but is subdivided into 110 chapters; chapter 41 covers "Consumer Credit Protection" and is subdivided into 6 subchapters; subchapter V covers "Debt Collection Practices" and consists of sections 1692 - 1692p; section 1692d covers harassment and abuse, so the citation would be 15 U.S.C. § 1692d.
By Citation: If you already have a citation to a federal statute code section, you can go right to the text of that section in one of the print versions of the code. The spine of each volume of the code will tell you what title(s) and section range(s) are included in that volume. Once you read your code section in the bound volume, check the pocket part or supplement for that volume to see if the code section has been amended. You may also find the code sections using Westlaw, Lexis or one of the free sites such as the GPO Access website or the Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Institute's U.S. Code Collection page (see below)
By Popular Name: The print versions of the U.S. Code contain a "Popular Name" table at the end of the General Index if you do not know the citation (e.g. USA Patriot Act, Civil Rights Act). There are also several online versions of the Popular Name index on the free sites such as the Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Institute's Table of Popular Names page, the U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Law Revision Counsel page. You may also find statutes by Popular Name on Westlaw and Lexis.
By Topic: If you do not have a citation or name of a statute, and you didn't find what you were looking for using the secondary source materials, the Federal Code also includes a subject index at the end of each set. Both Cornell University Law School's Legal Information Institute's U.S.Code Collection as well as the U.S. House of Representatives' Search the United States Code database allow you to conduct a key word search of the federal code to find relevant code sections. Keyword searching is also available on Westlaw™ and Lexis™. USCCAN and Statutes at Large also contain subject indexes for each legislative session.
By Public Law Cite: Parallel Reference Tables, located in the Tables volumes of U.S.C., U.S.C.A. and U.S.C.S. can be used to convert Public Law numbers and Statutes at Large cites to U.S.C. cites. There are also tables in Statutes at Large and USCCAN to convert bill numbers to Public Law numbers.
Verifying the Status of a Statute
As with case law, statutes are constantly evolving. Before relying on a statute as authority, you must verify that it has not been amended or repealed.
Start by checking the annual pocket parts and updated supplements. The unoffical versions of the Code (U.S.C.A. and U.S.C.S.) are generally updated monthly. However, the print versions supplements are often issued too slowly to provide thorough updating, so it may be best in this case to use online sources.
All online versions of the U.S. Code are regularly updated to include recent session laws too new to be incorporated in print version updates. This information generally accompanies each section of the Code.
On Westlaw™, use KeyCite to identify pending legislation that may affect the statute.
On Lexis™, use Shepards to identify pending legislation that may affect the statute.
Proposed legislation - For the current Congress, separate bill summary & status and bill text databases on Congress.gov can be keyword (or index) searched by date for proposed additions or amendments to the U.S. Code. Congressional bills are also keyword searchable on GPOAccess.
Judicial history: To establish the current validity of an existing statute the caselaw of the courts of the jurisdiction in which it governs should also be searched for supreme court constitutionality rulings and other holdings affecting its "good law" status. LexisNexis™ Shepard's and KeyCite on Westlaw™, in addition to tracing legislative changes, also assist in determining the judicial history of statutory provisions.
(Courtesy of LibGuides at New York University Law Library, accessed 1/16/23)
What are Federal Regulations?
Federal regulatory law consists of the rules and regulations issued by executive branch and independent agencies. Federal administrative agencies issue regulations to implement statutes under their jurisdiction. Federal Regulations are found in:
The Federal Register ("Fed. Reg."): is the official daily publication for notifying the public of rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations. The Federal Register also provides executive orders and other presidential documents. The Federal Register is published Monday through Friday (excluding Federal holidays).
The Code of Federal Regulations ("C.F.R."): is the annual codification of all the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register. The CFR is published annually. It is arranged by subject, divided into 50 Titles with each Title subdivided into chapters, parts, and sections.
Federal Register Index: is published monthly with annual accumulations. The Index provides descriptive entries and page numbers for documents published in that year. The print version is located with the bound volumes.
The Federal Register Annual Index from 1938-1998 is also available from the LLMC Digital Law Library and from 1994 to the present from the National Archives.
The CFR Index and Finding Aids: This is the paper index that comes with the CFR, in one volume. It is revised once a year. It includes a subject/agency index which directs you to a Part in the CFR. The Index also includes a Parallel Table of AUthorities and Rules divided into four segments: U.S.C. citations, Statutes at Large citations, Public Law citations and Presidential document citations. This can be used to find regulations relating to a statute or presidential proclamation.
LSA (List of CFR Sections Affected): Check for references to your CFR section in the most recent LSA. This volume should reflect changes made since that title was revised. If there have been any changes, it will refer you to pages in the Federal Register.It is also available online from the GPO.
Sources of California Primary Law:
REPORTER SETS
Supreme Court cases are published in at least two, and sometimes three, recognized reporter sets: the official reporter (California Reports) and two West reporters (Pacific Reporter and California Reporter).
Courts of Appeal cases are published in the official reporter (California Appellate Reports) and a West reporter set (California Reporter).
CASE REPORTERS - OFFICIAL
Official California Reports, Bancroft-Whitney (now LexisNexis), 1850 - 1934 (Cal.); 2nd series, 1934 -1969 (Cal. 2d); 3rd series, 1969 - 1991 (Cal. 3d); 4th series, 1991 – present (Cal. 4th).
Full text opinions of California Supreme Court Cases. Includes List of Judges, Table of Cases Reported, Table of Citations (Constitution, Statutes, Codes, Rules), and Subject Matter Table.
Official California Appellate Reports, Bancroft-Whitney (now LexisNexis™), 1905 - 1934 (Cal. App.); 2nd series, 1934-1969 (Cal. App. 2d); 3rd series, 1969 - 1991 (Cal. App. 3d); 4th series, 1991 – 2016 (Cal. App. 4th); 5th series, 2016 – present (Cal. App. 5th).
Opinions of the California Courts of Appeal and Appellate Departments of the Superior Courts. Includes List of Judges, Table of Cases Reported, Table of Citations (Constitutions, Statutes, Codes, Rules), and Subject Matter Table.
California Official Reports (Advance Sheets) Opinions of the California Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and Appellate Departments of Superior Courts which have not yet appeared in the bound volumes listed above. Grey striped pages are Supreme Court cases; white pages are Courts of Appeal and Appellate Departments of Superior Court cases (separately paginated). Includes Cumulative Subsequent History Tables (important for listing depublished cases—see Depublication of California Court of Appeal Decisions).
CASE REPORTERS - UNOFFICIAL
West’s Pacific Reporter, West, 1883-1931 (P.); 2nd series 1931–2000 (P. 2d); 3rd series 2000– present (P. 3d) Opinions from the California Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and Appellate Departments of Superior Court from 1953-1959. Beginning in 1959, only Supreme Court cases are included (Courts of Appeal and Appellate Departments of Superior Court Cases appear in West’s California Reporter from 1959). This set also includes cases from the states of Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Includes Table of Cases Reported, Words and Phrases, and Key Number Digest.
Los Angeles Daily Journal Daily Appellate Report (D.A.R.), an insert to the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Publishes the full text of opinions from the California Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal. Also includes opinions of the United States Supreme Court, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Cases, and 9th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. This is the earliest available printed version of these cases.
Lexis™ and Westlaw™California cases are available through Lexis™ and Westlaw™. Individual passwords are needed to access these online databases. Cases may become available the same day of decision or may take up to three weeks to appear, depending on the court.
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Lexis: |
Browse > Sources > By Category > Cases > CA Supreme Court Cases from 1850; CA Courts of Appeal Cases from 1905 |
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select Cases and then California (includes Supreme Court cases from 1850; Appellate Court cases from 1905) |
CASE DIGESTS
The following digests may be used to find California cases by topic. (If you already have the name of the case you want to find.) Each digest gives both official and unofficial citations. However, the topic numbers used in the California Digest of Official Reports correspond to those used in the official reporters; the key numbers used in the West digests correspond to those used in West publications. The topic numbers do not transfer between publishers.
West’s California Digest, covers 1850 - 1950
West’s California Digest 2d, 1950 - present
McKinney’s New California Digest, 1850 - 1974
McKinney’s California Digest of Official Reports, 3d & 4th, 1974 - 2003.
NOTE: McKinney’s and the Digest of Official Reports are no longer being published, but have been left on the shelves for researching cases during the time periods they cover.
West’s Pacific Digest, West, 1962 - present
Researching California law usually includes a search for relevant statutes. A good starting point for such research is secondary sources such as treatises, practice guides, and law review articles, which often include references to applicable code sections. This guide is intended to assist the user in locating and updating California statutes.
Print vs Internet Publication
California statutes are published in two different ways:
Print publication: California statutes are first officially published as Chapter Laws (individual pamphlets containing the text of new legislation). Then at the end of each Legislative Session, the Chapter Laws are compiled and published as the Statutes of California and Digests of Measures (bound as California Statutes and Amendments to the Codes). Since California does not publish an official printed code, publication of California codes are provided by two commercial publishers, West™ and Deering (Lexis™). Both versions of the codes follow the same arrangement of 29 Titles subdivided by section.
Internet publication: California Statutes and Codes are available on the Web and are usually more up-to-date than any print publication.
(Courtesy of UCLA School of Law, Hugh & Hazel Darling Law Library, accessed 1/16/2023)
CALIFORNIA CODES
West’s Annotated California Codes provides a subject arrangement of the general and permanent legislative law of California and includes court rules and uncodified laws of general interest. In addition to the text of California laws, West’s provides annotations to judicial decisions, law reviews, attorney general opinions, the California Code of Regulations, other West publications such as Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.), and the “key number” system.
Deering’s California Codes, Annotated also provides a subject arrangement of general and permanent California laws and includes court rules and important uncodified acts. Annotations to judicial decisions, Legislative Counsel Opinions, attorney general opinions, the California Code of Regulations, as well as other publications such as California Jurisprudence (Cal Jur), and Witkin’s Summary of California Law, are included. Deering’s annotations are not entirely duplicative of West’s so you should check both sources for complete coverage of the code section.
For the convenience of practitioners, various publishers produce individual code titles as well as sets of selected codes. These codes are usually unannotated and are issued annually.
CODE UPDATES
The California codes on Lexis™, Westlaw™, and the California legislature's website are updated throughout the year and are generally current. However, the printed codes are updated only once a year through supplementary pocket parts. For changes that have occurred since the date of the last pocket part, and for newly passed legislation, you must turn to chapter laws and printed advance legislative services.
Chapter Laws (session laws or statutes) are published throughout the Legislative Session by the California Legislature and include the summary digest as well as the text of newly passed statutes. Each individual Chapter Law indicates its effect on a Code or a Code section (i.e. addition, amendment, etc.).
The chapter laws are available in print and on the California legislature's website:
West’s California Legislative Service is published throughout the year and contains the text of any new Chapter Laws passed by the California Legislature. It includes tables indicating Code sections affected by new legislation, Senate and Assembly bills chaptered into law, and changes in the California Rules of Court. A cumulative subject index is published in each volume and a final cumulative index is published at the end of the legislative session.
It is available in print and on Westlaw™:
Deering’s California Codes Advance Legislative Service is also issued continuously throughout the year and contains the text of new Chapter Laws. It includes tables indicating Code sections affected by new legislation, Senate and Assembly bills chaptered into law, and changes in the California Rules of Court. A cumulative subject index is published in each volume and at the end of the legislative session.
It is available in print and on Lexis™:
Finally, a Table of Sections Affected can be found in the Legislative Index published yearly. The Table of Sections Affected indicates the effect of pending and recently passed legislation on Code sections and will direct you to the appropriate bill number.
It is available in print and on the California legislature's website:
(Courtesy of UCLA School of Law, Hugh & Hazel Darling Law Library, accessed 1/16/23)
BY CODE CITATION
With a citation to a code section, you can find the text of the law (as well as annotations in either West or Deering). Code citations use the name of the code subject and the section number, e.g., Cal Penal Code §190.3.
To retrieve a code section on Lexis or Westlaw, simply copy and paste the citation into the main search box and hit enter.
You can also retrieve code sections on the California legislature's website:
BY CHAPTER NUMBER
When you know the Chapter number of a law, you can go directly to Statutes of California and Digests of Measures (bound as California Statutes and Amendments to the Code). The Chapter number will indicate in which part of the Code the law appears. Session law citations use the session year and the specific page in the California Statutes and Amendments to the Code on which the chaptered law begins, e.g., 1994 Cal. Stat. 5675.
BY TOPIC
Many of the sources for California statutes include detailed subject indexes.
1. Statutes of California and Digests of Measures (bound as California Statutes and Amendments to the Codes) contains a subject index for each Legislative session, which provides references to the appropriate Chapter.
2. West’s and Deering’s Codes each contain a general subject index covering all 29 titles of the California Code as well as subject indexes for each individual title. The Advance Legislative Services also provides subject indexes.
3. LARMAC Consolidated Index to Constitution and Laws of California is a one-volume index providing detailed subject access to the entire set of California Codes. LARMAC also includes a listing of statutorily defined terms under the heading “Defined Terms,” with references to the appropriate defining sections.
4. Lexis™ and Westlaw™: Both online systems allow access to their versions of the code by keyword, tables of contents, and index. In addition, Westlaw also allows access by popular name. Searching the tables of contents or Westlaw’s online index may be more fruitful than keyword searching.
5. Online: The codes on the California legislature's website are searchable by topic and contains a Table of Contents to the Code.
BY POPULAR NAME
When you have the name by which legislation is commonly known, rather than a citation or subject, you can turn to Popular Name Tables.
West’s and Deering’s Annotated Codes both include Popular Name Tables in their indexes. These tables list California statutes alphabetically by their common names and provide citations to the appropriate title and section.
LARMAC also contains an alphabetical Popular Name Table (located under heading “Popular Titles”) which lists California statutes by their common names.
Shepard’s Acts and Cases by Popular Name: Federal and State provides constitutional and statutory references to the common names of both federal and state statutes and cases. Because of its comprehensive nature, Shepard’s Acts and Cases by Popular Name often lists several citations for a particular name and states are clearly identified along with the appropriate Code and section reference.
INITIATIVES AND REFERENDA
The initiative is the power of the voters to propose laws and to enact or reject them independently of the legislature. The referendum is the power of the voters to approve or reject statutes or parts of statutes passed by the Legislature.
The text of initiatives can be found in several locations:
1. Statutes of California and Digests of Measures (bound as California Statutes and Amendments to the Codes) contains the text of both initiatives and referenda in the “Propositions Submitted to the Vote of the Electors” section. A particular initiative and referendum can be found by consulting the subject index for the year in which the measure was passed by the voters.
2. West’s Annotated California Codes incorporates the text of initiative measures into the Codes. For example, the text of the Chiropractic Act is found in the Business & Professions Code. Initiatives can be found through either the general index or the indexes to the individual titles of the Code. Annotations to initiatives are included after the text.
3. Deering’s California Codes, Annotated incorporates the text of initiatives which have been codified or which affect Code sections in the main volumes of the Code. These initiatives can be found in the General Index by subject. In addition, Deering’s includes a separate volume entitled Uncodified Initiative Measures and Statutes which contains the text of uncodified initiatives except for the Chiropractic Act and the Osteopathic Act (included as appendices to the Business & Professions Code) as well as various Water District Acts. Uncodified initiatives are not included in the General Index. You must consult the index to the Uncodified Initiative Measures and Statutes in order to find the text of these initiatives. Annotations are included for both codified and uncodified initiatives.
For information on history materials for initiatives and referenda, see the library's guide to California Legislative History and Advocacy:
FINDING REFERENCES TO CALIFORNIA STATUTES
Lexis’s Shepard’s and Westlaw’s KeyCite citators provide citations to cases, attorney general opinions, legal periodical articles and some legal texts which have referred to a particular code or statute. California Codes can be Shepardized or KeyCited by their title and section numbers or, for uncodified sections, by their year and Chapter number.
Lexis’s Shepard’s California Citations, Cases and Statutes (The Law Library no longer subscribes to the print version of Shepard's).
Westlaw’s KeyCite - KeyCite also provides citations to selected secondary sources, such as American Law Reports annotations and the Witkin’s publications.
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Westlaw: |
Log in to Westlaw to KeyCite a citation
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FINDING REFERENCES TO CALIFORNIA STATUTES
Lexis’s Shepard’s and Westlaw’s KeyCite citators provide citations to cases, attorney general opinions, legal periodical articles and some legal texts which have referred to a particular code or statute. California Codes can be Shepardized or KeyCited by their title and section numbers or, for uncodified sections, by their year and Chapter number.
Lexis’s Shepard’s California Citations, Cases and Statutes (The Law Library no longer subscribes to the print version of Shepard's).
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Lexis: |
Log in to Lexis to Shepardize a citation |
Westlaw’s KeyCite - KeyCite also provides citations to selected secondary sources, such as American Law Reports annotations and the Witkin’s publications.
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Westlaw™: |
Log in to Westlaw™ to KeyCite a citation |
UNCODIFIED STATUTES AND SUPERSEDED LAW
Only laws of a general and permanent nature are put into the Codes. Generally, superseded laws cannot be found in the current sets of Codes. Locating superseded or uncodified legislation requires you to go to an earlier version of the Code or to Statutes of California and Digests of Measures (bound as California Statutes and Amendments to the Codes). Print versions are not available in our library.
Statutes of California and Digests of Measures (bound as California Statutes and Amendments to the Codes) is a permanent record of the laws passed by the California Legislature since 1850. The laws are published in chronological order and the set includes constitutional amendments, approved voter initiatives and referenda, and the summary digest for bills passed. In addition, it includes tables of Code sections affected, vetoed bills, and cross-reference tables from bill number to Chapter Number. There is also a subject index for each Legislative Session. Print versions are not available inour library.
Both Westlaw™ and Lexis™ archive earlier versions of the Code:
On Lexis™, retrieve the code section by citation and then click Archived code versions in the right sidebar to retrieve earlier versions of the section.
(Courtesy of UCLA School of Law, Hugh & Hazel Darling Law Library, retrieved 1/16/2023)