Statutes Basic Legal Skills January 10, 2005

Research Process Review Preliminary Analysis –Secondary sources –Key words & phrases Statutes Mandatory Precedent Persuasive Precedent Refine, Double-Check & Update

Gallagher College of 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 Stat U.S.C. § § et seq. (Titles 1-50)Titles 1-50 Growth Management Act Laws, st ex.s. c 17 RCW 36.70A (Titles 1-91)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. § 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 WA-ST-ANN on Westlaw (index)WA-ST-ANN ARCW on LexisNexisARCW

Indexes and Popular Names Westlaw –USCA-IDX & USCA-POPUSCA-IDXUSCA-POP –USCA links to index & popular names tableUSCA –WA-ST-ANN & WA-ST-IDXWA-ST-ANNWA-ST-IDX USCS Popular Name Table on LexisUSCS Popular Name Table Popular Name Table on LIIPopular Name Table Print sets AUTOMOBILES 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 CounselOffice of Law Revision Counsel –RCW Sections AffectedRCW 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