1. Legal Research I Government Structure and Sources of Law
LR-I
Legal Research I Government Structure and Sources of Law
Maryland State Law Library Mary Jo Lazun and James Durham
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

2. Course Outline Government structure Primary sources Secondary sources
LR-I
Government structure
Primary sources
Secondary sources
Steps in Legal Research
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 201

3. Law-Making Bodies of Government
LR-I
LEGISLATURE Congress / General Assembly
JUDICIARY Courts
EXECUTIVE President / Governor Agencies (ex: Department of Education)
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

4. And don’t forget about the CONSTITUTION
Kinds of Law They Make
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LEGISLATURE Statutes (aka Acts, Laws, Statutes, “Codes”)
And don’t forget about the CONSTITUTION
JUDICIARY Cases (aka Case law, judicial opinions) Rules (aka Rules of Procedure)
EXECUTIVE Regulations (aka regulations)
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

5. Levels of Law LR-I FEDERAL STATE Maryland LOCAL County, municipality
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

6. Flow of Law LR-I Understand the steps Legislative process Introduction
Committee work
Debate
Passage
Signing
Judicial process
Trial level
Appellate level
Executive / Regulatory process
Proposal
Publication and comments
Finalized rule
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

7. Primary Sources
LR-I
Created by the governmental body itself, i.e. THE LAW: Constitution Legislature: legislation, statutes, codes Judiciary: cases, court rules Executive: regulations
Hold the FORCE OF LAW
Basis for legal arguments
Cited in legal filings
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

8. Secondary Sources LR-I
Describe, analyze, discuss the law Legal encyclopedias Treatises (aka books) Law reviews and journals Rarely cited in a legal filing
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

9. LR-I
Constitution
Basis for created law for all federal and state government entities
Some issues of law go directly to the Constitution
Maryland Constitution includes:
Oath of Office for elected and appointed persons
Qualifications of judges
Home Rule for Code Counties
Declaration of Rights
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

10. Law from the Legislature
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Known usually as statutes (aka statutory law)
First level of primary law
Legislative law is the basis for other primary law: cases interpret the statutes; regulations implement or carry out those statutes
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

11. Maryland Legislative Materials
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Enacted by the Maryland General Assembly
Pass both chambers and signed by the Governor
Introduced as “bills”; when passed, “acts” or “statutes”
Printed in Laws of Maryland.
After passage, the statutes are broken out topically (codified) and placed into the Annotated Code of Maryland
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

12. Laws of Maryland
LR-I
“Session Laws”: pre-codified, enacted legislation
Arranged by passage date, published annually
Contains a copy of the exact bill as passed by the General Assembly; text fonts indicate language changes
Useful for in-depth legislative history
Most legislative-based legal research is based on the Code
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

13. Annotated Code of Maryland
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Code = statutory language organized by topic (codified)
Annotated = notes with cases and secondary sources
Aid in further research, interpretation and understanding
Copyrighted; only available in PRINT or FEE-BASED versions
Two versions, both adopted as official by the General Assembly
Lexis (Michie): well-established, more popular
West: published since 2002
Annotations vary
Code text is the same
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

14. Maryland Code Organization
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Article = topical breakdown
Older Code editions (such as the 1957 ed.) used number designations to break up topics
Title = breakdown within each Article
Subtitle = further breakdown of topics
Section = discrete component often abbreviated as §
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

15. Annotated Code of Maryland: Contents and Updates
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Main text
Updates
An updated set has:
Pocket parts
Supplements
Replacement Volumes
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

16. Finding Aids for the Code
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Finding Aids for the Code
INDEX--print only
Two-volume paperbound supplement to full set
Article-specific index at end of each Article
TABLE OF CONTENTS—print and online
Terminology is critical
If unsure, scan the TOC for relevant sections
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

17. Citation Format for the Code
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Subtitle
Ann. Code Md. Family Law § (2006 Rep. Vol, 2009 Supp.)
Md. Code
Md. Code Ann.
Article
Title
Main Date
Supp Date
Critical:
ARTICLE NAME and SECTION NUMBER Family Law
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

18. Local Codes (in Maryland)
LR-I
23 counties, Baltimore City, other municipalities
Created by ordinances or bills from the County or City Council or the County Commissioners
Local laws apply locally
Parking
Zoning
Landlord-Tenant
Noise
No local law can conflict with state law
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

19. Law from the Executive LR-I
Created by the Executive - Governor and Executive Departments and Agencies
Known as regulations (aka regulatory law)
Regulations implement statutes
Review proceedings are usually referred to as administrative hearings
Authority to make regulations comes from state statute
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

20. Maryland Executive Materials
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Maryland Executive Materials
Written and proposed by Executive Department or Agency
Comment period before finalization
Printed as proposed and final in the Maryland Register
Final Regulations codified in the “Code of Maryland Regulations” - COMAR
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

21. COMAR (Code of Maryland Regulations)
LR-I
Contains only final regulations
Arranged by agency in numbered titles
Print copy is “official,” updated annually
Online version is unofficial, updated much more frequently
There is no correspondence between the numbers of COMAR articles and the numbers (when they had them) of statutory articles
Each chapter has an Administrative History at the end
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

22. Finding Aid for COMAR LR-I
No index to the full COMAR published with the set
Indexes to each individual Title within COMAR at the end of that Title
Lexis publishes Index to COMAR annually
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

23. Citation Formats for Regulations
LR-I
Maryland Register
20:22 Md. R (1993)
Volume: Issue Register Page (Year)
COMAR
Title Subtitle Chapter Regulation
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

24. Law from the Judiciary LR-I Case law = common law
Interpretation of statutory law
Set precedent
Same force of law as statutory law
Rules of Procedure
process in the courts
critical primary source
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

25. Maryland Judicial Materials
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Maryland has four courts: District (trial court) Circuit (trial court) Court of Special Appeals (intermediate appellate court) Court of Appeals (highest court)
Opinions published for the appellate courts; not usually for trial courts
Only REPORTED OPINIONS have the force of law
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

26. Maryland Judicial Materials: Court of Appeals
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Maryland Judicial Materials: Court of Appeals
Highest court, from pre-Revolution
All cases heard by all 7 judges
Jurisdiction over:
Gubernatorial succession
Review of legislative redistricting
Discipline of judges and attorneys
Chooses cases to hear (petition for writ of certiorari)
All death penalty cases
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

27. Maryland Judicial Materials: Court of Special Appeals
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Maryland Judicial Materials: Court of Special Appeals
Created in 1966 (first judges sworn in January 1967)
Must hear all appeals (no cert)
13 judges; cases heard by panels of 3; decisions by majority vote
Hears appeals from Circuit Court, Orphans’ Courts, Administrative hearings
Only a small percentage of opinions of the Court of Special Appeals are “reported” and are therefore precedent-setting, or “law”
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

28. Cases (Reporters) LR-I Official versions: Maryland Reports
Maryland Appellate Reports
Opinions published in date order, as they are issued
Published by West since 1984; every opinion now contains “Key Numbers” that match a topical digest system
Alternative “unofficial” print sources of opinions: Atlantic Reporter, West’s Maryland Reporter
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

29. Citation Format for Cases
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Figueiredo-Torres v. Nickel, 321 Md. 642, 584 A.2d 69 (1991)
Party names Volume Reporter Page Parallel Cite Year
Md. = Maryland Reports = COA
Md. App. = Maryland Appellate Reports = COSA
Parallel cite = another reporter where the text of the same opinion can be found
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

30. Finding Aid for Cases: Digests
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Reporters do not have indexes
Digest = books with case summaries, arranged by topic and subtopic
There are digests covering single and multiple jurisdictions; for Maryland cases, use the Maryland Digest
Access is through a subject index: Descriptive Word Index
Update topic using the pocket part
Each case summary includes a citation to the full text in a reporter
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

31. Citators LR-I Collection of citations to a particular case
Used to:  Locate the history of a case  Verify reliability of a case as precedent  Locate similar cases or texts that interpret or analyze a case
Cases are not static, they can change significantly by subsequent interpreting cases
Primarily used in electronic format (KeyCite, Shepard’s)
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

32. Maryland Judicial Materials: Court Rules
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Maryland Judicial Materials: Court Rules
Rules = court procedure
time frames for filings and responses
formats for documents filed with the courts
and more
Authority for having Rules is established by MD Constitution
COA by statute appoints a Rules Committee to review, revise and write Rules
When proposed and finalized, printed in the Maryland Register
Current Rules in print and on the internet are published as part of the Maryland Code
Rules volumes also contain the Rules of the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

33. Secondary Sources LR-I
Secondary sources are those which are not law themselves, but rather interpret, discuss, analyze, or otherwise discourse upon primary law. They are useful to the researcher for several reasons:
Background research on an unfamiliar topic of law
Source of citations to primary authorities
Suggestions for further approaches to the research
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

34. Legal Encyclopedias: MLE, CJS, AmJur 2d
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Brief integrated overview of the law in a topical area (arranged by topic)
Brings together case law, statutory law, administrative law into a single short discussion
Descriptive rather than analytical
Very good starting place
Access using a word index that accompanies the encyclopedia
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

35. American Law Reports (ALRs)
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American Law Reports (ALRs)
Collection of articles, much like a law review
Individually authored
Good case-finding source
Topics are more specific and contemporary than encyclopedias
Access through a Descriptive Word Index
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

36. Treatises LR-I AKA hornbooks, casebooks, nutshells, textbooks
In-depth scholarly work on a particular topic
Nutshells are more basic overviews of a topic
Citations / annotations to relevant cases and statutory law
Finding aid: law library’s catalog!
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

37. Law Reviews and Journals
LR-I
Address very specific, usually “hot” topics
Law reviews have traditionally been considered to be the most scholarly of the secondary sources, very citable
Current multitude of this type:
law school reviews
professional and bar association publications
legal publishers’ newsletters
Finding aids:
periodical indexes
online databases
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

38. Steps in Legal Research
LR-I
1. Analyze the question or issue.
What is the legal and/or subtopic of the question/issue?
What words (and their synonyms) would you search or look up in an index to find an answer?
Is this topic or issue most likely addressed by the judiciary (cases), the legislature (code) or the executive (regulations) or a combination?
Is this issue mostly likely governed by federal, state or local law?
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

39. Steps in Legal Research
LR-I
Steps in Legal Research
2. Use secondary sources as needed for clarification or background
Start with an encyclopedia or treatise
If the area of law is a very narrow one or a significantly new or historical one, check for law review articles
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

40. Steps in Legal Research
LR-I
Steps in Legal Research
3. Search for relevant primary authority
Cases: use the digests
Legislative action: use the Code index
Executive action: use the COMAR index
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

41. Steps in Legal Research
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4. Update all information to current day (unless you are seeking historical information)
Pocket parts
Bound supplements
KeyCite or Shepard’s
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

42. Steps in Legal Research
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5. Refine your search as needed and STOP!
A return to some of the secondary sources may assist in clarifying your answer
Stop when you have a current answer or when continued research turns up the same authorities repeatedly
SOMETIMES THERE IS NO ANSWER!
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

43. Steps in Legal Research
LR-I
6. Ask an expert – a librarian or attorney with more experience in a particular area might see an avenue you missed.
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012

44. LR-I
Conclusion
Remember basic civics; placing your question in context will help tell you where to start
Research takes time; be patient, and know when to stop
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact your local law librarian!
MSLL Outreach Program December 2009, rev’d March 2012