Chapter 3 Constitutions Statutes Administrative Law and Court

Chapter 3 Constitutions, Statutes, Administrative Law, and Court Rules —Research and Analysis © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Introduction • Statutory Law – Laws passed by Congress or state legislatures • Statutory Analysis – Process of determining if a statute applies, how it applies, and the effect of that application © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Anatomy of a Statute • Statutory Components – Number – Short title – Purpose clause – Scope – Definitions – Substantive provisions © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Anatomy of a Statute • Statutory Components (cont. ) – Other provisions – Annotations/reference information • Statutory Research – Process of finding statutory law that applies to a problem © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Statutory Research—Locating Statutes • Federal Law – Slip law: full text of each law is published separately – United States Statutes at Large: laws published in chronological order – United States Code (USC): laws published according to subject matter © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Statutory Research—Locating Statutes • Federal Law (cont. ) – United States Code Annotated • • General index Pocket parts Popular name table Conversion tables – United States Code Service • Similar to United States Code Annotated • Published by Lexis. Nexis © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Statutory Research—Locating Statutes • State Law – Publication of laws varies from state to state – Similar to federal law © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Statutory Research—Locating Statutes • Research Step 1: Locate the Statute – General index – Title table of contents – Popular name © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Statutory Research—Locating Statutes • Research Step 2: Update Research – Pocket parts and supplements – Shepard’s Citations – Computer-aided research © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Statutory Research—Locating Statutes • Computer-Aided Research – Westlaw and Lexis. Nexis – Free state and federal Web sites – Free university Web sites – Findlaw © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Administrative Law • Administrative Law: Publications – Federal Register – Code of Federal Regulations – Both publications on Westlaw and Lexis. Nexis © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Administrative Law • Court and Administrative Decisions – Government Printing Office, Commerce Clearing House, etc. – Shepard’s United States Administrative Citations – Shepard’s Code of Federal Regulations Citations © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Administrative Law • State Administrative Law – Varies from state to state – Often follows federal administrative law © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Court Rules • Regulate the conduct of matters brought before the court • Each jurisdiction may promulgate its own set of rules • Many states follow Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Analysis: The Process • Analysis Step 1: Determine if the statute applies – Part 1: Locate all statutes – Part 2: Determine which statutes apply © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Analysis: The Process • Analysis Step 2: Analyze the Statute – Part 1: Read the statute – Part 2: Identify the statutory elements © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Analysis: The Process • Analysis Step 3: Apply the Statute – Chart format – Narrative summary © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning

General Considerations • Two Major Considerations in Statutory Analysis – Legislative history – Canons of construction • Examples: expressio unius, ejusdem generis, pari materia, last antecedent rule, intended remedy © 2014 Delmar, Cengage Learning