1. PA201 Introduction to Legal Research Unit 2 – Statutory Research A. E. Sloan (2009). Basic Legal Research Tools and Strategies (4 th ed.). New York: Aspen Publishers

2. REVIEW OF UNIT 1 Primary vs. Secondary Sources: ◦ Primary – rules of law (ex. Constitution, statute, case law, etc.) ◦ Secondary – commentary on the law (ex. Treatises, law review articles, etc.) Mandatory (Binding) vs. Persuasive (Nonbinding) Authority: ◦ Mandatory – court is obligated to follow ◦ Persuasive – court may follow if they are persuaded to, but does not have to

3. REVIEW OF UNIT 1 Citing: ◦ Cases - Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962) ◦ Statutes - 12 U.S.C.A. § 1986 (1996) ◦ Rules - Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 (b)(6).

4. CHECKLIST FOR UNIT 2 Review the unit introduction and key terms Learn about legislative history by listening to “I’m Just a Bill Away” Learn about the U.S. Constitution by playing Double Jeopardy Read Chapter 6 of Basic Legal Research Tools and Strategies Read about drunk driving statutes and see a statute in action Learn about Bluebook Rules 12.1 and 12.2 Learn about the Collins Fact Pattern Participate on the Discussion Board Attend and participate in this week’s Seminar Complete and submit the Written Assignment Review the unit’s key terms Take the Unit 2 Quiz

5. There are four main sources of law Constitutions Statutes Court opinions (also called cases) Administrative regulations

6. The preeminent source of the law Constitutions Federal and State

7. Constitutions A state’s constitution may grant greater rights than those secured by the federal constitution, but because a state constitution is subordinate to the federal constitution, it cannot provide lesser rights than the federal constitution does. All of a state’s legal rules must comport with both the state and federal constitutions.

8. Statutes Created by the Legislative Branch Idea -> Bill -> Committees -> Vote -> Other house (for committee review and vote) -> President signs/veto Three step process for laws that are enacted: ◦ Published as a separate document – Public Law ◦ Published as slip laws for each session of Congress ◦ Published officially as a part of the complete code

9. Organizations of Codes Federal Code is broken down by “Title” – they are numbered, and each are identified by name as well (ex: Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure; Title 11 Bankruptcy). Broken down by Part, chapter and section. State codes will be broken down either by title, chapter or code. Within any main section, it is further divided down; names may vary, depending on what they call the main sections.

10. Official vs. Unofficial; Annotated vs. Unannotated Official – published by government Unofficial – published by commercial entity Annotated – has summaries of cases and other sources for each section, to help clarify issues. Unannotated – no summaries

11. Determining Authority of Court Decisions Trial Courts are at the bottom of the judicial hierarchy. (In Federal Courts trial courts are District Courts…In state Courts trial courts are Circuit Courts.) Intermediate level courts are appellate courts. (Federal = Circuit Court State = District) Court of Last Resort – Supreme Court

12. Supreme Court Opinions The Supreme Court may follow opinions of lower courts, but is never obligated to do so. However, opinions of the Supreme Court are MANDATORY authority for both intermediate appellate courts and trial courts subordinate to it in structure. The Supreme court is not bound by its prior decisions but is deferential to them.

13. Jurisdiction and its effect on Authority Rules stated within a court opinion are only mandatory authority within the court’s jurisdiction. A Texas Supreme Court decision is not mandatory in Illinois but is Mandatory in a Texas trial or appellate court.

14. Citing Constitutions Federal: ◦ U.S. Const. amend. XX ◦ U.S. Const. art. I, § 2, cl. 3 State: ◦ Cal. Const. art. XIV

15. Citing Statutes Citation of an entire statute: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-9675 (2000). Citation of an individual provision of the United States Code: 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (2000).

16. Statutes on State Websites Each State Government Website has a place where statutes can be located Some are user friendly and some aren’t Need to have an understanding of searching on a State Website and/or electronic sources (i.e. Lexis Nexis)

17. Statutes on State Websites We will focus on the State website right now Let’s say we are looking for a punishments for the Kidnapping Statute There is a couple of ways we can search.

18. Statutes on State Websites If you know the Title or are familiar with the category it will fall under then you can look it up that way

19. Beginning of Florida Statutes

20. CRIMES

21. CHAPTER 787 KIDNAPPING

22. SELECT KIDNAPPING 787.01

23. Once it is selected, you will be able to view the entire statute

24. Read the Entire Statute

25. Click on links that provide additional information

26. Link takes you directly to the statute

27. Additional Information Links Provide: Will provide: Definitions Aggravating factors Prison sentences – mandatory/maximum/minimum sentences Plenty of other information Links will take you directly to the statute that addresses it

28. Another way to search is by word or Topic Most Common Way to Search

29. Search Results

30. Same Results

31. ANY QUESTIONS?

32. Written Assignment In the web exploration of drunk driving statutes, you identified two states' statutes using the web. Now, using Findlaw, identify two additional states' statutes drunk driving statutes and briefly paraphrase what each says. In addition, note any key differences (i.e. blood alcohol level limits, penalties for violations of the law) between the statutes you located through Findlaw. Findlaw Be sure to include the proper Legal Bluebook citation for the state statutes.

33. Collins Fact Pattern The basis of the Course Project Understand the facts Each paragraph list specific facts that needs to be considered when doing case research for this project