Federal and State Legislation Connie Strittmatter AzALL Legal Research Institute May 20, 2005

What is Legislation? the bodies of laws enacted in a particular jurisdiction Why is it important? governs activities by public and private entities

Formats of Legislation Slip Laws Session Laws Codes Annotated Codes

Citations Slip Law – Pub. L Congress Chronological sequence of enactment Session Laws – 117 Stat Volume number Statutes at Large Page Number Public Law

Citations Code – 18 USC § 1531 Title United States Code Section Number Annotated Codes 18 USCA § USCS §1531

Sources to Locate Statutes Free Internet Sources Fee Based Sources Print Sources

Free Legal Websites For Federal Statutes

This is Jerry. He is a coin collector. He want to know more about the Liberty Coin Act, but doesn’t know where to look. He remembers reading about a free legal website called Findlaw.

FindLaw –

Liberty Coin Act

Table Outline Text of Statute Yikes!!!!

Title Section Description Pub. L. Sec. 117 Stat. P.L

SEC DESIGNS ON THE 5-CENT COIN SUBSEQUENT TO THE RECOGNITION OF THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE AND THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION. (a) In General.--Section 5112(d)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the 4th sentence the following [[Page 117 STAT. 616]] new sentence: ``Subject to other provisions of this subsection, the obverse of any 5-cent coin issued after December 31, 2005, shall bear the likeness of Thomas Jefferson and the reverse of any such 5-cent coin shall bear an image of the home of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.''. (b) Design Consultation.--The 2d sentence of section 5112(d)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``, after consulting with the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and the Commission of Fine Arts,'' after ``The Secretary may''.

Jerry’s Thoughts About FindLaw Many Access Points –Title/Section – Citation Search –Keyword Search –Browse by Title –Popular Name Good Content Information –Statute Outline –Text of Statute –Link to Historical Notes and Amendments

More Thoughts by Jerry About Findlaw  Not all popular names are linked to statute  Statutes are dated. But with a little effort the statutes can be updated and Jerry can obtain a current statute at no cost!

Jerry’s heard about other legal websites. He wonders how they compare.

Legal Information Institute (Cornell)

Access Points Browse by Title Popular Names Table Citation Search Keyword

Liberty Coin Act - Pub. L , title II, July 9, 1985, 99 Stat. 115 Short title, see 31 U.S.C note Table links to Public Law and note in 31 USC Not to the statute itself.ub. L U.S.C note

Features of Cornell Contains historical and revision notes and amendment information Updates – checks House of Rep. Website for update to statute. Note: Not current. Still need to manually update. Check for a corresponding CFR site. Search this title: Notes Updates Parallel authorities (CFR)

House of Representatives

Access Points Citation Search Keyword Search Browse by Title ( gov/download/downl oad.php) gov/download/downl oad.php

Text of statute and notes. Statute outline.

Comparison Chart of 3 sites FindlawLII-CornellHouse of Rep. Access Points Keyword Citation Browse Popular Names Table Boolean Searching AND/OR “”, * !, Proximity Keyword Help Page Misc. Features CFR Parallel Cites Hist. Notes/Amend. Ref. Search older codes Current Statute

How to update statute on the web Note when statute was last updated. Go to United States Code Classification Tables, For each session of Congress listed after the statute was last updated, check to see if the statute is listed. If listed, note the change (new, new note, etc.) and the Public Law Number and section. Go to Thomas, and select appropriate Congress. Locate the Public Law and review section containing text of amended statute.

Advantages/Disadvantages of legal websites Advantages –Free –Readily available Disadvantages –Currency of information –Search mechanisms not very strong –No annotations

Fee-Based Sources

Jerry reads the statute and is amazed at the detail provided on how coins are made. It practically provides instructions on how to make the coins himself. Being an entrepreneurial, albeit crooked, fellow, he creates a mold for the $50 gold coin and begins producing imitation pieces. Jerry’s new line of work is short-lived. His house is raided and law enforcement officials recover the molds and thousands of counterfeit coins. One of the many charges brought against Jerry is possessing counterfeit molds for coins. Is this a viable charge and if so what is the penalty?

Westlaw – Database : –Westlaw – USCA –Lexis – USCS –LoisLaw –Versuslaw Access Points –Citation –Index (Westlaw only) –Table of Contents –Popular Names Table –Keyword Searching

Westlaw & Lexis Features Full-text searching –Natural Language –Boolean Proximity searching Segment Searching –FOCUS/LOCATE Annotations –Cases –Secondary Sources –Legislative History Currency

Keyword Searching

Locate

18 USCA §487 Making or possessing counterfeit dies for coins

Current through P.L approved

Print Resources for Federal Statutes

Jerry has hired an attorney to defend him. On the day of the raid, the police officer executing the warrant had a ride along, a community citizen accompanying him. The citizen entered Jerry’s home and it was the citizen who found the molds, not the officer. Jerry’s attorney believes that since the a citizen entered Jerry’s home and located the molds, the search warrant is invalid. Is there a statute that supports this claim?

United States Code Annotated (West) United States Code Services (Lexis) Unofficial Codes Differences between two –language –case annotations Updating Access points

USCA & USCS Other information included –Rules of Court –U.S. Constitution –Executive Documents

United States Code Service USCS Index Searches & Seizures Search Warrant Act 18 §§ 957, 1621, 2231,2234, 2235, 3105, 3109

United States Code Service Title 18 - Crimes and Criminal Procedure Chapter 205 – Searches and Seizures Section 3105 – Persons authorized to serve search warrant

USCS – Pocket Part Current through 108 th Congress, 1 st Session No new statutory language Additional annotations

USCS Advance Legislative Service Statute not amended.

Sources for Arizona Statutes

This is Jane. She has applied for a factory line job at Acme Company Her prospective employer is speaking with her former employer, Harold’s Factory. June was terminated from Harold’s for failing to pass a drug test. Can Harold’s Factory inform Acme Company of this?

Features ALIS Access Points –Keyword Search Entire code Selected titles –Browse by title Currency –Current through January 1, 2005 Content –Contains text of statute –No historical notes or annotations.

ALIS

Confidentiality of results: access to records

Updating Statute Note currency of statute. Go to the Arizona session laws, In the keyword search box, type in the statute to be updated. Any session law that revised the statute will appear in the result list. Review applicable session laws.

Updating a Statute Enter statute citation, Change Legislative Session back to Default is current session.

Updating A Statute Statute has not been revised.

Fee-Based Sources

Jane was hired by Harold’s Factory. Unfortunately, Jane was still abusing drugs and would often come to work high. One day, Jane incorrectly shut down her machine which caused an air compressor pipe to explode. The explosion threw an employee 20 feet leaving him permanently disabled as a paraplegic. How much money should the employee receive through worker’s compensation?

Lexis - Ability to search full-text or Table of Contents

ARS Compensation for total disability; permanent disability defined.

Print Resources

Jane continues to come to work under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Her work performance has suffered and her negligence in her duties places other employees at risk. As a result, she has been terminated. Jane has fallen onto hard times and is suffering financial hardship. Is she able to receive unemployment compensation?

Arizona Statutes Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated (West) Arizona Revised Statutes (Lexis)

AZ Rev. Stat. Ann. - Index Unemployment Compensation Misconduct connected with the employment, definition OR Negligence, definitions,

AZ Rev. Stat. Ann. – Text of Law Title 23 – Labor Chapter 4 – Employment Security Article 1 – Definitions § – Misconduct connected with the employment; willful misconduct; evaluation

AZ Rev. Stat. Ann – Pocket Part Current through 46 th Legislature, 2 nd Regular & Special Sessions No new statutory language Additional annotations

AZ Advance Legislative Service Statute not amended