How to Effectively Locate Federal Government Information on the WWW: Law

How to Effectively Locate Federal Information on the WWW:
Laws of the Land

Statutory Law

Statutory law can be defined as original law enacted by a body legally authorized to pass them; in the case of Federal law, that body would be Congress. Bills passed by both Houses of Congess become law when signed by the President; they can be accessed online through the Public Laws. These laws then become part of the U. S. Code, which is arranged in subject order, referred to as titles.

Here are some sources that identify legislation leading up to and including the incorporation of the final laws into the U. S. Code. The questions can test your knowledge.

How Our Laws are Made
The Legislative Process (Senate)
The Legislative Process - Tying it all Together (House of Representatives)

Help guides to understanding the procedure involved in bills making their way from introduction through committees to the floor of both Houses

GPO Gate (via Univ. of California)

Congressional bills, reports and documents; Congressional Record

Thomas (Library of Congress)

Access by subject or popular name to congressional bills.

Congressional Hearings on the Web

Links to hearings made accessible by House and Senate committees

GPO Gate (via Univ. of California)

U.S. Code/Public Laws

Questions:

1. Were there any bills introduced in the current U. S. Congress that dealt with assisted suicide?

2. On Thomas, bills by topic (104th Congress), how many bills are listed under "humanities"? Who sponsored the

3. Senate version? Were there any co-sponsors? What is the bill number? What is the status?

4. Was Santa Barbara mentioned in the 1997 Congressional Record?

5. Where can you find reference from a particular bill to the corresponding section of the Statutes at Large ?

Answers

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Administrative Law

Administrative law, also referred to as quasi-statutory law, refers to the rules and regulations which are written by agencies. These agencies are given authority by Congress to write and enforce these rules. The Federal Register is the medium for notifying the public of rules and proposed rules for all Federal agencies and departments. After publication in the Register as a final rule, the regulations are incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations. The following links will take you to regulations; questions to try will follow.

Federal Regulations (Cornell)

Good explanation of system and how to use the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations; includes a tutorial

Guide to Federal Regulations (Mansfield University)

In addition to links to regulations, explains regulation process, including history

GPO Access (Univ. of California)

Code of Federal Regulations/Federal Register

Questions:

1. Are there any pending regulations on ferrets? Any other entries in the Federal Register about them?

2. How can you limit your search in the Federal Register to just regulations?

3. How do you cite from the Code of Federal Regulations?

Answers

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Case Law

Case Law refers to cases that give an interpretation of statutory law. These laws can be in the appellate courts on the federal or state level, or, at the highest level, at the U. S. Supreme Court. The best sites we've found are listed here, followed by some sample questions.

Legal Information Institute

Comprehensive site for locating Federal or State court information

Supreme Court decisions (Cornell University)

Supreme Court decisions from 1990; links to sites with older decisions; also contains a section on Information about the Court

Flite database (Villanova)

Archive of Supreme Court cases from 1937 - 1975

Questions:

1. In which court did the landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education begin?

2. How many cases on capital punishment have made it to the Supreme Court since 1990?

3. How many days in April 1997 did the Supreme Court hear arguments?

Answers

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