How to Effectively Locate Federal Information
on the WWW:
Laws of the Land
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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(House)
Enactment of a Law (Senate)
The
Legislative Process (House of Representatives)
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Help guides to understanding the procedure involved in bills
making their way from introduction through committees to the floor of both
Houses
GPO Access
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Congressional bills, reports and documents; Congressional
Record, published hearings
Thomas (Library of Congress)
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Access by subject or popular name to congressional bills.
GPO Access
Questions:
| 1. Were there any bills introduced in the current
U. S. Congress that dealt with providing housing for the homeless? |
| 2. On Thomas, bills by topic (110th Congress),
how many bills are listed under "humanities"? Select one of these bills. Who sponsored the Senate version? Were there any co-sponsors?
What is the bill number? What is the status? |
| 3. Was Santa Barbara mentioned in the 2007 Congressional
Record? |
| 4. Where can you find reference from a particular
bill to the corresponding section of the Statutes at Large ? |
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A
nswers |
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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.
Code of Federal
Regulations (Cornell)
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Clear search screen; allows searching by specific citation
Federal Register: What It Is and How to Use It
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Online tutorial from the National Archives and Records Administration
GPO Access
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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
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Comprehensive site for locating Federal or State court information
Supreme Court
decisions (Cornell University)
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Supreme Court decisions from 1990; links to sites with older
decisions; also contains a section on Information about the Court
Supreme Court Decisions
GPO Access
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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 2007 did the Supreme
Court hear arguments?
Answers |
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