Advocacy (24 LITG 501): Federal Law Research

A code is a subject arrangement of the laws of a jurisdiction.  There are official and unofficial codes.  A code may be annotated (containing editorial enhancements to help with research or interpretation) or unannotated. The advantages of using a code for research include the fact that codes collate original laws with later amendments, they bring all laws on the same subject together, and they eliminate repealed, superseded, or expired laws.

In addition to the statutes, most codes contain constitutions and court rules.

Retrieving  a statute by legal citation is the easiest and fastest way to get the specific case to which the citation refers.

Example of a United States Code citation:

Suppose our citation was for 42 U.S.C.§ 1983 and I wanted to find this statute in print.

1. I would first find the United States Code, United States Code Annotated, or United States Code Service in the UC Law Library print collection.
2. Then I would find the volume or volumes containing title 42. 
3. Next I would look for the section 1983 within the appropriate volume.

To find this statute online:

• Westlaw:  type the 42 U.S.C.A. 1983 in the search box at the top of the screen.
• Lexis:  type the 42 U.S.C.S. 1983 in the search box at the top of the screen.

A word about retrieving state statutes by citation online:

• Lexis and Westlaw can be picky about the format for state statute citations and that format does not necessarily follow Bluebook form. Your best bet is to begin typing the statute citation.
• In Westlaw, putting the state postal abbreviation in front of your section will usually work:  OH St 3503.06.

The structure and organization of statutory codes will vary by jurisdiction. 

Federal

The United States Code, the subject arrangement of federal statutes, is arranged  by subject  into 51 subject titles, with chapter and section subdivisions.  Of the 51 titles, the following titles have been enacted into positive (statutory) law: 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 23, 28, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 46, 49, 51, and 54. When a title of the Code is enacted into positive law, the text of the title becomes legal evidence of the law. Titles that have not been enacted into positive law are only prima facie evidence of the law. In that case, the Statutes at Large still govern. You can find out more about positive law at http://uscode.house.gov/codification/legislation.shtml.

When looking at a code section, you will see the text of the section, then historical notes, the Statutes at Large citation, and references to related code sections.

Federal

Official (unannotated)

United States Code (U.S.C.)

• The USC is published every six years with cumulative bound supplements issued in between editions. Publication typically runs several years behind.

Unofficial (annotated)