Locating the Law A Handbook for Non-Law Librarians in Michigan 1 Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................. 14 Michigan Legal Help Presentation Team ....................................... 18 Contributors to Locating the Law................................................. 19 Chapter 1: Legal Reference versus Legal Advice ....................... 21 For Further Reading and Information ........................................... 31 Chapter 2: How to Read Legal Citations .................................... 32 Statutes & Codes ...................................................................... 33 Agencies & Regulations ............................................................. 35 Attorney General Opinions ...................................................... 37 Cases & Appellate Opinions ........................................................ 37 Secondary Sources – Treatises and Encyclopedias ......................... 39 Treatises .............................................................................. 39 Encyclopedias ....................................................................... 39 Journals & Law Reviews ............................................................. 40 Online Citations ........................................................................ 40 Court Websites ...................................................................... 40 Docket Numbers .................................................................... 41 PACER .................................................................................. 41 2 Lexis & Westlaw .................................................................... 42 Court Rules .............................................................................. 42 Commonly Used Latin Legal Abbreviations .................................... 43 Glossary .................................................................................. 43 For Further Reading and Information ........................................... 44 Chapter 3: Legal Research Techniques ..................................... 45 Introduction ............................................................................. 45 The Legal Reference Interview .................................................... 47 Secondary Legal Resources ........................................................ 51 Dictionaries and Thesauri ........................................................ 51 Legal Encyclopedias ............................................................... 53 Treatises .............................................................................. 53 Periodicals ............................................................................ 55 American Law Reports ............................................................ 56 Restatements of Law .............................................................. 57 Free Specialty Law Websites ................................................... 57 Google and Wikipedia ............................................................. 58 The Legal System of the United States and its Implications on Legal Research ................................................................................. 59 Primary Law ............................................................................. 62 3 Constitutions ......................................................................... 62 Searching Annotated Codes and Secondary Sources for Cases ..... 62 Statutes ............................................................................... 65 Popular Name Search ............................................................. 66 Searching the Code’s Index and Table of Contents ..................... 67 Resources to Help Patrons with Reading Statutes ....................... 68 Is the Statute Still “Good Law”? ............................................... 68 Legislative History and Statutory Research ................................... 70 Researching the Legislative History of a Michigan Statute ............ 70 Researching Michigan Bills to Determine If a Statute is Good Law . 73 Federal Statutes .................................................................... 74 Administrative Law/Regulations .................................................. 78 Federal Regulations................................................................ 79 Michigan Regulations .............................................................. 81 Case Law/Court Opinions ........................................................... 82 Mandatory Authority and Persuasive Authority ........................... 83 Published and Unpublished Court Opinions ................................ 84 Determining Whether a Case is Good Law ................................. 85 How to Research Subsequent History ....................................... 85 How to Research Subsequent Treatment ................................... 87 4 Finding Case Law ................................................................... 88 Local Law ................................................................................ 91 Conclusion ............................................................................... 92 For Further Reading and Information ........................................... 93 Constitutions ......................................................................... 94 Statutes ............................................................................... 95 Legislative History ................................................................. 97 Administrative Law/Regulations ............................................. 100 Case Law ............................................................................ 101 Local Law ........................................................................... 102 Chapter 4: Michigan Law Pathfinder ....................................... 103 Sources of Michigan Law .......................................................... 103 Legislative Resources .............................................................. 105 Bills ................................................................................... 108 Prior Laws .......................................................................... 109 Judicial Resources ................................................................... 110 Trial Level Courts ................................................................. 111 Appellate Courts .................................................................. 113 Finding Your Way Around Michigan Courts ............................... 114 Case Law ............................................................................ 117 5 Secondary Resources for Finding Caselaw ............................... 118 Unpublished Opinions ........................................................... 120 Trial Court Decisions ............................................................ 120 Administrative Materials .......................................................... 122 Basic Administrative Resources .............................................. 122 Administrative Rules ............................................................ 123 Attorney General Opinions and Publications ............................. 124 State Agencies in General ..................................................... 125 Chapter 5: Municipal Law ....................................................... 128 Overview – Creation of Municipal Law and Enabling Acts .............. 128 Constitutional and Statutory Basis of Michigan Local Government Units ............................................................................................ 129 Governing Documents ............................................................. 130 Locating Municipal Law ............................................................ 132 Resource Lists ..................................................................... 134 Checklist of Print Resources .................................................. 134 Contacting Local Officials ...................................................... 136 The Michigan Freedom of Information and Open Meetings Acts...... 136 Researching Municipal Legal Issues ........................................... 137 Michigan Materials for Research Municipal Law Issues ............... 138 6 General Reference ............................................................... 140 For Further Reading and Chapter References .............................. 142 Chapter 6: Federal Research ................................................... 143 Introduction ........................................................................... 143 The Branches of Government ................................................ 143 Is This Really a Matter of Federal Law? ................................... 144 Federal judicial branch sources ................................................. 144 Jurisdiction and the Three-Tier Courts System ......................... 144 Binding Authority ................................................................. 145 Searching by Citation - Federal Reporters and Their Citation Abbreviations ...................................................................... 146 United States Supreme Court ................................................ 146 Star Pagination .................................................................... 151 Is Your Case Still Good Law? Use a Citator Before You Stop Your Research ...........................................................................