Statutory law, in essence, is law enacted by a legislative body. It’s a formal written law created by a parliament, congress, or other governing authority. Understanding what constitutes statutory law is crucial for legal research and navigating the legal system. This guide will delve into the definition of statutory law and explore effective methods for locating relevant statutes.
Not all laws are created equal. It’s important to remember that the legal landscape encompasses more than just statutes. Case law, derived from judicial decisions, and administrative law, promulgated by government agencies, also play significant roles. Therefore, if your initial search for a statute proves unfruitful, don’t be discouraged. The law governing your issue may reside in one of these alternative sources.
Let’s explore some effective strategies for finding statutory law, even when you don’t have a specific citation to begin with.
One approach is to leverage the structure of the statutory code itself:
Tables of Contents: Every statutory code is organized with a detailed table of contents. This table provides a hierarchical listing of titles and sections within those titles. While comprehensive, this method can be challenging and time-consuming, particularly for individuals unfamiliar with the organization of the statutory code.
Statutory Index: A statutory index serves as a subject-based search tool. It allows users to locate relevant statutes by searching for specific legal issues within a structured index. The index then provides references to the appropriate code sections pertaining to that issue. This is often a more efficient starting point than browsing the table of contents.
Popular Name Table: This table enables users to search for statutes based on the commonly known name of the legislation. For instance, searching for the “USA Patriot Act” will yield all statutes related to that particular piece of legislation.
Alt: The term “USA Patriot Act” superimposed over an American flag, symbolizing the act’s connection to the United States.
Beyond directly searching within the statutory code, other valuable resources can assist in locating relevant statutes:
Legal Encyclopedias: Comprehensive legal encyclopedias, such as American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum, provide annotations to statutes. By looking up your specific legal issue in the index of these encyclopedias, you can find relevant sections addressing that issue. These sections typically include footnotes referencing the applicable statutory sections.
Secondary Books: Legal secondary sources, including treatises and hornbooks, often provide citations to statutory law. Books focusing on the specific topic or issue you’re researching can be located through a library’s online catalog. These books consolidate and analyze the law, often citing the underlying statutes.
Alt: A collection of law books stacked together, representing legal knowledge and resources for statutory law research.
In conclusion, statutory law forms a cornerstone of the legal system. While locating a specific statute can sometimes be challenging, utilizing the methods outlined above – including tables of contents, statutory indexes, popular name tables, legal encyclopedias, and secondary legal sources – will significantly improve your ability to find the relevant law governing your issue. Remember to consider case law and administrative law if your initial search for a statute proves unsuccessful.
