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Finding Statutory and Administrative Law

When Congress passes laws, they are collected in a publication titled United States Statutes at Large. When state legislatures pass laws, they are collected in similar state publications. Most frequently, however, laws are referred to in their codified formthat is, the form in which they appear in the federal and state codes. In these codes, laws are compiled by subject.

United States Code

The United States Code (U.S.C.) arranges all existing federal laws by broad subject. Each of the fifty-two subjects is given a title and a title number. For instance, laws relating to commerce and trade are collected in Title 15, Commerce and Trade. Each title is subdivided by sections. A citation to the U.S.C. includes both title and section numbers. Thus, a reference to 15 U.S.C. Section 1 means that the statute can be found in Section 1 of Title 15. (Section may be designated by the symbol , and Sections, by .)

In addition to the print publication, the federal government provides a searchable online database at www.gpo.gov. It includes the United States Code, the U.S. Constitution, and many other federal resources. (Click on Libraries and then Core Documents of Our Democracy to find these resources.)

Commercial publications of federal laws and regulations are also available. For instance, Thomson Reuters publishes the United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.). The U.S.C.A. contains the official text of the U.S.C., plus notes (annotations) on court decisions that interpret and apply specific sections of the statutes. The U.S.C.A. also includes additional research aids, such as cross-references to related statutes, historical notes, and library references. A citation to the U.S.C.A. is similar to a citation to the U.S.C.: 15 U.S.C.A. Section 1.

State Codes

State codes follow the U.S.C. pattern of arranging law by subject. They may be called codes, revisions, compilations, consolidations, general statutes, or statutes, depending on the preferences of the states.

In some codes, subjects are designated by number. In others, they are designated by name.

Example 1.6

13 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Section 1101 means that the statute can be found in Title 13, Section 1101, of the Pennsylvania code. California Commercial Code Section 1101 means that the statute can be found under the subject heading Commercial Code of the California code in Section 1101. Abbreviations are often used. For example, 13 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Section 1101 is abbreviated 13 Pa. C.S. 1101, and California Commercial Code Section 1101 is abbreviated Cal. Com. Code 1101.

Administrative Rules

Rules and regulations adopted by federal administrative agencies are initially published in the Federal Register, a daily publication of the U.S. government. Later, they are incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.). The C.F.R. is available online on the government database (www.gpo.gov).

Like the U.S.C., the C.F.R. is divided into titles. Rules within each title are assigned section numbers. A full citation to the C.F.R. includes title and section numbers.

Example 1.7

A reference to 17 C.F.R. Section 230.504 means that the rule can be found in Section 230.504 of Title 17.