Sources for Tracing Legislative History
This Pathfinder lists some of the primary and secondary legal sources found in The College of Wooster Libraries, which are useful for tracing legislation or following legal history. Generally, these materials do not circulate and are for consultation in the library or for reference purposes.
For a quick overview of the legislative process, please consult our Legislative Process guide. For current legislation, many materials are available online. Please consult our Legislative Resources guide for more information.
PRIMARY SOURCES
It is often necessary to decipher the legal citations to primary source materials necessary for tracing legislative history. Listed below are some of the common standard citations with translations:
| CITATION | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|
| 385 U.S. 116 | United States Reports. Volume 385, page 116. |
| 77 L.Ed. 2d 469 (1983) | United States Reports. Lawyer's Edition, 2nd Series. Volume 77, page 469, date decided. |
| 86 Stat. 11 | United States Statutes at Large. Volume 86, page 11. |
| 47 U.S.C. §3771 | United States Code. Title 47, section 3771. |
| 18 U.S.C.A. §326 | United States Code Annotated. Title 18, section 326. |
| 24 C.F.R. §202.13 | Code of Federal Regulations. Title 24, section 202, part 13. |
| 14 Fed. Reg. 6190 | Federal Register. Volume 14, page 6190. |
For further information on legal citations see also various tables and appendices in legal handbooks or consult
The Bluebook : A Uniform System of Citation. 15th ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law Review Association, 1991- . REF. KF245.B58 1991
STATUTES
Federal Laws
United States. Laws, Statutes, etc. United States Code (U.S.C.) Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1925- .
Library has: Paper: latest edition and annual supplements. CD-ROM: 1988- DOCUMENT REF ELECTRONIC Y 1.2/5-2:(year) Online: 1994- http://uscode.house.gov/search/criteria.shtml Contains all general and permanent statutory laws of the United States currently in force. Arranged under 50 titles (broad subjects) with chapters and sections. Subject index.
DOCUMENT REF. Y 1.2/5: (year)
United States. United States Statutes at Large (Stat.) v. 18- Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1873- . (Annual)
Volumes 1-17, 1798-1873, were privately published and are not available at Wooster.
Library has: 1869-1948 DOCUMENT REF. S 7.9: 1949-1983 DOCUMENT REF. GS 4.111: 1984- DOCUMENT REF. AE 2.111: Compilation of all public and private laws, Constitutional amendments, concurrent resolutions, official proclamations and reorganization plans enacted during each session of Congress.
Updated by the Slip Laws which are separate prints of federal laws published immediately after enactment (DOCUMENT REF. AE 2.110: ). The slip laws are collected, bound in the Statutes (DOCUMENT REF. AE 2.111:), and later codified in the U.S. Code (DOCUMENT REF. Y 1.2/5:).
DOCUMENT REF. AE 2.111:
Ohio (State) Laws
Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated. Cleveland, OH: Banks-Baldwin Law Pub. Co., 1971- .
Library has: latest edition with annual cumulative pocket parts and monthly issues of Baldwin's Ohio Legislative Service (REF. KFO 30 (year) .A22).
REF. KFO 30 1970 .A2
Baldwin's Ohio Legislative Service. Cleveland, OH: Banks-Baldwin, 1982- .
Library has: latest edition.
Earlier: Baldwin's Laws of Ohio. Cleveland, OH: Banks-Baldwin, 1974-1981.Updating service to accompany Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated REF. KFO 30 (year) .A2.
Session laws (full text) REF. KFO 30 (year) .A22 1990 pt. 5.REF. KFO 30 (year) .A22
Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code and Rules Service. 1971 Laws Issues. Cleveland, OH: Banks-Baldwin, 1972.
Enactments of the 1971 session of the Ohio General Assembly.
REF. KFO 30 1971 .A23
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Administrative law is created by administrative agencies in the form of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions and has force and sanction equal to that of statutes and case law.
Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) 1st ed.- Washington, DC: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1937- .
Library has: latest edition only.
Codification of all executive and administrative rules and regulations originally published in the Federal Register (DOCUMENT REF. AE 2.106:) and having a general applicability and the effect of law.
Arranged in broad subject groups, or titles, similar to the 50 titles of statutory law in the United States Code. Each title is revised annually.
DOCUMENT REF. AE 2.106/3:
Federal Register (Fed. Reg.) v.1- . Washington, DC: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1936- . (Daily)
Library has: latest three years.
The official vehicle for the required reporting of both rules and regulations having general applicability and legal effect and proposed rules and regulations from federal administrative agencies, governmental departments and other independent bodies.
Indexed by subject and agency on a monthly basis with quarterly and annual cumulations.
DOCUMENT REF. AE 2.106:
CASE LAW
Case law is created by decisions and opinions of the courts and is distinguished from law created by legislative enactment. Case law derives its authority from the judgements and decrees of the court.
U.S. Supreme Court
United States. Supreme Court. Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the United States. (U.S.) Official Edition Reprint. Containing Briefs of Counsel (Points and Authorities), Statements of Cases, and Syllabi of the Cases by the Official Reporter. Cleveland, OH: Baldwin Law Book Co., 1926. 265v. in 26v. v.257- . Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1921- .
Continued by: Cases Argued and Decided in the Supreme Court of the United States. Lawyer's Ed. (U.S. L.Ed.) Rochester, NY: Lawyer's Co-operative, v. 69-100, 1924-1955.
and by: Lawyer's Ed. 2d ser. (U.S. L.Ed. 2d) v.1-45, 1956-1974. REF. KF101.U5 (These volumes are equivalent to United States Reports v.266-422, 1924-1974)Continued by: United States Reports. v.423- 1975- REF. KF101.U5a
Library has: v.1-265 1784-1924 REF. KF101.C3 v.266-422 1924-1974 REF. KF101.U5 v.423- 1975- REF. KF101.U5a Volumes in the Lawyer's Edition are complete with headnotes, summaries of decisions, statements of cases, points and authorities of counsel, annotations, tables, and parallel references.
Compilation of all opinions and decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court during each term. Updated and kept current by Slip Opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court (DOCUMENT JU 6.8/b: ), the unedited texts of opinions and decisions later collected in the bound volumes of the United States Reports.
REF. KF101.C3
Other Federal Courts
The Libraries' holdings in this category are extremely limited. It is possible to consult primary source materials for legal history at levels other than the U.S. Supreme Court in nearby law school libraries at The University of Akron, Cleveland State University, or at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The local association of lawyers in Wayne County maintains an extensive private collection at the Wayne County Court House in Wooster which may be consulted upon arrangement.
Northeastern Reporter. (N.E. and N.E.2d) St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1936- .
Library has: v.133-200; 2d series v.1-183 (KF135.N6 ser.2)
KF135.N6
SECONDARY SOURCES
HANDBOOKS AND GUIDES
The following titles describe the structure and organization of legal literature. They provide practical assistance in unlocking the complexities of legal research, as well as identifying specific tools and basic resources in the field. Some of the more recent titles in the Libraries are listed below.
Coco, Al. Finding the Law : A Workbook on Legal Research for Laypersons. Prepared for Bureau of Land Management, Branch of Survey and Mapping Development, Denver Service Center. Buffalo, NY: W.S. Hein, 1982, 1986.
REF. KF240 .C527 1986
Cohen, Morris L. Legal Research in a Nutshell. 4th ed. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1985.
REF. KF240.C54 1985
Cohen, Morris L., Robert C. Berring, and Kent C. Olson. How to Find the Law. 9th ed. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co, 1989.
REF. KF240.C538 1989
Corbin, John. Find the Law in the Library; A Guide to Legal Research. Chicago: American Library Association, 1989.
REF. KF240.C63 1989
Evans, James. Law on the Net. Edited by Albin Renauer. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: Nolo Press, 1997.
REF. KF242 .A1 E94 1997
Martin, Fenton S. and Robert U. Goehlert. How to Research the Supreme Court. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1992.
REF. HF8741 .A1M36 1992
Masterson, James E. Legislative Research Guide. [Washington, DC:] Office of the General Counsel, U.S. General Accounting Office, 1976.
Guide developed for use with the General Accounting Office legislative histories, but can be applied generally to the legislative history research process.
DOCUMENT REF. GA 1.14:L 52
Ohio Legal Resources : An Annotated Bibliography and Guide. [3rd ed.] Columbus, OH: Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries and Ohio Library Association, 1990.
REF. KFO 75.O4 1990
The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions. Edited by Kermit L. Hall. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
REF. KF4548 .O97 1999
Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names : Federal and State. A Compilation of Popular Names by Which Federal and State Acts and Cases Have Been Referred to or Cited.... 3rd ed. Colorado Springs, CO: Shepard's/McGraw-Hill, 1986. 2 v.
"Together with an identification of each act in terms of its constitutional or statutory references and each case in terms of the volume and page reference where the text of the decision may be found. To November, 1985."
REF. KF90 .S52 1986
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
The following specialized encyclopedias provide background information on a variety of legal topics. Arranged for quick reference, these sources are often most useful in helping researchers find relevant citations to case law and statutes.
American Jurisprudence; A Modern Comprehensive Text Statement of American Law, State and Federal. 2d ed. (Am.Jur.2d) Rochester, NY: Lawyers Co-operative, 1962-
Library has: current subscription updated by supplemental pocket parts and revised and expanded volumes.
"Completely revised and rewritten in the light of modern authorities and development by the editorial staff of the publisher."
REF. KF132.1.A4 1962
Janosik, Robert J. Encyclopedia of the American Judicial System; Studies of the Principal Institutions and Processes of Law. New York: Scribner, 1987. 3v.
REF. KF154.E53 1987
West's Encyclopedia of American Law. Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Publishing, 1998. 12 v.
REF. KF154 .W47 1998
DICTIONARIES
Dictionaries of legal terms provide both correct spellings and brief definitions of words and legal phrases for quick reference.
Black, Henry Campbell, ed. Black's Law Dictionary. 7th ed. St. Paul, MN: West Group, 1999.
REF. KF156.B53 1999
Burton, William C. Burton's Legal Thesaurus. New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1998.
REF. KF156.B856 1998
Prince, Mary Miles. Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations : Reference Guide for Attorneys, Legal Secretaries, Paralegals, and Law Students. Prince's 4th ed. Buffalo, NY: William S. Hein, 1985.
REF. KF246 .B46 1985
Renstrom, Peter G. The American Law Dictionary. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1991.
REF. KF156 .R46 1991
GUIDES TO LEGISLATIVE ACTION
The following sources may be used to trace legislation as it progresses from bill to statute through the U.S. Congress. The text of enrolled bills may be found at several sites on the Internet. Ask for assistance.
Congressional Index. 75th Congress- . Chicago: Commerce Clearing House, 1937/38- . (Biennial with weekly updates).
