George H. PikeDirector of the Barco Law LibraryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Law

gpike@pitt.edu

September 29, 2010

Establishes our system(s) of government Delegates governmental authority Available online in a number of Websites For day-to-day legal research, not that

critical Some issues that come up:

Civil rights and criminal rights violations “Commerce clause” power Free speech and association “Full Faith and Credit”

Two Constitutional systems that impact legal research Federal and state governments and the

delegation of authority between them by the Constitution

Three branches of government 3 branches common to organization of federal

and state governments

Legislative – Makes the law Executive – Implements and enforces the

law Judicial – Interprets and applies the law

All three branches generate legal information, “Primary Law”.

Addressing a legal problem often involves reviewing information from more than one branch.

Enacts Statutes or Acts The enacted Statute as a whole is

published as Public Law (Fed) or Session Law (State).

The enacted Statute is then published within a statutory code of laws: current, subject arranged, indexed. Most research conducted in the statutory code

Statutes are constantly added, deleted, amended, so up-to-date resources are critical.

Role is to take Statutes enacted by Legislative Branch and put them into effect

Authority delegated by the Statutes to agencies, dept’s, boards, et.al.

Agencies issue Rules and Regulations Regulations published in same structure as

Statutes, first as enacted as a whole, then in regulatory code

Regulations can also be added, deleted, or amended

Agencies also develop the “bureaucracy” of the law: policies, forms, adjudicatory bodies, etc.

Some legal areas more subject to regulation than others.

Roles: Interpret and apply Acts/Regulations as

applied to specific disputes Interpret and apply the Common Law

Court systems Trial courts Intermediate appellate courts Supreme courts (courts of last resort)

State vs. Federal Most criminal, traffic, family law, personal injury,

med-mal, real estate, consumer claims, liens, business, wills, estate planning take place in state courts

Federal courts handle limited, specific violations of federal criminal law. Also, discrimination, civil rights, bankruptcy, federal tax issues, social security, intellectual property.

Trial court levels (by county in PA) Lesser courts: Magistrates/District Justices, small

claims, traffic. Court of primary jurisdiction

Common Pleas (PA); Federal District Court (Fed) Allegheny County Court structure

Pre-trial Criminal: Arraignment/Indictment Civil: Complaint followed by Answer Preliminary Hearing(s) Motions and Discovery Court rules are critical

Trial Jury or Court

Post-trial JNOV or new trial Appeal

Plea-bargaining or settlement can occur anytime!

Primarily appellate court decisions Mandatory precedent

Within the jurisdiction At or above the court that you are before “On point”

Persuasive precedent Outside the jurisdiction Below the court that you are before “On point”

Acts, Codes, Regulations, Cases are all Primary Law “Authored” by the government The “Law” itself They will almost always interact with each other to

address a legal issue Secondary Law is most everything else

“Authored” by private/non-government Intended to analyze, synthesize, summarize,

arrange, aid in research Excellent tools for the non-lawyer (librarian or patron) Not for “ultimate” reliance

Includes search tools and finding aids