Statutory Research

Updating makes more sense once you understand the relationship between session laws and codes.

• Legislatures routinely enact laws. All of them are published in chronological publications called session law compilations that contain all laws passed by the legislature in a given session. 
• Laws of a general & permanent nature go into codes. The laws that are meant to apply to most of us and last a fairly long time are put into a subject-based code, which makes it easier to find all of the the laws on a given topic that are currently in force. 
• Updating codes takes time. Codes are handy, but keep in mind that it takes compilers of codes (such as state governments, Lexis, and West) a while to incorporate the changes (additions, deletions, and amendments) made by new session laws. 

GOAL: Make sure that your research isn't affected by either a a) recent law amending or repealing your statute; or b) a court decision in your jurisdiction overruling or otherwise restricting the application of the statute.

1. Determine whether a change to the statute would affect your client:  Sometimes it won't. For example, some problems involve past acts governed by a previous version of the statute—a newly enacted change, provided it had no retroactivity, wouldn't affect the problem. Think critically about this. If updating is implicated, keep reading. 
2. Stay on top of current awareness tools in your practice area: Reading newsletters, blogs, and staying on top of continuing education are the best ways to be aware of recent changes or potentially impactful ones that are coming down the pipeline. 
3. Check effective dates: If a statute has been recently amended, Lexis and Westlaw typically supply the text of both the current and new version (even before it goes into effect). Keep an eye on those effective dates. 
4. Look for red signals on Lexis and Westlaw indicating newly enacted legislation: Check for red signals at the top of your statute indicating that there is newly enacted legislation. View the newly enacted session law to see what has changed and the effective date of the new legislation.
5. Look for red signals indicating negative court treatment: Lexis and Westlaw both flag statutes that have been deemed unconstitutional or otherwise limited by courts. These would be found over the statute on Westlaw and on the right in the Shepard's box on Lexis. You'll have to read the case(s) to see what happened. Sometimes, the holding will be limited to one provision and/or certain circumstances. 
6. Consider yellow signal for proposed legislation: Lexis and Westlaw both have signals for current bills that aim to amend an existing statute. Consider whether your inquiry would be affected by legislation passed in the future (e.g., the statute is being amended to add new requirements that your client would have to comply with). If a potential future change is relevant to your client, take a look at the proposed bills. 

The challenge: free resources don't have citator tools like Westlaw's KeyCite and Lexis's Shepard's to flag newly enacted legislation, negative court treatment, or proposed legislation (bills). If you don't have access to Westlaw, Lexis, or another legal research tool with a good citator, you'll need to take some different steps: 

1. Identify the currency of the statutory code being used: You'll have to look around codes on legislative websites for help menus, FAQs, currency & updating links, and other info on how often the site is updated. It will vary depending on the platform. Be aware that any law passed since the last update will not be reflected in the text of the code.
2. Close the gap: If your free code isn't current, you'll need to check for relevant changes by searching the session laws that have been enacted since your free code was last updated. 
3. Check for negative treatment from courts in your jurisdiction: Google Scholar is a good free resource if you don't have access to a subscription database. Search cases from your jurisdiction for the statutory citation or keywords. 
4. Check for proposed legislation: If a pending change is relevant in your situation, searching the current bills database on your legislature's website, such as that for the U.S. Congress or Massachusetts, your keywords. Help menus can help with search strategy. 
5. Check secondary sources: sources like treatises and law reviews, along with analysis from the news, blogs, and law firm websites can alert you to recent or pending changes.