Actor
|
Documents Created
|
Where to Find Them
|
| Trial judges |
Decisions (sometimes) |
State: very seldom published. Contact court clerk. Federal: sometimes published (Federal
Supplement). See Case Law and
Reporters & Digests.
Online: LexisNexis Academic. |
| Juries |
Verdict |
Not published. Online:
Court TV. |
| Witnesses |
Testimony |
Not published. Call
the court clerk to see whether a transcript was produced. Online:
Court TV. |
| Appellate courts
(state and federal) |
Decisions (a/k/a
opinions, cases) |
Reporters
(chronological). See Case Law
and Reporters & Digests.
Online: LexisNexis Academic. |
| Lawyers handling
appeals |
Briefs and oral
arguments |
See
Briefs & Oral Arguments. |
| Administrative
agencies |
Regulations and
administrative decisions |
Regulations are
published in chronological order in registers (e.g., Federal
Register) and arranged by subject or agency in codes (e.g.,
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)). Administrative decisions are often
published in reporters or looseleaf services.
See U.S. Administrative Law Research and
Washington Administrative Law Research.
Online: LexisNexis Academic
(federal regulations only, not state). |
| President |
Signing statements |
Often published in
United States Code Congressional & Administrative News (USCCAN) (KF48
at Reference Area). |
| President and
Governor |
Executive orders,
miscellaneous statements |
Weekly
Compilation of Presidential Documents. J80 at Reference Area
Presidents' executive orders compiled in Title 3 of the
Code of Federal
Regulations. KF70 at Reference Area
Washington Governor's executive orders published in the
Washington State
Register. KFW36 at Reference Area & Classified Stacks |
| Legislators |
Bills, reports on
bills, floor debate, laws |
For bills, reports,
and debates, see Federal Legislative History
and Washington State Legislative History.
Online: LexisNexis Congressional.
Enacted laws (statutes) are published in chronological order in
session laws (e.g., United States Statutes at Large, Laws of
Washington) and arranged by subject in codes (e.g., United
States Code, Revised Code of Washington). Annotated codes
(e.g., United States Code Annotated, United States Code Service,
Revised Code of Washington Annotated) have the text of the statutes
plus references to secondary sources and summaries of cases relating to the
statutes.
See Statutes
(PowerPoint) and Statutory Research Checklist.
Online: LexisNexis Academic. |
| Lawyers doing
transactional work |
Wills, contracts,
leases, opinion letters |
See
Drafting Contracts: Formbooks and Drafting
Resources. |
| Lawyers, law
professors, judges, and law students doing scholarly work |
Law review articles
(Student articles are called "notes" and "comments.") |
See
Secondary Sources. See
also Writing for and Publishing in Law Reviews (includes information about citation studies
and other rankings). Online:
LexisNexis Academic
and Hein Online. |
| Lawyers and law
professors summarizing general areas of the law |
Hornbooks,
treatises, practice guides. |
See
Secondary Sources and Washington Practice Materials. |
