Research in United States

Practical Information

Court opinions are the cornerstone of the law. The purpose of legal research is to locate previous cases (court opinions) that are similar in some way to the case at hand (lawyers would say the “case at issue”). Armed with these cases, which the law terms precedents, the lawyer seeks to persuade the court to rule in his or her client’s favor. Since there are many thousands of court opinions in a comprehensive law library, the legal researcher must learn how quickly to find the opinions that would help the case. (Revised by Ann De Vries)

For a meaning of it, read Research in the Legal Dictionary here.

Library of Congress Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports

“A 741-person, $73.4 million-per-year “think tank,” the CRS works exclusively for Members and committees of the
United States Congress. An arm of the Library of Congress, the agency is renowned for its non-partisanship and its indepth
analysis of issues. Its reports also provide valuable insight into how Congress makes decisions and are
excellent sources for determining legislative intent. However, by long tradition and congressional rules, the CRS does
not distribute its reports to the public. It does not even have a publicly accessible Web site. As a result, CRS reports
are among the most elusive and coveted information products in Washington. The agency produces or updates more
than 3,000 studies and other publications each year.”
In recent years , there has been a movement to make CRS reports more accessible. Increasingly, collections of CRS
reports are appearing on the Internet. Below are some web sites that offer CRS reports. A Google search for “CRS” or
“Congressional Research Service” will also retrieve free CRS reports. Below are links to some of the better-known web
collections available. Older reports are also available within the WSU Library System on microfilm and microfiche.
Please check the catalog to locate these resources.

Congressional Research Service

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves Congress throughout the legislative process by providing comprehensive and reliable legislative research and analysis. Included on this website are written products tailored to specific issues requiring information, analysis, or legal interpretation.

The Congressional Research Search (CRS) web-based collection of products is only available through this website and are not directly accessible by the public. The access to these reports are provided as a service to the American taxpayers.

Issue Briefs: This is an index of reports that contain general information on each issue.

Appropriations Reports: This is an index of reports for the budget cycles.

Short Reports: This is an index of issue reports.

Long Reports: This is an index of issue reports

Finding the law: Research in the U.S. Code

A collection of general and permanent laws relating to research, passed by the United States Congress, are organized by subject matter arrangements in the United States Code (U.S.C.; this label examines research topics), to make them easy to use (usually, organized by legal areas into Titles, Chapters and Sections). The platform provides introductory material to the U.S. Code, and cross references to case law. View the U.S. Code’s table of contents here.

Research

In Legislation

Research in the U.S. Code: Title 7, Chapter 88

The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating research are compiled in the United States Code under Title 7, Chapter 88. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Agriculture (including research) of the United States. The reader can further narrow his/her legal research of the general topic (in this case, Agricultural Research of the US Code, including research) by chapter and subchapter.

Research

In Legislation

Research in the U.S. Code: Title 16, Chapter 36, Subchapter II

The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating research are compiled in the United States Code under Title 16, Chapter 36, Subchapter II. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Conservation (including research) of the United States. The reader can further narrow his/her legal research of the general topic (in this case, Forest and Research of the US Code, including research) by chapter and subchapter.

Research

In Legislation

Research in the U.S. Code: Title 33, Chapter 27, Subchapter II

The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating research are compiled in the United States Code under Title 33, Chapter 27, Subchapter II. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Navigation and Navigable Waters (including research) of the United States. The reader can further narrow his/her legal research of the general topic (in this case, Ocean Dumping of the US Code, including research) by chapter and subchapter.

Resources

See also citation (in U.S. law); Corpus Juris Secundum (in U.S. law); national reporter system (in U.S. law) ; official reports (in U.S. law); restatements of the law (in U.S. law); shepard’s citations (in U.S. law).

Further Reading

• Information about Research in the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law.