Advisory to the Pro Se Litigant #3: How Do I Locate the Law that Applies in My Case?

Federal Statutory Law Is In The United States Code 

Organized By Subject Matter Once a federal law is instituted (usually enacted by Congress and signed by the President), it is recorded in the United States Code. There are presently 50 sections (referred to as Titles) of the Code, each dealing with a different broad subject matter. For instance, Title 42 is titled “Public Health and Welfare,” including laws as diverse as disaster relief and civil rights in education and employment. To give another example, title 26 is titled “Internal Revenue Code” and contains laws related to taxation.

Cornell University and The Government Printing Office each have each put the Code on their websites.

 These websites, along with several others, have search functions you can use to locate federal laws that address the topic that interests you.

Maryland has its own Code  

Maryland similarly has its Code divided by subject matter. Lexis and Westlaw, the two most popular legal research websites for lawyers

Past Court Decisions

Referred to as case law or precedent, past court decisions may bind a judge on a given matter. In the American legal tradition (and in other systems that follow the "common law," judges are expected to issue decisions consistent with prior decisions on similar legal issues, namely “precedent.” They are specifically expected to issue decisions consistent with those of higher-ranking courts.

When a party believes that a court has issued a decision that is inconsistent with precedent, he, she, or it may appeal to a higher-ranking court to overturn the decision of the lower court. Because past decisions of appellate courts have an authoritative nature, they are given the expression “case law.”

Because of its authoritative and persuasive effect, attorneys and other skilled advocates rely heavily on case law in arguing for favorable rulings.

 You can find the United States Supreme Court’s past decisions on its website, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decisions on its website,  The Court of Appeals of Maryland’s decisions on its website,  and the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland on its website.

 Other public oriented legal websites, such as www.findlaw.com include many of these decisions on their web pages, and have functions which make searching easier. You can also locate various court decisions through legal search engines such as lexis.com or westlaw.com. Many law libraries provide access to one or both of these search engines. Law libraries have other resources with which to search past decisions.