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Law Library

Sources of Law and Types of Authority: Creation of Statutes

Summary

  • At the Federal level, enacted bills are termed "public laws"
  • Laws passed by a legislative body (federal or state) are called Statutes
    • That distinguishes them from other kinds of law (like common law)
  • After each public law is passed, it is put into a publication called Statutes at Large
    • Statues-at-Large is a chronological compilation of the laws as they are passed
  • The laws are then codified and published in the United States Code
  • CODIFICATION is an important concept
    • It means the placement of material into a subject arrangement 
    • For Example, when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, it contained many different provisions—including employment and transportation.  The parts of the law that pertained to employment were put into the “labor” part of the code and the parts that contained transportation requirements were put into that part of the code.  It is a sensible arrangement of laws

Realistic - Federal

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Simplified

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of the opening page of a Public Law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realistic - State

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