When locating statutes that do not possess an adequate citation, there are a few options you may consider. These include: consultation of a “table of popular names,” conducting of a search of a “statutory index,” and the application of a “full-text search” within a “digital database.”
The popular names table can be found at the conclusion of “statutory codes.” In this way, when locating statutes without a citation, yet possessing a “common name” of reference, you may, thus, locate it.
The tables, themselves, are organized in alphabetical order according to the “popular titles,” where the citations of “session law” and “affected code sections will reside. Such a search may also be done by way of West Law and Lexis-Nexis. Locating statutes within indexes will necessitate the use of key terms in order to focus your search toward the relevant statute.
These indexes will be available only on West Law, however, in contrast to Lexis-Nexis. “Full-text searching” assists in locating statutes with the employment of exactness in language used. The terms you use while searching are, then, vital to your acquirement of the appropriate statutes.
If you do decide to go the route of using either West Law or Lexis-Nexis solely, there are a few specifications you must be aware of. In accordance with West Law, you may either directly click on the “statutes” option on the “welcome screen” or type in the appropriate search term within the “search these databases text box.”
In reference to Lexis-Nexis, however, you will need to select the code for your jurisdiction followed by the eventual inputting of terms, which will allow you to seek out codes in their entirety. Regardless of what avenue you wish to partake in, knowledge of the ways in which you may locate a relevant statute will be important to your role as a paralegal amidst constant legal proceedings.
