The University of Alabama School of Law
The University of Alabama School of Law
Be careful relying exclusively on keyword search alone to locate statutes or regulations. Statutory and regulatory language is often highly specific and may not be as easy to locate via keyword searching. Whether the material is in print or online, many statutory and regulatory codes will have user aids like a table of contents, an index, or cross-reference tables that can be a good alternative to keyword searching.
If you have a citation to a Public Law or Statutes at Large, don't forget you can use tables to look up where that law was codified in the US Code. This is especially useful for large pieces of legislation that may be codified across numerous sections, chapters, or even titles.
The easiest way to find federal statutes and regulations on Westlaw is to go to the home page and click on the "Federal Materials" tab, which has the "Code of Federal Regulations," the "Federal Register," and the "United States Code Annotated (USCA)." For state materials, you can select either the "Statutes" tab or the "Statutes & Court Rules" link in "Content Types." Both options will take you to the same page where you will find Federal and State materials, as well as other U.S. jurisdictions and materials organized by topic. Simply look for the state of your choice, select it, and look through the offered materials to see if Westlaw keeps what you are looking for.
Note: Be careful what you click on because there is no separation between statutes and rules in State materials.
On the Lexis home page, if you select the "Content" tab, you can find the "Statutes & Legislation" tab. If you click on that, you will be redirected to another page where, if you look at the "Content Type" text box, you can find "Codes." If you follow that link, you will be able to find materials from several jurisdictions, including Federal, Tribal, and State, as well as materials organized by Practice Area. If you go back to "Content Type," you can also find a link titled "Public Laws/ALS," which will lead you to Statutes at Large and Public Laws for Federal and State jurisdictions.
If you go back to the home page, you can select the "Federal" tab and this will help you find the "CFR- Code of Federal Regulations" and the "Federal Register." You can also find the "USCS - United States Code Service" through this tab, and "USCS - Public Laws."
As for state materials, you can use the instructions previously mentioned and find them, or you can always select the "State" tab and select the state of your choice and scroll down to "Statutes & Legislation."
Looking at the home page for Bloomberg Law, you should look at the "Laws & Regulations," located just below the search bar to the right side of the screen. If you select this tab, you will see links to the "U.S. Code," the "Code of Federal Regulations," "Legislative Resources," and "Regulatory Resources." By selecting "Legislative Resources," you will be redirected to a page where you can find the "U.S. Code," and "U.S. Public Laws & Statutes at Large." If you select "Regulatory Resources," you will be able to find the "Federal Register" and the "C.F.R."
The "Laws & Regulations" tab also includes "State Laws & Regulations," which leads you to an interactive map where you can select the state of your choice and find that state's materials. You can also find state materials through "Legislative Resources" and "Regulatory Resources."