Prepare to Practice Resources

There are many statutory definition sections throughout any given code, all typically related to a specific chapter or section. If you find an on-point statute, always use the navigational hierarchy to double-check if there is a definition section. You'll want to see if your jurisdiction has a definition and where the Code might have included said definition. 

On Westlaw, look under "Definitions" or "Words & Phrases" in the statutory index to find citation for all words that have been defined by statute in that jurisdiction.

For Federal statutes, you should either start with the "Statutes" tab or the "Federal Materials" tab and the "USCA - United States Code Annotated (USCA)" link. After choosing either option, you should look to the far right of the screen. There will be a text box with a section labeled "Tools & Resources." You should select "Index - USCA" and search for "Definitions." You'll find a link labeled "Words & Phrases." You can repeat these steps for the "Code of Federal Regulations." 

For State materials, select the "State Materials" tab and then the respective state that you are searching. From there, you will want to look for the section labeled "Statutes & Court Rules" and select the link for the states statutes and court rules. Similar to the Federal materials, you'll see a section on the far right of the screen labeled "Tools & Resources," where you'll select "Index - [State] Statutes." You'll follow this link, then search for "Definitions," then "Words & Phrases."

If you are on Lexis, you should start with the "Content" tab, then select "Statutory Codes." After selecting this, you'll be redirected to a new page, where you'll find a section titled "Federal." You should select "USCS - United States Code Service - Titles 1 through 54 - Index." After doing so, you should look for "D-179 Defined Terms."