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Law Library Research Guide:
Federal Primary Materials

Law Library Guides

The United States of America has a federal system under which the 50 states have agreed to give the federal government certain powers spelled out in the U.S. constitution. All powers not granted to the federal government in the constitution are reserved to the states. Laws are made at three levels federal, state and local. At each level there are sources of law: legislatures, courts and executive agencies. The Constitution creates a federal government comprised of three separate and equal branches: legislative, executive and judicial.


Constitution:

  • The Constitution is the founding document for the United States federal government. The United States and state constitutions and the federal court cases that interpret them produce constitutional law.
  • United States Code (U.S.C) U.S. Government Printing Office (Official Source), Law Library First Floor Range 102.
  • United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A) West. First Floor Range 101.
  • GPO Access


Executive Branch:

See Law Library Research Guide: Federal Regulatory Law

The power of the executive branch is vested in the President, who also serves as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The President appoints the Cabinet and oversees the various agencies and departments of the federal government.

In order for a person to become President, he or she must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years of age, and have resided in the United States for at least 14 years. Once elected, the President serves a term of four years and may be re-elected only once. The President can issue Executive Orders to direct the actions of the federal agencies or to set policies for the executive branch to follow. They are published in the Federal Register and Title 3 Code of Federal Regulations (see information below). HeinOnline Presidential Library (1965 to November 2006) and The National Archives.

Congress has the authority to write the laws but gives authority to promulgate rules and regulations to interpret and to administer those laws to the federal agencies.

The proposed and final agency regulations are published in the Federal Register (Law Library First Floor Range 102 and Microfiche) is published on every Federal work day. It is available from several different sources.  They utilize digitized format HeinOnline Federal Register Library (coverage:  1936 - February 2007) and GPO Access (coverage:  1994 – current) are popular choices for Federal Register research. 

The final regulations are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (Law Library First Floor Range 102 and Microfiche) is also available in electronic format from HeinOnline (coverage:  1938-1986) and from GPO Access (with coverage back to 1996).  Lexis and Westlaw also have the CFR (1981-present), although the format is harder to use than the format used for Hein Online and GPO Access.

Administrative Agency Decisions:


Judicial Branch:

The judicial branch hears cases that challenge or require interpretation of the legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President. It consists of the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts. Appointees to the federal bench serve for life or until they voluntarily resign or retire.

The Supreme Court is the most visible of all the federal courts. The number of Justices is determined by Congress rather than the Constitution, and since 1869, the Court has been composed of one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. Justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The federal courts often are called the guardians of the Constitution because their rulings protect rights and liberties guaranteed by it. The federal courts interpret and apply the law to resolve disputes. The courts do not make the laws. That is the responsibility of Congress. Nor do the courts have the power to enforce the laws. That is the role of the President and the many executive branch departments and agencies.

U.S. Supreme Court:

U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal:

U.S. District Courts:


Legislative Branch:

  • The legislative branch of the federal government consists of the Congress, which is divided into two chambers -- the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each member of Congress is elected by the people of his or her state. The House of Representatives, with membership based on state populations, has 435 seats, while the Senate, with two members from each state, has 100 seats. Members of the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms, and Senators are elected for six-year terms.
  • How Our Laws Are Made This brochure is intended to provide a basic outline of the numerous steps of our federal lawmaking process from the source of an idea for a legislative proposal through its publication as a statute.
  • Public Laws (P.L. # ) for example P.L. 100-53 refers to the 53 law passed by the 100th Congress
  • United States Statutes at Large Containing the Laws and Concurrent Resolutions ... (Stat.) U.S. Government Printing Office (Official Source) First Floor Range 102. Also available through HeinOnline.
  • http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws/index.html
  • http://thomas.loc.gov/legislative information from the Library of Congress.
  • Congressional Documents Beginning with the Continental Congress in 1774, America's national legislative bodies have kept records of their proceedings. The records of the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the United States Congress make up a rich documentary history of the construction of the nation and the development of the federal government and its role in the national life. These documents record American history in the words of those who built our government. Available at A Century of Lawmaking For a New Nation and Congressional Record through HeinOnline , Thomas 1989- and recent years Range 102.
  • Federal Legislative History see Law Library Research Guide: Federal Legislative History.

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