Massachusetts Law - Word doc
MA Administrative Decisions - Word doc
MA Court System - Word doc
Federal Law -Word doc
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Acts specify where they will appear in the Code. Special Acts are not codified. Table volumes in the Annotated versions of the Mass. General Laws show where each part of each session law appears in the Code.
Supplementation services to the Code include separate Session Law pamphlets that print the Acts in numerical sequence by Chapter number of the Acts of a specific year.
Online at: http://www.mass.gov/legis; click on "Session Laws"
Code
Massachusetts General Laws (annotated versions available from both West and Lexis)
Chapters are numbered 1 to 288. e.g. Chapter 71B is Children With Special Needs.
Paperback Indexes cover the entire set and each Chapter has its own Index.
Updated by yearly pocket parts and regular pamphlets that supplement pocket parts.
Remember that the validity of Session Laws may be radically changed over the years as new Session Laws are passed that amend or repeal Chapters of the Code, therefore the General Laws are actually the authoritative “law” in force at any given time.
Online at: http://www.mass.gov/legis ; click on "General Laws"
Regulations
Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR)
Produced by agencies to give detail to the Laws. e.g. 603 CMR 28.00 is the Department of Education’s Regulations on Special Education.
Update by the Massachusetts Register, which is filed into the CMR.
Partially online at: http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/cmr.html
Cases
Massachusetts Reports (Mass.): Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) cases
Online at: http://www.masslaw.com/masjc.cfm (from 1997)
Massachusetts Appeals Court Reports (Mass. App): Mass. Appeals Court cases
Online at: http://www.masslaw.com/macoa.cfm (from 1997)
Massachusetts Law Reporter (Mass. L. Rptr.): Selected Superior Court cases
Online at: http://www.socialaw.com Choose "Slip Opinions" in Quicklinks for recent decisions
Other Trial Court Department (e.g. District or Probate) cases are NOT published.
Administrative Decisions and Opinions may or may not be available in print or online.
Digest
Massachusetts Digest: Cases by subject arranged by West Key Number System
Procedure
Massachusetts Rules of Court
Includes Rules of Criminal and Civil Procedure and additional Rules of individual courts
Rules are included in Mass. General Laws and available in paperback versions.
Partially Online http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us; click on "Mass. Court Rules and Fees"
Massachusetts Practice
Encyclopedia of Massachusetts law with citations to laws and cases. Includes legal forms.
Currently consists of about 50 volumes by expert individual authors. e.g. v 18A Municipal Law by Randall and Franklin, Chapter 22, section 907 deals with Special Education
There are hundreds of other Massachusetts secondary sources, including all the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education publications, available at the Trial Court Law Libraries
Online: Use our catalog at http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us
Supreme Judicial Court (SJC)
Published in Mass. Reports (Mass.)
Mass. Appeals Court
Published in Mass. App. Ct. Reports (Mass. App. Ct.)
The Trial Courts
Few are published. Some Superior, Land and Housing Court decisions available through online subscriptions.
Superior Court - Selected cases published in Mass. Law Reporter
District Court
Boston Municipal Court
Probate and Family Court
Land Court - Published in Land Court Reporter
Housing Court
Juvenile Court
Many agencies within state government have boards or administrative judges which hear cases that concern the areas that these agencies oversee. For information about the work of these agencies, access their websites from http://www.mass.gov. While some administrative decisions are published, most are not. Online access is almost exclusively through expensive subscription databases such as Westlaw, Social Law Library, or Lexis. Landlaw publishes print versions of decisions from several agencies. Recently, more agencies have been posting their decisions on their websites.
Because these decisions have the force of law, people are interested in locating them. Below are examples of some of the administrative decisions that patrons in public libraries might be likely to seek.
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD)
This agency adjudicates issues of discrimination. The majority of cases involve age, race or sex discrimination in employment, but they also hear cases that deal with housing and public accommodations for the disabled. Their decisions are published in print in the Massachusetts Discrimination Law Reporter (MDLR) and online through subscription.
Housing Appeals Committee
This agency hears appeals from developers who are in conflict with local zoning appeals boards over the implementation of Ch. 40B of the General Laws. This chapter allows developers to be exempt from certain local zoning regulations if 10% of the housing created is designated as affordable. The committee clarifies on a case by case basis how this law is applied. These decisions are only available through subscription databases.
Department of Industrial Accidents
This agency settles disputes over workers’ compensation issues, most commonly the amount or length of time an employer must pay an injured employee. Their decisions are published in print in the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Reports (Mass. Workers’ Comp. Rep.) Decisions from 1999 are posted online at http://www.mass.gov/dia/PUBS/REVIEWS/Titlepage.htm
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
This agency hears cases which concern environmental issues ranging from odor control at hazardous waste facilities to competing use of water resources by adjoining towns to the protection of wetlands from development. Their decisions are published in print in the DEP Reporter (DEPR).
Administrative decisions from the above agencies and many others are available by fax or email from any Trial Court Law Library. We can also help determine which decisions are unavailable or only available from the agency.
Statutes or Session Laws
U. S. Statutes at Large Official source for Public Laws
Laws are numbered by Congress chronologically as passed during a session of Congress, e. g. Public Law 108-446 is the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 2004. This was the 446th law passed during the 108th Congress
U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News , 1941-
West publication containing Public Laws and legislative history. Updated by pamphlets
Online (from 1973) at: http://thomas.loc.gov; click on "Public Laws"
Statutes at Large 1789-1875 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsllink.html
Code
United States Code (annotated versions available from both West and Lexis)
Numbered by Titles, e. g. 20 USC 1400- is the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
Indexed by paperback volumes; has additional volumes containing finding Tables (e.g. Popular Name). Updated by pocket parts and pamphlets.
Online at: http://uscode.house.gov
Regulations
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Numbered by Titles, e. g. 34 CFR 300.0- contains regulations of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education
Online at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
Cases
U. S. Supreme Court: U.S. Reports (US) or Supreme Court Reporter (S.Ct.)
Lower Courts: (not all cases are reported)
Federal Reporter (F., F2d, F3d) Circuit Court of Appeals cases
Federal Supplement (F. Supp, F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d) District Court cases
Online at: www.lexisone.com (Free registration required) has U.S. Supreme Court from 1790 to present and 5 most recent years only for U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Two gateways to available Federal cases online, especially to District Court:
http://www.findlaw.com; click on "US Law: Cases and Codes"
OR
http://www.law.cornell.edu; click on "Court Opinions"
Procedure: Federal Rules
Online at http://www.law.cornell.edu - click on "Constitution & Codes"
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