Research Tip: How to Trace Federal Legislation - A Research Guide

There's a great post up today on In Custodia Legis, the blog of the Law Librarians of Congress, titled How to Trace Federal Legislation - A Research Guide.

Any given provision in the current U.S. Code may be the product of multiple acts passed over a long period of time. So, how do you unpack the provision and discover the different acts that gave rise to a particular section of the Code? Tracing legislation from the Code back to the bills, public laws, and Statutes at Large that created it may seem daunting for the uninitiated, but we hope this research guide will help simplify the process.

Pro Bono Week - 2013

Next week is Pro Bono Week.  Nevada Legal Services will be holding an Ask A Lawyer/Forms Clinic at the Law Library on Thursday, October 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Additionally, Law Library staff will be at the legal aid fair held by Volunteer Attorneys for Northern Nevada on Saturday, November 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Sierra Room at the Carson City Community Center.

If you cannot make it to Carson City on either of the above dates, check out the list of events posted on the State Bar of Nevada's website. 

Nevada Revised Statutes 2013 Reprint is HERE!

The Law Library has received the NRS 2013 Reprint (if you want to order one for yourself, contact LCB Publications).  The copies in Reference and Ready Reference have been filed and the set located in the Southwest corner of the library by Room 104/105 should be completed by October 24th.  The 2013 Reprint has not yet been posted on the LCB's website, but we hear it will be uploaded in the next few weeks. 

ETA - the Law Library archives one copy of each NRS reprint, so if you need a NRS section from some prior year, please contact the Reference Desk (775-684-1640 or reference@nvcourts.nv.gov ).

Looking for Government Documents During the Shutdown?

HeinOnline is a good source for government documents generally and especially now with the government shutdown.  Check out the recent blog post on how to find government documents on HeinOnline:

The government may be closed for all non-essential business, but at HeinOnline we are hard at work to ensure that you have access to the most up-to-date information as well as historical archives for many government publications. Check out what we have in our U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions and Appeals collection. Looking specifically for the Congressional Record or a particular Congressional Hearing? Try our U.S. Congressional Documents collection, where we update the Congressional Record Daily after each day of congressional activity and the Congressional Record itself goes back to inception! Also included in HeinOnline are the United States Reports, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, National Labor Relations Board Decisions, and many more!

The Law Library subscribes to HeinOnline.  Court-affiliated users may find the login and password on the intranet.  Public patrons may access HeinOnline from one of our public access computers.  Ask for assistance at the reference desk.

Treatise Spotlight: Disputed Paternity Proceedings, 5th

Title:  Disputed Paternity Proceedings, 5th

Author:  Nina M. Vitek
Last Updated:  June 2013

Description:  A comprehensive analysis of paternity-related litigation issues emphasizing topics that transcend state lines, offering tightly focused coverage of contemporary issues.

(description taken from publisher's website)

Is the NRS Updated Yet?

No, LCB staff is hard at work codifing acts passed by the 2013 Legislature.  We do not expect to receive the 2013 Nevada Revised Statutes until November or December.  Supplements to Lexis' Michie's Nevada Revised Statutes Annotated and West's Nevada Revised Statutes Annotated should be available shortly thereafter.

In the meantime, update the 2011 NRS Reprint using the tables and indices available on the LCB's 2013 Bill Information page. 

• If you have a NRS section and want to know if it has been updated, use the table of sections proposed to be amended or repealed.
• If you have an NRS chapter and want to know if it has been amended, use the table of chapters proposed to be amended by the addition of new sections.
• There are also tables for amended titles and titles and sections amended by initiative petition, as well as a subject index.

If you prefer print, you can use the tables in the 2013 Statutes of Nevada advance sheets (REF KFN625 .A2 2013 and READY REF KFN625 .A2 2013). The bound 2013 Statutes of Nevada has not yet been published, and will be added to the collection as soon as it is available.

A word of caution:  don't think you can avoid updating by using Westlaw and Lexis.  Currently the NRS available on Lexis and Westlaw is the 2011 version, though there should be red Shepard's and KeyCite flags for those sections which have been amended.  Titles and chapters, however, are trickier and it is good practice to review the tables linked above.

Oh, and when you are done with the 2013 session, you can do it again with the tables for the 27th Special Session.

tl;dr:  no, use these tables to update the 2011 NRS.

Treatise Spotlight: Handling Federal Tort Claims



Handling Federal Tort Claims


Title:  Handling Federal Tort Claims: Administrative and Judicial Remedies, 3d
Author:  Lester S. Jayson and Robert C. Longstreth
Publisher:  Matthew Bender
Last Update:  July 2013

Description:  A three-volume treatise detailing the process of seeking remedies from the federal government for injuries caused by the tortious conduct of its employees. The treatise can be used as a reference by both claimants’ and government attorneys. The treatise is heavily annotated with discussions of relevant cases and includes numerous regulations and forms.

Description from first volume.