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Category: Research Guide

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A Guide to Chinese Legal Research: Who Makes What?

Posted by: Laney Zhang

With this post, we at the Law Library of Congress wish you a happy Year of Horse, which starts from tomorrow, January 31!    Many of the people coming to us for help with Chinese legal research have had the experience of being confused by the titles of the various legal documents.  “Regulations,” “measures,” “provisions,” “opinions,” “decisions…”  What are they?  …

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Small Claims Court: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Robert Brammer

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, Legal Reference Specialists. At sometime you may find yourself in a dispute that does not seem worth pursuing because the amount in controversy is small. After all, you do not want to spend five thousand dollars on an attorney for a claim that, assuming you are …

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Municipal Codes: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, Legal Reference Specialists. Although we are likely more frequently asked about federal laws here at the Law Library of Congress, we do receive quite a number of reference requests concerning state and local law.  Of these non-federal requests, some of the more challenging questions deal …

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Social Security Disability Law: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, Legal Reference Librarians. Social Security disability benefits have taken on an ever-increasing role in the press in recent months, and as such, it is no surprise that the Law Library of Congress has received many questions regarding the law in this area.  In this post, …

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Federal Statutes: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer. One of the most frequent requests we receive from patrons at the reference desk at the Law Library Reading Room is for help in tracking down statutes passed by the United States Congress.  While at first glance, finding a statute may seem straightforward, there are …

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No Taxation Without Representation Circa 1215 AD, or, Magna Carta: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

Magna Carta, the Charter of Liberties sealed by King John of England in 1215 AD, is routinely cited as one of the most important documents of our constitutional tradition.  It ranks with the English Bill of Rights (1689), The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution in symbolic power.  And while the details of …

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Debates of Congress: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer One of our most frequent requests at the Law Library of Congress is to help patrons with their legislative history research.  Often, researchers will want information about the votes and debates made on the floor of Congress in order to track the history of the …

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State Government Contracts – A Research Guide

Posted by: Robert Brammer

This is a guest post by David Mao, Law Librarian of Congress. As part of the In Custodia Legis Research Guide series, my Law Library colleagues Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer recently wrote about government contracting. Their Beginner’s Guide is an excellent resource for learning about contracting with the federal government. I began to wonder …