Intro to California LawJim Raines, Ph.D.

Collaborative Health & Human Services

Introduction to California Laws~ Overview of primary sources

~ Statutes~ Cases~ Administrative Law

~ Unique Aspects of the California legal system~ Ballot Measures~ Depublication of opinions

Statutes~ California does not publish an official code.~ Two main annotated codes:

~ West’s Annotated California Codes~Westlaw (CA-ST-ANN)

~ Deering’s California Codes Annotated~LexisNexis (STATES;CACODE)

~ http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html (unannotated)

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There are 2 ways to search California Law: 1) by Code or 2) by keyword.

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Try starting with the most likely Code for your topic. Then click Search below.

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At the Table of Contents, you can scroll down until you find the area related to your topic.

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If your topic is about the rights of minors, scroll down to Division 11, then select your exact topic.

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You may also search by a Code and keyword or phrase.

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This search resulted in 20 section groups where the keyword was found. Only the first ten are listed on this page. Pick one at time.

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Ballot Measures~ Initiatives vs. Referenda

~ Initiative: “power of the electors to propose statutes and amendments to the Constitution and to adopt or reject them” (Cal. Const., Art. II, Sec. 8)

~ Referendum: “power of the electors to approve or reject statutes or parts of statutes” (Cal. Const. Art. II, Sec. 9)~Example: Proposition 209 was an initiative that

amended Cal. Const. (Art. 1, Sec. 31)

~ California Ballot Propositions, http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_j.htm

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Start Here!

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The Hastings database is searchable!

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You can then choose to search the California Ballot Propositions.

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You can search by keyword and delimit the search only to those propositions that passed. This search resulted in ten records, click “Display Search Results” to see them.

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You can then see the exact language and its potential fiscal effect.

Depublication~ Once review has been granted, the Courts of

Appeal opinion is generally superseded and cannot be cited for precedent unless the Supreme Court specifies otherwise.

~ The Supreme Court may also depublish or partially publish a certified decision from the Courts of Appeal. ~Online: use citators in Westlaw or LexisNexis.

~ See UCLA Law Library guide~http://libguides.law.ucla.edu/depublication

Courts~ Supreme Court of California~ Courts of Appeal

~ 1st: San Francisco~ 2nd: Los Angeles~ 3rd: Sacramento~ 4th: San Diego~ 5th: Fresno~ 6th: San Jose

~ Superior Courts – Trial Courts

Finding Case Law Online

~ Westlaw (CA-CS)

~ LexisNexis (CAL;CACTS)

~ California Courts website (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions)

~ Findlaw (http://www.findlaw.com/cacases) (from 1934)

~ Public Library of Law (http://www.plol.org/) (from 1997)

~ LexisOne (http://www.lexisone.com) (from 2003)

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Start Here!

CSUMB●EDUClick here to continue!

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Scroll down to read the Terms & Condition, then check the box before clicking View Opinions.

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First, select which cases you want to search, then use a key word (for phrases use quotation marks). Click Go to retrieve results.

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Click on a case that seems relevant to your topic.

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Since this case is 85 pages, you may want to save it as a Word document so you can search it for keywords.

Administrative Law

~ California Code of Regulations (CCR) - Official

~ CCR formerly known as the California Administrative Code (1945-1979)

~ Divided into 28 different titles

~ Citation form: Cal. Code Regulations. Title 3, § 441 (2009)

Finding Administrative Law

~ California Code of Regulations~ LexisNexis: CAL;CAADMN

~ Westlaw: CA-ADC

~ Online: http://www.oal.ca.gov/ccr.htm

~ California Administrative Decisions~ LexisNexis: CAL;CAAGEN

~ Westlaw: U.S. State Materials > California > Administrative & Executive Materials

~ Online: http://www.ca.gov/About/Government/agencyindex.html

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You can search multiple ways, but searching by Words probably works best.

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Use a phrase in quotation marks to narrow your search, then click Search.

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Find the regulation that best fits your topic and click on the blue link.

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