Finding an Archive Statute (January 7, 2009)
A consistent request to law librarians is: I need to locate a statute that was in effect in xxxx—not the current code, but sometime in the past. Most libraries do not retain historical statute materials, so where can this information be located? lexis.com® of course! The United States Code Service is archived beginning with 1992, the 2nd session of the 102nd Congress. Individual state statute archives begin in 1991.
As an example, you receive a request to find information on special tax revisions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Law in effect in 1995. Select the United States Code Service Materials (Archived) file for 1995 and enter: special tax provisions and bankruptcy, and your result will include USCS code section 346 effective in 1995.
Below are the source paths for the USCS materials and a sample source path for state materials:
Legal > Federal Legal - U.S. > Find Statutes, Regulations, Administrative Materials & Court Rules > United States Code Service (USCS) Materials > United States Code Service Materials (Archived)
Legal > States Legal - U.S. > California > Find Statutes, Regulations, Administrative Materials & Court Rules > By Statutes & Regulations > Legislative Archive
