Have You Seen the Whole Statute?

Many laws are enacted as a coherent whole and then divided and separated when they are codified.  Part of the statute may be sprinkled into the jurisdiction and procedure code, part into one substantive code and the rest into another.  Additionally, within one code, sections of a single statute may appear widely separated.  Two federal examples:

  • The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 appears in the following United States Code titles: 5, 31, 38 and 42.
  • The Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Adoption and Family Services Act of 1992 appears in United States Code title 42, but part is codified between 5101 to 5118e and the rest between 10401 to 10415.

Reviewing the entire statute may reveal arguments that are not apparent when only a segment is examined.  The entire statute may reflect a statutory intent that is not immediately apparent from isolated sections.  Definitions may be codified in one section that illuminate the meaning of other, distant sections.

To locate the whole statute, use the historical references to trace back to the original statute as enacted.  Different states offer different tools for locating session laws, enrolled bills and other acts of the legislature.  Among other sources, see http://www.lawsource.com/also/.