Transcript Statutory Research

West’s Instructional Aid Series
Statutory Research
West’s Instructional Aid Series
Contents
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introduction
The Legislative Process
Anatomy of a Statute
Statutory research: Print and Online
Updating Statutory Research
Expanding Statutory Research
–
–
–
–
KeyCite®
Case Law (Annotations)
Legislative History
Secondary Sources
Introduction
Back to Contents
Introduction
Sources of American Law
Statutory Law is enacted by the Legislatures.
Case Law is decided by the
Courts.
Regulations are issued by the Executive Branch
(Agencies).
Introduction
Federal Statutes
• Federal statutes are codified in the United States Code.
– The United States Code (USC) is the official version of
the statutes and is published by the Government
Printing Office.
– The United States Code Annotated® (USCA)® in print is
published by West.
– USCA is the database on Westlaw®
that contains the USCA.
Introduction
State Statutes
• Each state has a statutes publication. The publication might
be called statutes, statutes annotated, laws, code, or code
annotated. The annotated versions enhance your ability to
find relevant cases and statutes.
• XX-ST-ANN (where XX is the state’s
two-letter postal abbreviation) is the database
identifier for annotated state statutes
on Westlaw.
Introduction
State Legislative Processes
• Most state legislatures are modeled after the United States
Congress and consist of two houses. Only Nebraska has a
one-house legislature.
• Legislation moves through state legislatures in much the
same way it moves through Congress.
• The governor signs or vetoes the legislation and there are
state provisions for overriding a governor’s veto.
• What is said about the federal legislative
process is usually true of state
legislative processes.
The model for this presentation
will be the federal statutes.
Introduction
Statutes: the Neglected Side of Legal
Research
• Most of what you learn in law school will be based on the
common-law traditions of the courts.
• Statutory law is often obscurely or ambiguously worded.
• It must be interpreted by case law.
• This case law often becomes a more accessible source
of law than the statute.
• Statutory research may seem complicated. This is due, in
part, to the fact most that researchers are not trained in
statutory research.
Introduction
Statutes are the Neglected Side of Legal
Research But…
• Statutes are around to stay. They are the cornerstone of
our legal system.
• Only a court of competence can declare a clearly worded
statute unconstitutional.
• Don’t fight them. There is help!
The Legislative Process
Back to Contents
The Legislative Process
The Legislative Process
• Introduction of a bill (proposed legislation)
• Passed by both houses of Congress
• Signed by president or president’s veto is overridden
• Becomes a “session law” or “public law”
• Incorporated into statutory code
The Legislative Process
A Bill Is Introduced
• A bill is introduced by a sponsor(s) in one or both houses
of Congress.
• A bill is assigned a bill number (H.R. 14, 107th Cong., 1st
Sess. (2001)).
• This bill number usually follows the proposed
legislation through hearings, amendments,
congressional committees, etc., until enactment or the
end of the current legislative period.
The Legislative Process
A Bill Is Introduced
• A companion bill may be introduced in the other house of
the legislature at any time.
• Committee hearings may be held and amendments to the
bill may be made. If the committee votes favorably on the
bill, a committee report in support of the bill accompanies
the bill back to the floor in many jurisdictions.
• A bill may die in committee and never reach the full house
for vote.
The Legislative Process
Bill S. 940
Sponsors
Short Title
Federal bill S. 904 (Leave No Child Behind Act of 2001),
sponsored by Senators Dodd, Wellstone, and Kennedy, as it
appears in the Congressional Bills – 107th Congress database.
The Legislative Process
A Bill Becomes Law
• When the bill passes one house, it is sent to the other house
for consideration.
• The other house may approve and pass the bill to the
president in identical form.
• More likely, the other house will propose a variation of the
bill and both houses must negotiate a compromise.
• When both houses pass the bill in identical form, it is sent
to the president for a signature or veto.
The Legislative Process
A Bill Becomes Law
• If signed (or not vetoed within 10 days), the bill becomes
a “session law” or “public law.”
• If the president vetoes the bill, the veto may be overridden
by two-thirds majority in both houses. (If the president
takes no activity on the bill at the end of a legislative
session the bill is, in effect, vetoed. This is called a
“pocket veto.”)
• The public law is renumbered using the number of the
congressional session and the numerical order in which the
law was enacted:
• P.L. 107-14 and P.L. 107-15 are the 14th and 15th bills
to be enacted by the 107th session of Congress.
The Legislative Process
A public law may
• add a section (statute) in the statutory code
• change language in a section (statute)
• repeal a section (statute) of the statutory code
• re-number a section (statute)
• do all of the above
The Legislative Process
Public Laws Are Published
• An enacted law is first published officially by the
Government Printing Office as an individual slip law
and sent to government depository libraries and other
libraries that subscribe to these publications.
• Public laws are published in compiled volumes in
chronological order in The Statutes at Large, the
official government publication. There is a two to
four-year lag in publication of these volumes.
The Legislative Process
Public Laws are Published
• The U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative
News® (USCCAN), published by West, issues monthly
pamphlets including newly enacted laws.
• The monthly USCCAN pamphlets are reissued in
bound volume after each congressional session.
• Public laws are also published in the USCCAN
and US-PL (United States Public Laws)
databases on Westlaw.
The Legislative Process
A slip law as it appears on Westlaw in the US-PL database
shortly after enactment. There are also archived public
laws in the US-PL-OLD database, which contains
public laws from 1973 to the previous session of Congress.
The Legislative Process
A Public Law Is Codified
• The public law then changes the statutory code to:
• bring all laws on the same topic together
• eliminate all repealed or expired statutes
• unite amendments with the original statute
• This process is called codification
• the United States Code is divided into 50 titles, often
called codes (see next screen)
• Title 11 is the Bankruptcy Code
• Title 26 is the Tax Code
The Legislative Process
United States Code
is organized in broad
subject categories
called titles. The 50
titles are in rough
alphabetical order.
The Legislative Process
Each title is further divided into individual sections,
which contain the actual text of the statutes. (The words
section and statute are usually synonymous.)
The Legislative Process
A single public law may amend or affect many sections in
different titles of the Code.
The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001 or
P.L. 107-12 amended sections in Titles 42 and 15 of the USCA.
The Legislative Process
Codification
in the U.S.
Code
Sections in the
public law
Public Law 106-120, the Intelligence Authorization Act
for the Fiscal Year 2001, has been codified in both Title 50
and Title 21 of the United States Code. The USCA-POP
(USCA Popular Name Table) database on Westlaw shows
where a public law section has been codified in the United
States Code Annotated.
Summary of the Legislative Process
Bill Passes
Congress or
State Legislature
President or
Governor
Signs Bill
Session Law/
Public Law
Statutory
Code
Codification occurs when the language of the session or public
law changes the statutory code in some way.
Question
Which of the following is a true statement?
1.
Each public law amends a single statute.
2.
A slip law is the final version of a statute.
3.
Codification is the process in which sections of public
laws amend, add to, or repeal the relevant portion(s) of
the United States Code.
4.
The president’s veto of a bill may be overridden by a
majority of both houses.
Question
Which of the following is a true statement?
1.
Each public law amends a single statute.
2.
A slip law is the final version of a statute.
3.
Codification is the process in which sections of public
laws amend, add to, or repeal the relevant portion(s) of
the United States Code.
4.
The president’s veto of a bill may be overridden by a
majority of both houses.
Anatomy of a Statute
Return to Contents
Anatomy of a Statute
The United States Code
The United States Code (USC)
•
•
•
•
•
Is issued every six years
Is updated annually
Is arranged into 50 titles
References the Statutes at Large citation
Includes historical notes and cross-references to related
sections
• Includes an index, a table of acts cited by popular name,
and conversion tables that allow you to move between the
present version and earlier versions of the Code
Anatomy of a Statute
The United States Code
•
The United States Code (USC), as published by the
government, has several drawbacks
– There is a publication lag, especially for the annual
supplements.
– There are no references to interpreting case law.
The meaning of a statute is often unclear and must be
interpreted by the courts. The decisions of the
courts often become more important sources of law
than the text of the statutes.
Anatomy of a Statute
The United States Code Annotated
(USCA)
The USCA contains the text and features of the statute as they
appear in the USC, plus
•
•
•
•
•
•
references to legislative history, and federal regulations
references to the West Key Number System
references to law review and journal commentaries
library references
references to texts and treatises
Notes of Decisions (annotations)
Anatomy of a Statute
United States Code Annotated
Citation :
18 USCA 241
Text
The text of the statute in the USCA is unchanged from
how it appears in the USC, as published by the
Government Printing Office.
Anatomy of a Statute
United States Code Annotated
Credits (Text Amendments)
are past session laws that
enacted or modified the
statute.
Historical and
Statutory Notes (Editor’s
Notes) are compiled by
West attorney-editors and
give a more detailed
legislative history of the
statute.
Anatomy of a Statute
United States Code Annotated
Cross-references
(to other USCA sections)
Library references (to
many secondary sources)
References to topic
and key numbers
Law review and journal
commentaries
Texts and treatises
Anatomy of a Statute
United States Code Annotated
Index to the Notes of Decisions
(annotations). Subjects are listed
alphabetically
Anatomy of a Statute
United States Code Annotated
• Notes of Decisions
(annotations) are
summaries of how courts
have interpreted the
statute with links to the
case law.
• Notes of Decisions are
the headnotes from cases
that West attorney-editors
have identified as
significantly interpreting
or applying the statute.
Question
Notes of decisions are also called
1.
Headings
2.
Annotations
3.
Credits
4.
Statutory history
Question
Notes of decisions are also called
1.
Headings
2.
Annotations
3.
Credits
4.
Statutory history
Statutory Research: In Print and Online
Back to Contents
Print Research
Print Research Aids
• An alphabetical General Index aids you in
finding relevant statute sections.
– The index has “access words” that
cross-reference formal index headings.
– The Index references the relevant
title(s) and section(s) (statutes).
• The Popular Name Table, in the last index
volume, helps determine where a public
law was codified.
Popular Name
Table
Research Online
Sarah Jones has finished law school, passed the bar, and
found a job with a legal aid service. Four years of college
and three years of law school have run her student loan
debt to well over $100,000 and her salary will never
stretch to make the payments on that amount.
Sarah is considering filing for bankruptcy.
Could this extreme measure solve Sarah’s problem?
Research Online
Finding Relevant Statutes Online:
The Find Service
There are several different but effective ways to find the
Exceptions to Discharge in Bankruptcy statute (section).
• If Sarah knows the citation of the discharge statute, she can
simply type it in the Find this document by citation: text
box on the Law School page or click the Find link on the
toolbar.
Find
Find
11 USCA 523
Research Online
Find a State Statute by Citation
• You can type the following in the Find this document by
citation: text box:
– Enter xx st nnn.nn (where xx stands for the state’s twoletter postal abbreviation and nnn.nn stands for the
citation number)
– Example: mn st 313.01 (do not include paragraph
letter or number, as in 313.01(a)(4))
• For code states or other states with irregular numbering,
simply type xx st in the Find this document by citation:
text box. See next screen.
Research Online
State Statute Template
• A template for the state’s
statutes is displayed.
• Just type in the statute number
in the appropriate code’s text
box.
• Click GO beside the text box
and you will retrieve the state
statute, in this case, Texas
Agricultural Code, section
41.002.
Research Online
Documents in Sequence
If Sarah isn’t sure she has retrieved the correct section but
believes she is very close to it, she could use the
Documents in Sequence feature by selecting Documents in
Sequence under the Tool link at the bottom of the right
frame.
Docs. in Seq.
Tools
Research Online
Documents in Sequence
• Now Sarah will be viewing 11 USCA 524.
• The Doc in Seq arrows at the bottom of the right frame
allow her to move forward or backward, statute by statute,
just as if she were paging through the statutes in print.
Docs in Seq
Research Online
Table of Contents for Statutes
• Sarah could access the Table of Contents service which is
available for each statutory database on Westlaw and open
it to the desired section.
• The Table of Contents service is also a great way for Sarah
to browse the sections around the desired statute to see if
any have relevance to her situation.
TOC link on
Links for Tab
11 USCA 523
Research Online
A Caption and Prelim Field Search
•
•
If Sarah knows that Title 11 is the bankruptcy title and she
needs the exceptions to discharge statute, the following field
restricted search using terms and connectors would be
effective:
ca,pr(“title 11” & exception)
This search retrieves 11 USCA 523. The terms can be in
either the caption or the prelim fields.
Prelim (pr) field
Caption (ca)
Field
Research Online
A Search for a Key Number Case Law
Digest Field
• Sarah could try a Terms and
Connector search in the digest
field of a case law database.
(Here we will use the
ALLFEDS database.)
• For example:
di(discharg! /p "student
loan”)
• This search yields many cases
and several relevant key numbers related to 11 USCA 523.
Research Online
• Sarah notices that one headnote
states that undue hardship is the
only basis for discharging
student loans.
• The key number
51K3351.10(1) assigned to this
headnote links to other cases
discussing the same point of
law. Sarah will have to
examine these cases to
determine if her situation can
be considered a “hardship.”
• There are also references to the
controlling statute(s).
51k3351.10(1)
11 USCA 523
Research Online
A Natural Language Search
• Sarah could run a Natural Language search, which can be
very effective in annotated statute database, in that.
• The looser structure of a natural language search will often
be more successful than a terms and connectors search in
capturing the unpredictable language of a statute.
• The search:
can student loans be discharged in bankruptcy
retrieves the Notes of Decisions shown on the next slide.
Research Online
educational benefit overpayment or loan
Student loan
Student loan
Student loan
Student loan
11 USCA 523 is the first document displayed. The “best” portion
of the statue is in the annotations in the familiar language of the
courts. Sarah retrieved this document even though the text of the
statute does not mention a student loan exception to discharge in
bankruptcy. (The text of the statute uses “educational benefit
overpayment or loan”.)
Research Online
Using KeySearch to Find Statutes and
Cases
• If Sarah is unfamiliar
with both the language
of the law and key
numbers, the
KeySearch service
could be the place to
start research.
• You can access
KeySearch from
anywhere on Westlaw
by clicking KeySearch
on the toolbar.
Access Key Search
Research Online
Using KeySearch to Find Statutes and
Cases
• KeySearch divides the
law into widely
recognized areas of the
law.
• Bankruptcy is one such
area.
Research Online
KeySearch
• The opened
Bankruptcy folder
reveals the bankruptcy
subtopics, one of which
is Discharge.
• If Sarah opens the
Discharge subfolder
and she will find
Educational Loans.
Research Online
• Sarah selects the All
Federal Cases
(ALLFEDS) database.
• She could click the
View/Edit Full Query
link to see the preformulated query.
• Notice that the query is
a combination of words
and key numbers.
• Sarah could add
additional terms.
Research Online
• This is one of the
cases retrieved
from the
ALLFEDS
database and it
talks about
discharging
student loans on
the basis of
hardship.
• There is also a
reference to the
discharge statute.
Hardship
Hardship
11 USCA 523(a)(8)
Updating Statutory Research
Back to Contents
Updating Research
Verifying that Statutory Research Is
Current
• Sarah has found the statute and interpreting case law that
says that student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy.
• She has found cases that state the only exception is on the
basis of undue hardship.
• What if the statute has been recently amended or repealed
or case interpretation of the statute has changed?
Updating Research
Official Print Updates
Print updates
• Slip laws are individually printed and sent to all U.S.
government depository libraries.
• The Statutes at Large is the earliest official compilation
of all laws passed at the end of each session of
Congress.
• Published in chronological order
• No general index
• Publication lags about two years behind the
enactment of the public laws
Updating Research
Most Current Print and Westlaw Updates
• U. S. Code Congressional and Administrative News
(USCCAN) issues monthly pamphlets.
• After each session, the monthly USCCAN pamphlets
are reissued in a bound volume.
• Laws are in the US-PL (United States Public Laws)
database on Westlaw within hours of passage.
•
XX-LEGIS is the identifier for the state
public law databases on Westlaw. State laws
go online as soon as they are received by
West.
Updating Research
United States Code Annotated Updates
Always check in the following print publications
to determine current law:
• Cumulative pocket parts
• Interim pamphlets and statutory supplements
that include the public law changes to the
code and recent notes of decisions from
cases that have construed the statute since
the last supplement was published.
Updating Research
Updating a Statute Online:
KeyCite for Statutes
Use
KeyCite History to determine whether the statute is
good law
Updating Research
KeyCite History for Statutes
Flags Show the Status of the Statute
A red flag means that the
statute has been
• Recently amended
• Repealed
• Ruled unconstitutional
• Preempted
This statute has been declared
unconstitutional or preempted.
All or a portion of the
statute may no longer be
good law.
History
Click the red flag or History on the Links for tab to see that
this statute has been held unconstitutional by several
courts.
Updating Research
KeyCite History
A yellow flag means that the
statute
• Has pending legislation
• Has been renumbered
• Has been transferred
• Contains an editor’s
amendment note.
Both KeyCite History and
Citing References link to
display Pending Legislation
that might affect statute.
The statute is good law but
should be monitored for
changes.
Click the yellow flag on the Links for tab to display this
statute’s Pending Legislation.
Note that you can link to the bills that are pending
legislation.
Updating Research
KeyCite History for Statutes includes
• Updating documents (recently passed public laws that have
amended or repealed the statute)
• Pending legislation that may affect the statute
• Credits (citations to past public laws that have enacted,
amended or renumbered a statute)
• Historical and statutory notes that describe the legislative
changes that have affected that statute
• Cases that have held that the statute is unconstitutional
Question
A red flag on a statute can mean that the statute
1.
Has been declared unconstitutional
2.
Has pending legislation
3.
Has been amended
4.
Both 1 and 3
Question
A red flag on a statute can mean that the statute
1.
Has been declared unconstitutional
2.
Has pending legislation
3.
Has been amended
4.
Both 1 and 3
Expanding Statutory Research
Back to Contents
Expanding Research
Expanding Statutory Research
• KeyCite Citing References
• Case law that has interpreted or applied the statute
– Annotations (Notes of Decisions)
• Legislative history
• Secondary sources
– American Law Reports
– American Jurisprudence 2d
Expanding Research-KeyCite
KeyCite Citing References
Citing References
Many USCA sections have many citing references.
In the right frame are some of the 25,756+ citing
references to 11 U.S.C.A. 523.
Expanding Research-KeyCite
Expanding Research Using KeyCite
• KeyCite Citing References consists of citations to legal
documents that discuss or mention the statute.
• Citing references include:
• Pending legislation
• Notes of Decisions (Annotations)
• Cases on Westlaw that do not appear in notes of
decisions
• Administrative materials (includes agency decisions)
• Secondary sources, such as ALR® articles, Am Jur 2d®
sections, law reviews, and treatises
• Briefs
Expanding Research-KeyCite
Limiting KeyCite Citing References
Limit KeyCite Display
• 11 USCA 523 (the Exceptions to Discharge statute) has
25,756 citing references.
• Click the Limit KeyCite Display button near the bottom
of the screen to limit the citing references to the ones of
most use to you.
Expanding Research-KeyCite
You can limit citation
results by any number
or combination of:
Student Loans
Cases
• Notes of Decisions
(by sub-topic)
• Locate terms
• Jurisdiction
• Date
• Document type
Apply
Select the desired criteria and click Apply.
Expanding Research-KeyCite
The original 25,756 citing documents have been reduced to
the 12 documents that meet the criteria we specified.
Expanding Research-Notes of Decisions
Expanding Research Using the Notes of
Decisions
• Many statutes are obscurely worded and must be
interpreted by case law.
• Notes of Decisions (or annotations) are headnotes of cases
that significantly interpret or apply the statute.
• Case law compares the language of the statute with the
language of other statutes, reconciles language within the
statute, and explores legislative history concerning the
statute to discover the intent of the legislature.
• The language of the case law often becomes more useful
for the researcher than the language of the statute.
Expanding Research-Notes of Decisions
Notes of Decisions
• Notes of decisions can be accessed by clicking the Notes of
Decisions link on the Links for tab when viewing a statute.
• Notes of Decisions are preceded by a main index and, if
needed, subdivision indexes.
• Each subdivision deals with one topic of interpretation of
the statute by the courts.
Link to Notes of Decs.
Notes of Decisions Index
Expanding Research-Notes of Decisions
• Above are the Notes of Decisions for 11 USCA 523 under
the Educational or Student Loan subdivision.
• Note the links to the full-text cases.
Expanding Research-Notes of Decisions
Print Notes of Decisions
• As in the online Notes of
Decisions, the print Notes
of Decisions are the last
portion of the annotated
statute format.
• The Notes of Decisions
for some statutes may be
hundreds of pages long.
Expanding Research-Legislative History
Legislative History
Because so many statutes are obscurely worded:
• courts often look to the legislative history of a statute to
determine the intent of the legislators.
• debates in Congress or congressional committees, early
drafts of the bill, testimony of experts, amendments to the
language of the proposed statute, etc., often reveal the
intent of the legislature.
Committee reports provide the most definitive evidence of
legislative intent.
Expanding Research-Legislative History
Earliest Legislative History
Legislative history may include documents that exist even
before a bill is enacted.
• Presidential recommendations.
• Congressional and committee hearings in sessions in
which the bill was discussed but not passed.
• Agency memorandum.
You should not limit your research only to the
legislative session in which the bill was enacted.
Expanding Research-Legislative History
Legislative History in Annotated Statutes
You can access Legislative History directly from the link on
the Links for tab in the left frame. Click Text Amendments,
also called Credits. They are the public laws that created and
amended the statute.
Text Amendments
Credits
Public Laws
Text Amendments
Expanding Research-Legislative History
You can also link to the Editor’s Notes, also called the
Historical and Statutory Notes, that follow each USCA
section. Editor’s Notes give more detailed information
regarding the legislative history of the statute, including
House and Senate Reports, Committee Reports and
explanations of the change in language from one report or
public law to the next.
Editor’s Notes
Editor’s Notes
Editor’s Notes
Expanding Research-Legislative History
Early Legislative History on Westlaw
• Early congressional hearings and testimony can be found
in several databases on Westlaw, including
USTESTIMONY, USPOLTRANS, CQ-NEWS,
BNA-TRACK and APN-HO.
• Presidential messages can be found in the PRES-DAILY,
USPOLTRANS, USCCAN, BNA-PRSCAL, and
CQ-NEWS databases on Westlaw.
• Committee Reports, the most definitive evidence of
legislative intent, can be found in the LH database.
Expanding Research-Legislative History
Discussion and Testimony Regarding a
Bill
Discussions/debates regarding a federal bill can be found in
– the Congressional Record in print and on Westlaw in
the CR database
– United States Code Congressional & Administrative
News (USCCAN) in print and in the USCCAN
database on Westlaw
Expanding Research-Legislative History
Legislative History of Modification of
Bills
Language of bills as they are modified in the legislative process
can be found in:
• microfiche in government depositories, including many
law libraries
• materials from the clerk of the legislature
• Congressional Record and USCCAN in print
• CR, USCCAN, CONG-BILLTXT, and LH federal
databases on Westlaw
• XX-BILLTXT (where XX is state’s two-letter postal
abbreviation) databases on Westlaw.
Expanding Research-Legislative History
The Current Status of a Bill
The status of a bill can be found in
•
Federal materials
– print status tables
– US-BILLTRK (United States Bill Tracking)
•
State materials
– XX-BILLTRK (where XX is the two-letter postal
abbreviation of the state) databases on Westlaw
Bill Referred to Committee
Under My Westlaw link
above the toolbar, you
can set up a Legislative
History tab page.
Bill Referred to Committee
When you click any step in
the legislative process, a
search screen is displayed
showing databases where
that material can be found.
Databases
Expanding Research-Secondary Sources
Secondary Sources
• Secondary sources are analytical materials that comment
on, explain, and analyze a wide range of legal topics.
• Secondary-source materials are prepared by legal experts
in a non-litigious context.
• Most contain a detailed discussion of the legal topic.
• Most are carefully researched.
Most include references to relevant
cases and statutes and other
secondary sources.
Expanding Research-Secondary Sources
Secondary Sources
• The following are some of the secondary sources that are
available in print and on Westlaw that can be used to
expand your statutory research.
• American Law Reports (ALR) – ALR database
• American Jurisprudence (Am Jur 2d) – AMJUR database
• Law review articles – JLR (Journals and Law Reviews)
database
• Restatements – REST databases
• West’s Digests – -HN is suffix for digest (headnote)
databases, e.g., MN-HN, ALLFEDS-HN
Expanding Research-Secondary Sources
This is a portion of an ALR
article discussing the
legislative history of 11
USCA 523 in reference to
whether student loans can be
discharged in bankruptcy.
The same ALR article
could have been
retrieved using the
ALR link on the Links
for tab while viewing
the statute in the right
frame.
ALR
Expanding Research-Secondary Sources
One of several American Jurisprudence sections that
discuss whether loans can be discharged in bankruptcy.
This section discusses exceptions to the student loan
exception of discharge of debt in bankruptcy.
There are many ways to approach statutory research. No one
method is correct.
If one method doesn’t seem to be working, try another.
Still need help?
Call the West Reference Attorneys at
1-800-850-WEST
They are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.