Basic Law Reference

Tips from the Maryland State Law Library

for Maryland AskUsNow!March 2008

What do we mean by “the law”?

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Types of Law

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Regulations(Issued by executive

agencies)

Statutes(Passed by the

legislature)

Cases(Decisions from the

courts)

Levels of LawFederalLegislative:U.S. Congress

Regulatory:Federal Agencies

Judicial (Case):Federal Courts

State (Maryland)Legislative:General Assembly

Regulatory:State Agencies

Judicial (Case):Court of AppealsCourt of Special

Appeals

LocalLegislative:County Council

Regulatory:Rare

Judicial (Case):none

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Terminology• Glossary at:

www.lawlib.state.md.us/glossary.htm• Black’s Law Dictionary or other legal

dictionary

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Don’t get thrown off

by the vocabulary

– look it up!

COMMON TERMS:

Judicial (case) law: case, docket, decision, opinion, reported, unreported

Statutory law: legislation, bill, act, statute, code

Regulatory law: regulation, rule, agency, register

The Maryland Court System•District Court

•Circuit Court

•Court of Special Appeals

•Court of Appeals

•Other courts

BLR 3/2008http://www.mdcourts.gov/courts-organization.pdf

District Court

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•Created in 1970 to replace municipal and people’s courts

•Administered on a State level (Chief Judge)

•Criminal jurisdiction: all misdemeanors and some felonies

•Civil jurisdiction: landlord-tenant cases small claims ($5000 and below) some domestic violence some civil claims between $5000 and $25,000

•Arguments are before a judge only; no juries

•Issues a DECISION, but not a written OPINION

Circuit Court

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•One in each county; administered on a county basis

•Civil jurisdiction: amounts over $25,000 jury trials divorce

•Criminal jurisdiction: serious felony cases such as murder

•Appeals: from District Court, Orphans’ Court and certain administrative agencies

Court of Special Appeals

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•Appeals from the Circuit Court, and others

•Hears ALL appeals presented to it

•There are thirteen (13) judges; cases are heard before a panel of three (3)

•Oral arguments are presented by each side; no witnesses; no facts argued

•Issues a written OPINION, but not all opinions are REPORTED

Court of Appeals

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•Highest (“supreme”) court in Maryland

•Selective about the cases it hears – writ of certiorari (“cert”) or by choice, except death penalty cases which they must hear

•There are seven (7) judges; every case is heard by all seven

•No facts are argued

•Adopts rules of procedure for all Maryland courts

The Legal Reference Question

• Interpretation vs. Information• Process vs. Theory• Identifying the level and type of

law required• Primary vs. Secondary Sources

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FormsA note on forms: though there are official forms from the

Maryland District Courts for many issues (garnishment, peace orders, etc.), there are very few actual forms for the Circuit Courts (with the exception of family law matters). Filings submitted to the Circuit Courts follow format rules provided in the Maryland Rules. Some of the Rules have nice specific formats, some just inform the filer of the content necessary.  

There are many, many commercially-published forms books with samples for litigants to follow. These are available in law libraries, and probably a few public libraries. There is also an online database, available from Gale, of suggested forms. The State Law Library is currently evaluating this product with the idea of purchasing a subscription for patron use.

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Primary vs. Secondary Sources• Primary: comes from or is designated as

official by the actual body creating the law: Legislative – codes, statutes, legislation Executive – regulations, orders Judiciary – cases, court rules

• Secondary: provided or generated by a non-primary-creating source, such as a commercial publisher or non-profit legal agency: Legal encyclopedias (AmJur, CJS, MLE) American Law Reports (ALR) Treatises (textbooks) Law reviews and journals Locating tools: digests and citators (Shepard’s, KeyCite)

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Annotated Code of Maryland

Annotated simply means added notes that are a secondary source

Code means that the statutory language has been organized (codifed) by topic

Black volumes vs. Red volumes

The 1957 Code

Replacement volumes

Pocket parts

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A word on Code organization…“Annotated” means containing research and case notes to aid in further research. These notes are added by the publishers and are therefore copyrighted, and only available in the print version of the Code or the fee databases

“Article” refers to the breakdown by topic within the Code. An older edition of the Code (1957 ed.) used number designations to break up topics. Beginning in the 1970s these numbered breakdowns have been “recodified” – rewritten for clarity, reorganized and renamed by topic rather than number.

“Title” refers to the breakdown within each Article. “Subtitle” further breaks down the topics

See citation slides for breakdowns…

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Law Citations: Codes & Statutes

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Ann. Code Md. Family Law 13 102(a)

Annotated Code of Maryland

Article Title

Subtitle / Section

Ann. Code Md. Family Law §13-102(a)

Ann. Code Md. Family Law 13 102(a)

Annotated Code of Maryland

Article Title

Subtitle / Section

Ann. Code Md. Family Law §13-102(a)

Law Citations: Court Rules

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Md. Rule 6 301

Maryland Rules of Procedure

Title Chapter

Md. Rule 6-301

Law Citations: Regulations

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COMAR 10.07.03.24

COMAR 10 07 03 24

Code of Maryland Regulations

Title

Subtitle

Chapter

Regulation

Law Citations: Cases

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Batson v. Shiflett, 325 Md. 684, 602 A. 2d 1191 (1992)

Batson v. Shiflett 325 Md. 684 602 A. 2d 1191 (1992)

Parties to the case

Volume Page

Parallel citation

Date

Reporter

Print Resources: Best Bets

• Annotated Code of Maryland• Maryland Rules (accompany the Code set)• Maryland Law Encyclopedia• Nolo / Sphinx publications• Other key Maryland titles:

Maryland Recommended Titles list for Maryland Circuit Court Libraries available at:www.lawlib.state.md.us/Countylibrarymaterials.htm

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Law on the Internet:Website Reliability

• What does the domain name indicate?(.edu, .gov, .us, .com, .net, .org)

• Are references cited and documented?• Is the content updated and up-to-date?• Is there contact information for

owner(s), editors and/or authors?• Has the site been recommended by a

reliable source?

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Web Resources (Maryland)

• Maryland Judiciarywww.mdcourts.gov

• Maryland State Law Librarywww.mdcourts.gov/lawlib

• Maryland People’s Law Librarywww.peoples-law.info

• Maryland General Assemblywww.mlis.state.md.us

• University of Maryland Thurgood Marshall Law Library web site has very good in-depth material on doing legal researchwww.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/researchguides

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Web Resources (Federal)

• U.S. Government Printing OfficeGPO Accesswww.gpoaccess.gov

• Cornell University’sLegal Information Institutewww.law.cornell.edu

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Referrals: Where and How?

• Maryland State Law Library(410) 260-1430mdlaw.library@mdcourts.gov

• County Law Librarieswww.lawlib.state.md.us/CLLD/Directory_CCLL.html

• State Judiciary• Government Agencies• Non-profit Organizations

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MSLL Favorite Referrals• GENERAL AND PROCEDURAL

Clerk’s Offices: www.mdcourts.gov• LANDLORD / TENANT

Baltimore Neighborhoodswww.bni-maryland.org

• FAMILY LAWWomen’s Law Center: www.wlcmd.orgCircuit Court Family Law Clinicswww.courts.state.md.us/family

• CONSUMER ORIENTEDAttorney General’s Consumer Protectionwww.oag.state.md.us/Consumer/

• LAND DEEDS AND RECORDSRegisters of Wills: www.registers.state.md.us

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