Where to Find Definitive Text for Law for Each State in USA

[cbg]

Where is the definitive authoritative text to finding any information about law in any kind of situation for every US state?

I understand what you are looking for. You want to have one all-encompassing source to which you can go, click in the state and the situation, and have the definitive answer pop up, right?

Problem is, no such source exists, and you're dreaming if you think it does.

[jk]

playnice1;595282]

But... Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the only thing that pertains to my original query above is the online site for NOLO's books.

yes, you are wrong.

In short, those are for those who want see how interpretation of the law is not black and white and how clever lawyers manipulate this fact.

or more correctly, how a court interpreted the laws. Regardless of how a lawyer may have manipulated the presentation of the case at hand, the court determines the final outcome based on their interpretation of the law and how it applies to the case at hand.

Additionally, many times, reading the statute without researching how it has been interpreted gives you very little. Without understanding how the law is applied, it is meaningless. Case law helps you to understand what is meant by what is written in the statute.

Basically, there are three things to answer my original question. The constitution, "federal law", and your state's revised statues.

what if "your" state does not have revised statutes. In my state, what is titled "revised statutes" is only a small portion of the states laws. The state's statutes, laws, or code is what you are looking for. It is not called the same thing in each state.

beyond that, while not law, the administrative procedures for each state and the federal government are very important to the laws. Having the law (code) and not knowing how to utilize that information makes the knowledge of the law meaningless in many situations.

and especially when speaking of the Constitution, case law is imperative. The SCOTUS has spent the last couple hundred of years rendering opinions to interpret and clarify the meaning and intent of the Constitution. Without that case law, simply reading the Constitution will give a very incorrect understanding of the document.

That will contain the answers to any question I have about any topic I can think of as it pertains to Hawai'i. Anything beyond that and I will have to dig into the federal law labyrinth.

You have forgotten about city, county, or any other municipality ordinances. Each of those are just as important as the states laws in their jurisdictions.

If I am incorrect in any of this, please clarify. Thank you!

You have been corrected, to a limited extent.

[flyingron]

Darn straight. You can usually find the statutes, often annotated with references to related case law (but you'll typically have to pay for the annotation). To find other case law you'll have to search the cases, perhaps using an index put out by one of the big publishers. But the truth of legal research is: it is not going to be free (though some public libraries may pay for your access) and it's not just like using google or wikipedia. You may find the lead to the case that helps you in the annotations, or in the search on Lexis or WestLaw, or in a paper on the subject, but then you'll have to go and read the actual decision to see if it applies and you'll need to Shepard it to find out if the case law was modified by a subsequent action.

I.E., you're going to have to get your fat ass out of the chair and go do so research. It may cost money, it may involve going to a law library.

Of course, that's just the legislated law...then you get down to regulations and codes that have complete other systems of enforcement, prosecution, adjudication, and sanction.