Find Bills and Amendments and Who Sponsored Them.

25 Sunday Mar 2018

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Government

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Congress, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, Legislation, Robert Brammer

How to Locate the Bills and Amendments a Member of Congress has Sponsored or Cosponsored in Congress.gov, by Robert Brammer, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

https://bit.ly/2I1mESZ

This looks handy. -CCE

One of the questions we are frequently asked is how to locate a bill or amendment that a member of Congress has sponsored or cosponsored. There are a few ways to do this on Congress.gov.

Visit a member profile page

Locate a member you are interested in and open their member profile page. Next, you can use the filters on the left-hand side of the screen to narrow down your results. For example, if you are only interested in legislation that the member sponsored or cosponsored in the 115th Congress, under “Congress”, click on “115”. You can also use the filters in combination with one another to further narrow down your results.

If you are looking at a member profile page for a current member of Congress, note that you can click “get alerts” at the top, left-hand side of the screen to sign up to receive an email each time that member sponsors or cosponsors legislation.

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The Largest Free Online Law Library On The Internet.

26 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Library of Congress, Research

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In Custodia Legis, Law library, Library of Congress, Robert Brammer

Guide to Law Online, Library of Congress

https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide.php

The title speaks for itself. The Law Library for the Library of Congress is the world’s biggest free law library. It has international law, federal law, and law for every state in the country.

If you are new to legal research and not quite sure how to start, click on Robert Brammer’s An Index to In Custodia Legis Legal Research Guides. (http://blogs.loc.gov/law/category/research-guide-2/) This is a honey pot of beginner guides for locating free case law on the Internet, constitutional law, consumer protection law, contracts, social security disability, employment/labor law, legal ethics, discovery, evidence, patent law, real estate, small claims, legal writing, and much, much more.

Because there is so much information here, I suggest that you go to the main site and just start browsing. Get acquainted with its structure and note what interests you most. This Guide to Law Online worth a bookmark, regardless of your legal research expertise. -CCE

Beginner’s Guides on Researching Federal Legislative Intent.

13 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Federal Law, Legislative History, Library of Congress, Research, U.S. Government

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Barbara Bavis, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, Legal Research, Legislative Intent, Research Guide, Robert Brammer

Presidential Communications: A Beginner’s Guide, co-authored by Robert Brammer and Barbara Bavis, Research Guide, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/category/research-guide-2/

Please keep going after clicking on this link. The following posts are beginner’s guides to locating: (1) congressional documents; (2) a congressional committee print, (3) compiled federal legislative history; and (4) unpublished congressional hearing. Keep going – there is more. If you are interested in honing your research skills, learn how to research legislative intent at the state and federal level. -CCE

Enhancements to Congress.gov and “How To” on Legislative Research From The Law Librarians of Congress.

27 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Library of Congress, Research, THOMAS, U.S. Government

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Andrew Weber, Barbara Bavis, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, Legislative Research, Robert Brammer, THOMAS

New End of Year Congress.gov Enhancements: Quick Search, Congressional Record Index, and More, by Andrew Weber, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/12/new-end-of-year-congress-gov-enhancements-quick-search-congressional-record-index-and-more/

You may not have heard that THOMAS will be retired by the Library of Congress. Congress.gov will take its place, and you won’t be disappointed. This post includes more that has been added to Congress.gov, including links to state legislative research. Scroll down the page to see a list of all enhancements thus far to Congress.gov. It is definitely worth a read.

If you are not familiar with how to do legislative research, this Beginner’s Guide will help you. -CCE

Locating a Congressional Committee Print: A Beginner’s Guide, co-authored by Robert Brammer and Barbara Bavis, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/category/research-guide-2/

Congress.gov – With New Features and Improvements.

01 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Federal Law, Library of Congress, Research, U.S. Government

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Congress.gov, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, Robert Brammer

New Features Added to Congress.gov Based On Your Feedback, by Robert Brammer, Law Librarians of Congress, In Custodia Legis

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/07/new-features-added-to-congress-gov-based-on-your-feedback/

The website describes the enhancements, such as email alerts, in detail with instructions on how to use them. The website requests your continued feedback for future ways to improve the website. -CCE

Since the unveiling of Congress.gov in September of 2012, we have been constantly adding new features with each release, and many of the features in this release are based directly on your feedback. . . .

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Beginner’s Research Guide to Lemon Laws and Consumer Protection Law.

10 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Case Law, Consumer Law, Federal Law, Internet, Legal Directories, Lemon Laws, Library of Congress, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Research, State Law, Statutes, Westlaw

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Barbara Bavis, Consumer Protection Laws, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, Legal Research, Lemon Laws, Robert Brammer

Lemon Laws: A Beginner’s Guide, Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/04/lemon-laws-a-beginners-guide/?loclr=eaiclb

You are really getting two for one (and more) with this post. Please note the hyperlink to consumer protection law in the first sentence. Both posts provide guides on how to research both subjects. Click on “Legal Research” to the left once you are at the website, and you will find the link to all posts at this website on how to research other laws. -CCE

In response to our last post on consumer protection law, we determined there was additional interest in ‘lemon laws.’ Lemon laws are defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as statutes ‘designed to protect a consumer who buys a substandard automobile, usu[ally] by requiring the manufacturer or dealer either to replace the vehicle or to refund the full purchase price.’ So, if you find that the new car of your dreams is actually a waking nightmare, you can use this guide to determine what recourse you might have. Lemon laws vary by state, but this guide should help get you started with your research. . . .

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