Step 1: Understand the basic statutory organization · Step 2: Find and review the statutory definitions · Step 3: Pay attention to key words and grammar · Step 4: ...

How to Read a Statute · Read the complete heading. · Check for the context of the statute. · Check for a definitions section. · Pay close attention to format and ...

Five rules to teach lawyers how to read the the difficult wording and format of statutes, regulations and bills.

How to Read a Statute · Pay close attention to the statute's format and organization. Look for breaks in the text. · Look for keywords: · Do not skip over words ...

A heading is meant to be a short pointer to the subject matter of the section, in much the same way as an entry in a book's index is a pointer. A section's ...

A citation is a reference to a legal authority. It is essential that citations to legal materials follow a standard format so that anyone using a law library ...

Each of the sections below addresses the tools of statutory interpretation and identifies relevant canons of construction5 that you can use to justify and ...

1. Know the purpose and objective of the Act · 2. Read the interpretation or definition clause · 3. Interpret the Bar Act literally · 4. Break up complicated ...

How to Read a Bill · Check to see if the bill is adding new language, amending existing language, or both. · Look for definitions. · Scan the recital for each bill ...

Keep it in context. Laws are created for a specific purpose. · Slow down and re-read. Statutes do not contain extraneous information. · Cross-references matter.