Law Journals

Federal statutes (laws passed by U.S. Congress) are first published by date in the U.S. Government Publishing Office's (GPO) Statutes at Large (Stat.), then organized by topic in the GPO's official United States Code (U.S.C.), West's unofficial United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.), and Lexis' unofficial United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.)

If possible, Bluebook R12.2.1 tells you to collect the official U.S.C. Sometimes, authors also cite to the official Stat., such as when they are discussing the history of a statute's enactment, amendment, or appeal, authorized by R12.2.2. The library has some print copies of the U.S.C. and Stat. and HeinOnline provides complete PDF scans of every edition of the U.S.C. and Stat. ever published:

The GPO publishes a new main edition of the U.S.C. every six years and then updates it with yearly supplements. To make sure you collect the complete current statute, always check both the main edition and the most recent supplement. (See Screencap tab.) 

The official U.S.C. is published slowly and sometimes you may discover that a statute passed in the last year or two has never been published in the U.S.C., even in a supplement. In this case, R12.2.1 tells you to cite Westlaw's unofficial U.S.C.A. or Lexis' unofficial U.S.C.S. Both databases provide the text of their codes but neither provides PDFs or other exact copies so, for source collecting, you will need to access these sources in print. The print U.S.C.A. and U.S.C.S. are updated by supplements on an as-needed basis so, once you have found the volume that contains your statute, check for pamphlets inserted in the back of the volume ("pocket parts") or placed next to the volume to see if your statute was added or amended after the main volume was printed. (See Screencap tab.)

Finally, R12.2.1 explicitly allows you to cite the authenticated version of the U.S.C. that the GPO posts on its old website, GPO FDsys. (The GPO now also posts the authenticated version on its new website, GovInfo.) However, the format and date are different from the print U.S.C. because the authenticated version is completely updated each year, rather than every six years. If your editor or professor is a stickler, it's safer to use the HeinOnline scans of the print U.S.C.

California statutes (laws passed by the California legislature) are first published by date in the government published Statutes of California (Cal. Stat.), then organized by topic in Westlaw's unofficial West's Annotated California Codes and Lexis' unofficial Deering's California Codes Annotated.

Bluebook T1.3 tells you to cite either West's or Deering's. Both databases provide the text of their codes but neither provides PDFs or other exact copies of the print so, for source collecting, you will need to access these sources in print (for the current version) or microform (for historical scans of West's). The print California codes are updated by supplements on an as-needed basis so, once you have found the volume that contains your statute, check for pamphlets inserted in the back of the volume ("pocket parts") or placed next to the volume to see if your statute was added or amended after the main volume was printed. (See Screencap tab.)

Sometimes, authors cite to the Cal. Stat., such as when they are discussing the history of a statute's enactment, amendment, or appeal, authorized by R12.2.2. The library owns Cal. Stat. in print and both Hein and the California legislature provide complete PDF scans of the print Cal. Stat:

Finally, the California legislature maintains an authenticated electronic version of the California codes on its website. However, the format and date are different from the print California codes. The authenticated electronic version publishes the text of each individual code section as it is added or amended, while the unofficial print versions publish many code sections in volumes that are updated by yearly supplements and periodically replaced. If your editor or professor is a stickler, it's safer to use the print codes instead.