Systems, methods and software for researching statutory information
With conventional print and electronic tools, researching statutory material is difficult and time-consuming. So, to facilitate this type of research, the present inventors devised systems, methods, and software that promise to improve the ability of researchers to find, verify, read, and/or interpret statutory information. One exemplary system provides options for users to access statutory information by citation, by table of contents, by index, and/or by popular name; presents specific statutory information in combination with visual indicators, such as red or yellow flags, that indicate the validity or status of the information; and provides requested statutory information in context of links to related information, such as tables of contents, other versions of a statute, case law, scholarly materials, legislative history, cross-referenced statutes, and administrative-law materials.
1. A system to retrieve information, the system comprising:
a plurality of legal statute databases; and
a server coupled to the legal statute databases, the server configured to:
transmit to a client access device a table of contents of a selected legal statute database as a plurality of search-selectable legal statute categories, each of the search-selectable legal statute categories associated with one or more legal statutes, the search-selectable legal statute categories and the associated legal statutes based on a received effective date;
receive from the client access device a query including a selection of at least one search-selectable legal statute category and a search criterion;
retrieve at least one legal statute from the selected legal statute database based on the query and the received effective date; and
transmit to the client access device the at least one legal statute retrieved from the selected legal statute database.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to:
receive from the client access device the effective date; and
define the search-selectable legal statute categories of the table of contents and the associated legal statutes based on the received effective date.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server comprises at least one data structure to facilitate fulfillment of the query, each of the at least one data structure including a document identifier for each of the at least one legal statute, the document identifier associated with an effective date, an approval date, and a jurisdiction.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the document identifier is further associated with a year, a session, a document type, and a class.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to:
transmit to the client access device at least one user-interface element associated with the at least one legal statute, the at least one user-interface element identifying the associated at least one legal statute;
receive selection of a user-interface element from the client access device; and
transmit a legal statute associated with the selection of the user-interface element to the client access device.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the server is further configured to:
transmit to the client access device at least one related user-interface element associated with the at least one user-interface element for the at least one legal statute, the at least one related user-interface element identifying at least one information document related to the at least one legal statute;
receive selection of a related user-interface element from the client access device; and
transmit an information document associated with the selection of the related user-interface element to the client access device.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the information document includes one of: the table of contents; another version of the at least one legal statute; scholarly material; legislative history of the at least one statute; cross-referenced statute; administrative-law material; a legal case related to the at least one legal statute; and a legal case that cites the at least one statute.
8. A method of retrieving information, the method comprising:
transmitting from a server to a client access device a table of contents of a selected legal statute database as a plurality of search-selectable legal statute categories, each of the search-selectable legal statute categories associated with one or more legal statutes, the search-selectable legal statute categories and the associated legal statutes based on a received effective date;
receiving at the server from the client access device a query including a selection of at least one search-selectable legal statute category and a search criterion;
retrieving at least one legal statute from the selected legal statute database based on the query and the received effective date; and
transmitting to the client access device the retrieved at least one legal statute retrieved from the selected legal statute database.
9. The method of claim 8 , the method further comprising:
receiving at the server from the client access device the effective date; and
defining the search-selectable legal statute categories of the table of contents and the associated legal statutes based on the received effective date.
10. The method of claim 8 , the method further comprising:
providing at least one data structure to facilitate fulfillment of the query, each of the at least one data structure including a document identifier for each of the at least one legal statute, the document identifier associated with an effective date, an approval date, and a jurisdiction.
11. The method of claim 10 , the method further comprising:
associating the document identifier is further with a year, a session, a document type, and a class.
12. The method of claim 8 , the method further comprising:
transmitting from the server to the client access device at least one user-interface element associated with the at least one legal statute, the at least one user-interface element identifying the associated at least one legal statute;
receiving at the server from the client access device a selection of a user-interface element; and
transmitting to the client access device a legal statute associated with the selection of the user-interface element.
13. The method of claim 12 , the method further comprising:
transmitting from the server to the client access device at least one related user-interface element associated with the at least one user-interface element for the at least one legal statute, the at least one related user-interface element identifying at least one information document related to the at least one legal statute;
receiving at the server from the client access device a selection of a related user-interface element; and
transmitting to the client access device an information document associated with the selection of the related user-interface element.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the information document includes one of: the table of contents; another version of the at least one legal statute; scholarly material; legislative history of the at least one statute; cross-referenced statute; administrative-law material; a legal case related to the at least one legal statute; and a legal case that cites the at least one statute.
15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
transmit to a client access device a table of contents of a selected legal statute database as a plurality of search-selectable legal statute categories, each of the search-selectable legal statute categories associated with one or more legal statutes, the search-selectable legal statute categories and the associated legal statutes based on a received effective date;
receive from the client access device a query including a selection of at least one search-selectable legal statute category and a search criterion;
retrieve at least one legal statute from the selected legal statute database based on the query and the received effective date; and
transmit to the client access device the retrieved at least one legal statute retrieved from the selected legal statute database.
16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
receive from the client access device the effective date; and
define the search-selectable legal statute categories of the table of contents and the associated legal statutes based on the received effective date.
17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
provide at least one data structure to facilitate fulfillment of the query, each of the at least one data structure including a document identifier for each of the at least one legal statute, the document identifier associated with an effective date, an approval date, and a jurisdiction.
18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
associate the document identifier is further associated with a year, a session, a document type, and a class.
19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
transmit to the client access device at least one user-interface element associated with the at least one legal statute, the at least one user-interface element identifying the associated at least one legal statute;
receive selection of a user-interface element from the client access device; and
transmit a legal statute associated with the selection of the user-interface element to the client access device.
20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 19 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
transmit to the client access device at least one related user-interface element associated with the at least one user-interface element for the at least one legal statute, the at least one related user-interface element identifying at least one information document related to the at least one legal statute;
receive selection of a related user-interface element from the client access device; and
transmit an information document associated with the selection of the related user-interface element to the client access device.
21. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 20 , wherein the information document includes one of: the table of contents; another version of the at least one legal statute; scholarly material; legislative history of the at least one statute; cross-referenced statute; administrative-law material; a legal case related to the at least one legal statute; and a legal case that cites the at least one statute.