CHAPTER 5 STATUTES

• Jurisdiction: United States

Chapter 5 Statutes

Statutes affect a multitude of legal issues. Often, a statute defines a client's rights or responsibilities. A statute may set penalties for failure to comply with the statutory mandate. Some statutes address new issues that are not dealt with at common law; for example, the use of electronic signatures was a new statutory area when that technology first became available. Other statutes may codify or alter the common law, for example, making embezzlement a felony. Still other statutes are driven by policy concerns. For instance, in Oregon, the host of a party who serves alcohol to someone visibly drunk may be liable for off-premise damages caused by that person. Even when no statute affects the substance of a claim, a statute of limitations may prescribe the period during which the claim may be brought.

This chapter explains the fundamentals of statutory research.¹ It covers the official Oregon Revised Statutes, West's unofficial publication of Oregon statutes in print and online, the state legislature's website, and Oregon statutes on Lexis Advance. Chapter 6 begins with an overview of the legislative process through which statutes are enacted; some readers might want to review that portion of Chapter 6 now for background. After explaining how to conduct research to identify relevant statutes, the chapter discusses the Oregon courts' methodology for interpreting statutes. Next, the chapter turns briefly to federal statutory research. This chapter concludes with an introduction to court rules, which are often grouped with statutes in research sources.

I. Oregon Statutory Research

After the Oregon legislature enacts statutes, those statutes are codified, meaning that they are grouped according to subject matter. The current codification of Oregon statutes is called Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS). ORS is divided into sixty-two titles, each on a particular subject. Each title is subdivided into chapters that address specific topics within each subject area. Each new statute that is enacted will be added to a title and chapter containing other statutes on the same or similar subject. The statute will be assigned a section number that places it sequentially within a chapter. For example, title 16 of ORS includes statutes on Crimes and Punishments. Under chapter 164, Offenses Against Property, are statutes for theft, burglary, robbery, and similar crimes. One section, ORS 164.225, addresses first-degree burglary. Note that the title number is not part of the citation; simply use the abbreviation ORS and the statute's chapter and section number, separated by a period.²

A. Researching Oregon Statutes in Print

1. Oregon Revised Statutes

The official source for Oregon statutory law is also called Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS). Thus, "ORS" refers both to the official codification of Oregon statutes and to the official set of books containing those statutes. ORS is published by the State of Oregon Legislative Counsel Committee in odd-numbered years (e.g., 2013, 2015). A complete list of all titles and chapters in ORS is included at the beginning of volume 1. See Table 5-1 for an example of chapters under one title.

Some attorneys find that beginning to research statutes in print is more efficient than beginning online. Even if you plan to conduct your research online, the following explanation provides a helpful foundation for locating and understanding Oregon statutes and for finding cases related to those statutes.

Table 5-1. Chapters in Title 16, Crimes and Punishments

161. General Provisions

162. Offenses Against the State and Public Justice

163. Offenses Against Persons

163A. Sex Offender Reporting and Classification

164. Offenses Against Property

165. Offenses Involving Fraud or Deception

166. Offenses Against Public Order; Firearms and Other Weapons; Racketeering

167. Offenses Against Public Health, Decency and Animals

169. Local and Regional Correctional Facilities; Prisoners; Juvenile Facilities

Source: Oregon Revised Statutes, volume 4, page 421 (2015). Note that chapter 168, Habitual Criminals, has been repealed.

a. Finding Statutes

If you have a statute number, review the spines of ORS volumes to find the one that contains the chapter for that statute; then look through that volume numerically to find the statute. Statute numbers are included on the top, outside corner of each page.

If you know only the client's facts and the legal issue, begin by searching for your research terms in the two index volumes that are shelved at the end of ORS. As you find the terms in the index volumes, write down any statutory references given. Do not stop reviewing the index after finding just one statute's reference; several statutes may address your issue. Note that "et seq." refers to the statute listed and the sections that follow it. Sometimes a term in the index will be followed by a cross reference to another index term. Referring to that term may lead you to relevant statutes.

b. Understanding Statutes

As you find each statute in the ORS volumes, be sure to read the statutory language very carefully. Too many researchers fail to take the time necessary to read the language of the statute and consider all its implications before deciding whether it is relevant to the research problem. And because few statutes are so clear that they can be understood on one reading, careful research often requires you to read a statute several times to understand its meaning and relevance.

To understand a single statute you may have to read other, related statutes. One statute may contain general provisions while another contains definitions. Yet another statute may contain exceptions to the general rule. In the example in Table 5-2, the statute ORS 164.215 refers to another statute, ORS 164.255, on criminal trespass in the first degree. Additionally, under the definitions section of ORS 164.205, the term "building" includes not only the common meaning of building but also a booth, vehicle, boat, and aircraft.

Table 5-2. Example Oregon Statute

164.215 Burglary in the second degree.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in ORS 164.255, a person commits the crime of burglary in the second degree if the person enters or remains unlawfully in a building with intent to commit a crime therein.
(2) Burglary in the second degree is a Class C felony.

Source: Oregon Revised Statutes, volume 4, page 543 (2015).

To guarantee that you understand the statute, break it into elements. Using bullet points or an outline format is helpful for identifying key ideas. Connecting words and punctuation provide guidance for the relationships between the different requirements of the statute. Small words like "and" and "or" can drastically change the meaning of the statute. With "and" all statutory requirements must be present for the statute to apply, while with "or" only one part is needed. Note, too, the difference between "shall," which requires action, and "may," which is permissive. In Table 5-3, ORS 164.215 is broken into its elements.

Table 5-3. Requirements for Second Degree Burglary

• a person

-enters or
-remains unlawfully

• in a building
• with intent to commit a crime therein.

c. Finding Cases that Interpret or Apply Statutes

It is rare to locate a relevant statute and apply it immediately to a client's facts without having first to research case law. Legislatures write statutes generally to apply to a wide array of circumstances. To be able to predict how a court may apply a statute to a client's specific facts, you must know how the courts have interpreted the statute and applied it in the past.

The last volume of ORS is entitled "Annotations"; it contains references to (1) cases, (2) opinions of the Oregon Attorney General, and (3) articles from the law reviews of Oregon's three law schools that deal with Oregon statutes. Indexed under each statutory number are lists of annotations, divided into three categories: Notes of Decisions, Atty. Gen. Opinions, and Law Review Citations. The Annotations volume is published yearly and is cumulative from 1971. Annotations to earlier authority can be located in the Compiled Annotations volume of the 1971 edition of ORS.

Listed under Notes of Decisions are short summaries of cases that have interpreted and applied that statute. Oregon cases are listed first, followed by federal cases. Each summary concludes with the name of the case, followed by a citation. The citation indicates which court decided the case and where it can be found. You must record the citation information accurately to enable you to find the cases in the reporters or online. In most instances, there is no need to record at this initial stage of research whether the Oregon Supreme Court denied a petition for review, although that information is given in the Annotations volume.

The Annotations volume also includes references to Attorney General opinions and law review articles. Though the list of entries in the annotations for each statute is not necessarily complete or current, it does provide a helpful starting point for research. Conducting additional research as explained below will likely lead to additional authority that is relevant to the statute.

d. Other Helpful Features of ORS

To make ORS more helpful to researchers, the following information is also included.

After the text of some statutes, ORS includes source notes in brackets. In general, these notes state when the statute was enacted, amended, or repealed. (The source notes are also called history notes or credits.) When working for a new supervisor, you may want to point out that a separate statute has been repealed or that a related statute exists but is not on point. In other situations, simply omit any reference to a statute that is no longer in force or does not apply to your facts. For statutes that have been renumbered, ORS has a placeholder for the old number with a cross reference to the new number.³ A note may also indicate when the statute became...