POL1 215: Courts, Law & Politics

Laws passed by Congress (also called federal statutes) come in several different versions. Some terms that you might see are:

• Slip Law - official publication of a law passed by Congress.
• Statutes at Large - all laws and regulations passed by Congress during each session. Organized by public law number in the order of date of enactment. Aggregation of slip laws. Also referred to as session laws.
• U.S. Code - final, formalized statutes organized by subject rather than date.

See govinfo.gov and the Library of Congress's Research Guide on Federal Statutes for more information.

Tip:  Look for a citation to the law from a journal article or book. 

Regulations are actions by executive branch agencies to implement laws passed by Congress. 

State government websites - both the legislative and executive branches.