Route, Cautions & Checks
How you actually get in, the caution that governs everything you just learned, and two quick checks. Your record below collects your work from every page of this module in this session.
The route in, and the caution out
Route: compiled legislative histories first. Before assembling documents stage by stage, check whether someone already has: the major services and government sources publish compiled legislative histories keyed to the public-law number. Start from the statute’s Public Law citation, look for a compiled history, and only build your own trail when none exists.
Caution: persuasive, never binding. Legislative history is evidence of meaning, not law. It persuades some judges and actively repels others — textualist judges may discount everything you just learned to weigh. Know your court before you build an argument on it.
Two quick checks
A phrase in the enacted statute is ambiguous, and you want the most authoritative account of what the legislature meant by it. Which document first?
A sponsor’s floor statement squarely supports your client’s reading of the statute. What is it worth?