Legal Research for Beginners

Administrative Decisions

• Many agencies can issue administrative decisions that are like court opinions in order to enforce rules and regulations.
• The President and state governors may issue Executive Orders which are directives that have the force of law. These are published in the Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders

Here's one you will likely be familiar with.  It's the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 - this was actually an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln to declare the freedom of more than three million slaves throughout the Confederacy.

Sources:

• Proquest Executive Orders & Presidential Proclamations 1789-2017 https://about.proquest.com/en/products-services/Executive-Orders-and-Presidential-Proclamations
• American Presidency Project has Executive Orders back to 1826. However they don’t have the CFR or Federal Register references necessary for citation. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu
• State Executive orders can be found on individual state websites, as well as on Westlaw & Lexis: https://www.usa.gov/state-governments
  • Governor of South Carolina Executive Orders: https://governor.sc.gov/executive-branch/executive-orders
• Attorney Generals issue opinions https://www.usa.gov/state-attorney-general