California Legal Research

This guide discusses the California legal system, provides instruction on researching California law, and explains how Harvard Law School affiliates can access California legal materials.

California legal research is not too different from legal research in other states. However, there are some California-specific secondary sources, including treatises and practice guides, that are frequently used by practicing lawyers. These resources are discussed below.

Note: This guide provides information only. Employees of the Harvard Law Library cannot provide you with legal advice or serve as your lawyer. If you need an attorney in California, visit http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/Need-Legal-Help/Lawyer-Referral-Service. If, as a non-attorney, you are handling your own case, the California Courts Self-Help Center (https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp.htm) may be a useful resource. To find a public law library in California, visit http://www.publiclawlibrary.org/law-libraries/. The website of The Prison Law Office (https://prisonlaw.com/), a nonprofit public interest law firm that provides free legal services to adult and juvenile defenders, has information about legal assistance for California inmates and their family members.

California Legal Research at Harvard: Sources

The Harvard Law Library has California legal materials both in both print and electronic formats.

In the Harvard Library catalog, Hollis, many materials related to California law have been assigned the Library of Congress subject heading "Law -- California" -- click the link to view these items in Hollis.

Note that several subscription databases, including Westlaw and Lexis, include a large amount of California legal materials. The law library provides access to these databases for Harvard Law affiliates. In addition, a public Westlaw terminal is available in the library for anyone with access to the library to use. For more information about library access, visit the Access Services homepage.

Government and Legal System

California Government & Legal System

The Governor heads California's executive branch, which includes high-level state officials and the state's administrative agencies. Click here to view a list of California's state government entities.

Like the federal government, California's legislative branch features a bi-cameral legislature: the Senate and the Assembly. An identical version of a bill must pass in both the Senate and the Assembly and be signed by the Governor to become law.

Both of the executive and legislative branch offices are located in the state capital, Sacramento.

In California's judicial branch, the trial-level court is called the Superior Court. It hears both civil and criminal cases. There are also two levels of appellate courts, just like the federal system: the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Secondary Sources

Using Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are a great place to begin your research. To learn more about secondary sources and how to use them, visit the following guide:

Below are selected treatises and study guides on California law. To find more, use our catalog, HOLLIS.

Constitutional, statutory, judicial, and administrative laws are integrated for a complete analysis on every aspect of California law.

Also known as the "Rutter Guides," these practice guides include a broad range of topics of California law, including Administrative, Criminal, and Employment law.

This treatise provides a critical examination and concise statement of every major substantive subject in California statutory and decisional law.

Legislation

Creating Statutory Law in California

In California, new statutes are either created by state government through the legislative process, or by the state's citizens through the initiative process.

Lawmaking by the Legislature

The legislative branch of California's government creates new law as follows:

1. A bill is introduced in either of California legislature's houses, the Senate or the Assembly.
2. An identical version of the bill is passed in both houses and sent to the governor for signature.
3. The governor signs the bill.
4. The bill is "chaptered" by the Secretary of State and becomes an enacted statute.
5. The statute is codified in the appropriate section(s) of the California code.

Lawmaking by the Voters

Voter lawmaking in California takes place through the passage of ballot measures. There are two type of ballot measures: the referendum and the initiative.

California voters have the right to try to have enacted statutes amended or rejected through the state's voter referendum process. Certain requirements must be met, such as getting enough voter signatures to have a referendum placed on the ballot.

California voters can also create law through California's ballot initiative process. This process allows the legislature and individual citizens to create perspective laws and put them on the ballot. These initiatives are also called propositions because they are proposed to the voters.

Several California ballot initiatives are well-known. Proposition 13, which passed in 1978, affected how property values are calculated when assessing property tax payments. The California Board of Equalization discusses the history and effect of Proposition 13 in its California Property Tax Overview.

In 2008, California voters approved Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to state that marriage is only lawful between a man and a woman. The passage of this proposition has been extensively litigated since then. For more information about Proposition 8, see the California Judiciary's Proposition 8 information page.

Researching California Ballot Measures