TVDM 31200: Media Law
Primary Sources
Cases, codes, and regulations are Primary sources. You can usually access a free version of cases and codes through government resources such as Congress.gov, Regulations.gov, or FDsys. You can also access them through a subscription database such as Nexis Uni. Nexis Uni has "added value" information such as annotations, summaries, headnotes, and notes on case treatment to understand and further navigate legal information. I typically use the United States Code and Code of Federal Regulations through the FDsys (it is browsable) and Lexis Uni for news and law review articles.
Table of Contents: Primary Sources
Bills
- Congress.govFind the status and history of bills in the current or prior legislature of Congress. Includes Committee Reports, Roll Call votes, Public Laws, U.S. Code, Congressional Record, etc.
- New York State Legislature: Bills and LawsSearch bill text, status, summaries, sponsor memos, and floor vote. Links to search for NYS Legislative Bills, NYS Legislative Resolutions, and the Laws of New York (see also: Nexis Uni for Federal & State Codes - NY Consolidated Law Service).
- GovtrackThis a free non-governmental website that is useful for tracking the status of federal legislation.
Cases
- Nexis Uni: Search for CasesAdvanced Search form for case law searching.
- FCC Encyclopedia: FCC and the Courts, Recent Court Opinions1996+ Fulltext of most cases that involved the FCC listed by year.
- Google Scholar: Case LawIf the cases and codes you need are found here, this search works well with Zotero (downloading into a bibliographic manager). The cases are not annotated with core terms, summary, headnotes, and treatment as are cases in Westlaw and LexisNexis.
- BBB National Programs Online ArchiveBBB National Programs provides summaries of all case decisions from the National Advertising Division (NAD), National Advertising Review Board (NARB), Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC), and Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP)
- Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)PACER is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information online from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts, and the PACER Case Locator. Note: Need to create an account to use/ Most cases can be found in NexisUni; Use this for cases that are not yet decided and still in docket form. See Cathy for assistance.
Codes
- Nexis Uni: Search for CodesAdvanced Search form for code searching. You can narrow by jurisdiction (Federal, State) in the left menu after searching a topic. The United States Code Service (USCS) is the LexisNexis version of the United States Code.
- FDsys (Federal Digital System)See: Featured Collections (upper right) > United States Code. You can browse the USC by Title and section.
United States Code Titles of interest include:
- Congress.govUnder "Bill Searches and Lists" click on Public Laws. For example, you can choose the 104th Congress and then browse down to the 104th bill that was passed (PL 104-104). This is the original bill that does not incorporate amendments. The United States Code codifies the bill by topic and incorporates amendments.
Documents of American Broadcasting by Call Number: General Stacks KF2804 .D6 1984ISBN: 0132171333Publication Date: 1984, 4th ed.Key documents including: The Wireless Ship Act of 1910; The Radio Act of 1912; The Radio Act of 1927; The Mayflower Doctrine (1941); The Fairness Doctrine (1949); The Red Lion case (1969); the Communication Act of 1934, etc.
A Legislative History of the Communications Act of 1934 by Call Number: General Stacks KF2762.113 .A15 1989ISBN: 0195049152Publication Date: 1990The need for a comprehensive, annotated reference to the Communications Act of 1934 has been dramatically demonstrated in legal and government circles, but the legislative histories currently available contain only selected excerpts from the legislative documents, which are themselvesprohibitively difficult to obtain. In this exhaustive reference, compiled by the former General Counsel and, later, Executive Director of the FCC, readers finally have access to the complete text of the Communications Act of 1934 as well as its underlying legislative components, including texts ofCongressional hearings and debates, the Senate and House Committee reports, an index to the legislative materials and a wide range of other source material. Carefully annotated, the book includes a series of incisive articles on the historical, legal, and political aspects of the Act by such majorfigures in the communications field as Professor Glen O. Robinson, Kenneth A. Cox, William J. Byrnes, J. Roger Wollenberg, and Professor Ronald A. Cass. The most extensive collection of documents on the Communications Act ever published, this book will become an essential source for lawyers, judges,government agencies, Congressional staffs, and students and scholars of law and communications. This commemorative volume is produced through the cooperative efforts of the Golden Jubilee Commission on Telecommunications and the Federal Communications Bar Association.
- New York Consolidated Laws Service (Nexis Uni)NY Statutes via Nexis Uni.
- New York State Legislature: Bills and LawsSearch or browse the Laws of New York.
- eCode360 LibraryOnline municipal codes from General Code. Click on the New York map. Includes the City of thaca, the Town of Ithaca, and Tompkins County.
- U.S. Code: Table of Popular NamesIf you have the popular name of an Act but do not know where it is codified in the U.S.C., use this table. Wikipedia is actually helpful with this, too!
Regulations
- Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (Nexis Uni)Search the CFR via Nexis Uni.
- Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)Annual browsable edition from the Government Publishing Office. If you don't see the title you need for the current year, check the prior year in the drop-down. Two titles of interest include:
T 6 Commercial Practices (FTC)
T 47 Telecommunications (FCC) - Federal RegisterPublished by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents
- Administrative Codes & Regulations (Nexis Uni)Search proposed federal administrative regulations and orders via Nexis Uni.
- Regulations.govFind and comment on Federal administrative regulations
- Federal Communications Commission Decisions (Nexis Uni)1939 through current. The file consists of FCC decisions from the FCC Record, FCC Reports 2d, and the Daily Digest
- Federal Communications Commission Record (UNT)From the University of North Texas. The FCC Record is a comprehensive compilation of decisions, reports, public notices, and other documents of the Federal Communications Commission from 1986 to the present.
- New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR)An unofficial compilation of NY State agency administrative rules and regulations.
- New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR) (Nexis Uni)New York State administrative regulations via Nexis Uni.
Hearings, Speeches, Briefings, Reports
General
- FDsys (Federal Digital System)Includes Congressional Hearings, Reports, GAO Reports, etc.
- Federal News Service (Nexis Uni)Nexis Uni file containing: White House briefings and Presidential statements. Includes some Congressional hearings, National Press Club Speeches and conferences when they address major topics of current interest
- Government Accountability Office (GAO)The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars and publishes reports that can be useful for research.
- EveryCRSreport.comPosts reports by the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan think tank for Congress that analyzes topics of public debate.
- Compilation of Presidential DocumentsThe Compilation of Presidential Documents collection consists of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents which are the official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary. The Compilation of Presidential Documents is published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Executive Branch Agencies
- Federal Communication Commission (FCC)The Federal Communications Commission regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. An independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress, the Commission is the federal agency responsible for implementing and enforcing America’s communications law and regulations. (Mission)
- FDA: U.S. Food & Drug Administration: Bad Ad programFDA's Bad Ad program is an outreach program designed to educate healthcare providers about the role they can play in helping the agency make sure that prescription drug advertising and promotion is truthful and not misleading.
- Federal Trade Commission : RulesLinks to 16 CFR from the Federal Trade Commission. Includes advertising and labeling regulations.
- National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Coordination CenterA task for of international partner agencies that protect against global intellectual property theft.
- TTB Alcohol & Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau: Alcohol Beverage AdvertisingAlcohol Advertising.
- U.S. Copyright OfficeTry the "Law and Guidance" tab at the top of the page.
- National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)Bureau of the US Dept. of Commerce that advises the president on telecommunications policies.
- United States Agency for Global MediaThe US government's broadcasting outlet and includes: Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio and TV Marti, Radio Sawa and Alhurra Television. They oversee the International Broadcasting Bureau. Members of the Board are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Congressional Committees
- U.S. House Judiciary: Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the InternetHas jurisdiction over intellectual property & the internet.
- U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee: Subcommittee on Communications & TechnologyJurisdiction: Electronic communications, both Interstate and foreign, including voice, video, audio and data, whether transmitted by wire or wirelessly, and whether transmitted by telecommunications, commercial or private mobile service, broadcast, cable, satellite, microwave, or other mode; technology generally; emergency and public safety communications; cybersecurity, privacy, and data security; the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Office of Emergency Communications in the Department of Homeland Security; and all aspects of the above-referenced jurisdiction related to the Department of Homeland Security.
- U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation: Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the InternetThe Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet has jurisdiction over legislation, Congressional action, and other matters relating to communications. For these purposes, “communications” includes telephones, cell phones, the Internet, commercial and noncommercial television, cable, satellite broadcast, satellite communications, wireline and wireless broadband, radio, consumer electronic equipment associated with such services, and public safety communications. The Subcommittee also is responsible for oversight of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce, which is the federal agency primarily responsible for the management of government spectrum and advising the President on telecommunications policy.
