Legal Research 101: California Legislative Intent Searching

What is Legislative Intent?  Why bother searching for it?

Picture it:  you are embroiled in a lawsuit.  The opposing lawyer drafts a motion that makes you look bad (I mean, really bad) and it's all based on a single statute.  What if you could show that the way the opposing lawyer used the statute was not the way the legislature intended it to be used? What if the way the opposing lawyer interpreted the statute was way off and was, in fact, meant to confuse the trier of fact (i.e. the judge). 

That would certainly change things, right?

The purpose of conducting (or, more to the point, how to conduct) a legislative intent search is to learn why the legislature did what it did.  More specifically, A legislative intent search helps to show the "why" of what the state legislature did.

Thing is, there are tons documents that show the "why" of legislation.  The problem is that most people don't know where to start looking for those documents.

It is for this reason that I created this class.  In fact, I've been teaching how to conduct an online California Legislative Intent Search (using mostly free online resources) for about 2 decades.  I've helped hundreds of people learn how to find California legislative materials to help them defend themselves in court from: judges and lawyers to law clerks and pro se litigants (i.e. people representing themselves) - all have benefited from the information contained in this course.

Of course, don't take my word for it - take a look for yourself.

Now, you may be saying: But I don't live in California?  Why would I want to view a class about how to conduct a legislative intent search for California materials?  The answer is simple - to help you know what materials are available in your state and what (and, often, where) you might start looking in your own jurisdiction(s).

So, waste not a moment and start your adventure in the exciting world of Legislative Intent Searching.