how to cite texas attorney general opinions

How do I submit an opinion to the Texas Attorney General?

The attorney general previously issued “letter opinions.”. While they carry the same force and effect as a formal opinion, letter opinions concerned non-controversial issues, issues that affected a particular group, or issues local in nature. As of January 4th, 1999, letter opinions are no longer issued. Archived letter opinions are online .

What is the citation format for the attorney general opinion manual?

Attorney General Opinions..... 14 12.2. Attorney General Open Records Rulings. ... • For Texas statutes, cite to subject matter codes, or to Vernon’s AnnotatedRevised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas or an independent code, or a supplement, if found there. ...

Does the Texas attorney general issue interpretations of state law?

 · The Texas State Law Library has many other resources in addition to the highlights we present below. Please call us at (512) 463-1722 , if you have any questions about these materials. This manual from the Association of Legal Writing Directors is written for lawyers, judges, law teachers, and law students and designed to be "easy to use, easy ...

Can a person ask the Attorney General for a written opinion?

Citations to Attorney General and Other Advisory Opinions – Most Common Form § 2-495. Citations to Attorney General and Other Advisory Opinions – Points of Difference in Citation Practice o § 2-500. Arbitration Decisions o § 2-600. Court Rules o § 2-700. Books § 2-710. Book Citations – Most Common Form § 2-715. Book Citations ...

How do you cite an attorney general opinion?

Enter an Opinion Number "xx-xxx", Citation Number "xx Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen....Legal Opinions of the Attorney General - Search for Opinions (1982 - Current)Opinion Number (e.g., 12-301);Official Citation (e.g., 95 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 1); or.Word or Phrase from the text of the Opinion's Question or Conclusion.

Are Texas attorney general opinions binding?

Q What legal weight and authority does an attorney general opinion have? A Texas Supreme Court opinions addressing this question consistently indicate that, while attorney general's opinions are persuasive, they are not controlling or binding on the courts.

How do you cite Ohio attorney general opinions?

Citations to opinions issued prior to 1965 must include the opinion number and the page number of the opinion. If the opinion was issued in a year for which there are multiple volumes, the number of the volume in which the opinion appears must also be included as part of the citation.

Who can request an opinion from the Texas Attorney General?

Authorized requestors include: the head or board of an eleemosynary institution. the head of a state board. a regent or trustee of a state educational institution. a committee of a house of the Texas Legislature.

What does general opinion mean?

Definition of general opinion : what most people think about something The general opinion is that the players are paid too much.

What is a case brief?

A case brief is a short summary of the main points of the decision. The key is short— do not rewrite the opinion, but rather distill it down to its essence. Why brief? Besides being a good way to prepare for class, briefing has some other advantages.

What is in a legal opinion?

In law, a legal opinion is in certain jurisdictions a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case, laying out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling.

How do I write to the Texas attorney general?

How to Request an Attorney General OpinionEmail: [email protected] or registered mail: Office of the Attorney General. Attention Opinion Committee. P.O. Box 12548. Austin, Texas 78711-2548.

What does the attorney general do?

The Attorney General is the adviser to the Government on matters of law and legal opinion and attends Government meetings. They also represent the public in all legal proceedings that involve the enforcement of the law or the protection of public rights.

Who is the attorney general in Louisiana?

Jeff LandryAssumed office January 11, 2016GovernorJohn Bel EdwardsPreceded byBuddy CaldwellMember of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 3rd district22 more rows

What does the attorney general do?

The Attorney General is the adviser to the Government on matters of law and legal opinion and attends Government meetings. They also represent the public in all legal proceedings that involve the enforcement of the law or the protection of public rights.

Who is the attorney general in Louisiana?

Jeff LandryAssumed office January 11, 2016GovernorJohn Bel EdwardsPreceded byBuddy CaldwellMember of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 3rd district22 more rows

What is an attorney general opinion?

Attorney General Opinions. Upon request by certain Texas government officials, the attorney general issues written interpretations of state law. Opinions do not address factual matters nor do they create or amend existing laws. While considered persuasive, they are not binding. Interpretation of state law is left to the courts.

What is a letter opinion?

Letter Opinions. The attorney general previously issued “letter opinions .”. While they carry the same force and effect as a formal opinion, letter opinions concerned non-controversial issues, issues that affected a particular group, or issues local in nature.

What is an open record decision?

The Public Information Act allows governmental bodies to request a decision from the attorney general regarding whether requested information may be withheld under one of the exceptions permitted by law. Open records decisions are online .

What should be included in a citation of a statute?

Citations of statutes should include the name of the act (if appropriate), the source of the statute, the applicable sections, the location and date of the statute and a parenthetical for the short-form citation.

What to do when a section is no longer in effect?

If a section is no longer in effect because of amendment, repeal, or expiration, cite to the session law of enactment and amendment or repeal, with explanatory parentheticals or notations.

Is the Communications Act of 1996 cited?

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 should not generally be cited: generally the Communications Act of 1934 should be cited; however, if necessary, cite as: Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (codified as amended in scattered sections of 47 U.S.C.A.) (2012).

What is the phone number for the Texas State Law Library?

The Texas State Law Library has many other resources in addition to the highlights we present below. Please call us at (512) 463-1722 , if you have any questions about these materials.

What is the number for the Association of Legal Writing Directors?

Please call us at (512) 463-1722 , if you have any questions about these materials. This manual from the Association of Legal Writing Directors is written for lawyers, judges, law teachers, and law students and designed to be "easy to use, easy to teach from, and easy to learn from.".

When lawyers present legal arguments and judges write opinions, do they cite authority?

When lawyers present legal arguments and judges write opinions, they cite authority. They lace their representations of what the law is and how it applies to a given situation with references to statutes, regulations, and prior appellate decisions they believe to be pertinent and supporting. They also refer to persuasive secondary literature such as treatises, restatements, and journal articles. As a consequence, those who would read law writing and do law writing must master a new, technical language – "legal citation."

What is legal citation?

What is "legal citation"? It is a standard language that allows one writer to refer to legal authorities with sufficient precision and generality that others can follow the references. Because writing by lawyers and judges is so dependent on such references, it is a language of abbreviations and special terms. While this encryption creates difficulty for lay readers, it achieves a dramatic reduction in the space consumed by the, often numerous, references. As you become an experienced reader of law writing, you will learn to follow a line of argument straight through the many citations embedded in it. Even so, citations are a bother until the reader wishes to follow one. The fundamental tradeoff that underlies any citation scheme is one between providing full information about the referenced work and keeping the text as uncluttered as possible. Standard abbreviations and codes help achieve a reasonable compromise of these competing interests.

Is citation form a distraction?

3 There is no question but that striving for proper citation form will for a time seem a silly distraction from the core project of writing. But as is true with other languages, those who use this one carefully make negative assumptions about the craft of those who don't. Being a simple language at its core, this one should fairly quickly become a matter of habit and, thus, no longer a distraction. § 1-200. Purposes of Legal Citation

Is an introduction a substitute for a comprehensive reference?

Because this introduction is not a substitute for a comprehensive reference, you would be wise to introduce yourself to one as you proceed through this material. Read through its table of contents and introductory material. Each topic covered here includes links to tables providing references to coverage in

Is it easier to read legal citations?

As is true with other languages, learning to read "legal citation" is easier than learning to write it fluently. The active use of any language requires greater mastery than the receiving and understanding of it. In addition, there is the potential confusion of dialects or other nonstandard forms of expression. As already noted, "legal citation," like other languages, does indeed have dialects. Most are readily understandable and thus pose little likelihood of confusion for a reader. To the beginning writer, however, they present a serious risk of misleading and inconsistent models. As a writer of "legal citation," you must take care that you check all references that you find in the work of others. This includes citations in court

What can you get at the end of a section heading?

at the end of a section heading you can obtain direct pointers to more detailed material in

What is the purpose of the table of contents?

For such purposes the table of contents provides one path to the relevant material. Another path, to which the bar at the top of each major section provides ready access, is a topical index. This index is alphabetically arrayed and more detailed than the table of contents. Finally, the search function in your e-book reader software should allow an even narrower inquiry, such as one seeking the abbreviation for a specific word (

Case Law Reporters

Court opinions are published in sets of books called reporters. Reporters include all court opinions in chronological order.

United States Supreme Court

Here are three parallel citations for the same United States Supreme Court opinion:

Texas State Courts

Texas cases are published in the South Western Reporter, 1st edition (S.W.), 2nd edition (S.W.2d), or 3rd edition (S.W.3d).

Internet Sources

If you only consult the Internet version of a case, provide the traditional case citation with a link for the Internet version: