Record which version of the law you used
For law librarians, researchers and attorneys maintaining reusable research.
What makes a saved legal source usable months later?
Save enough detail for another reader to identify both the published text and the legal date your research addresses. A working link can lead to a newer edition. The link, by itself, cannot show which language you relied on.
Build the source record
Start with the proposition the source supports, issuing body, jurisdiction, title or case name, and exact section or reporter page. Add the publication stage or edition, source address, retrieval date and the reason this version fits the question. Preserve a dated copy where permitted. For PDFs, distinguish the printed page from the viewer's page counter.
Use separate fields for the date of the event, the date the text took effect and the date you retrieved it. A current code page may be convenient for a present-day question but a poor fit for a dispute over earlier conduct.
Reconstruct an earlier statute
Use an edition and supplement covering the relevant period, then read the amendment history and applicable public law. Check the effective-date and transition language before deciding which text governed the event. The Law Revision Counsel explains the currency of the online U.S. Code, and GovInfo describes its historical editions and supplements.
Keep opinion stages visible
The U.S. Supreme Court explains that its initially posted slip opinions are replaced by edited opinions with final pagination. Keep a slip citation with a label identifying its stage. When the published version becomes available, relocate the proposition on the published page, compare the wording and record the replacement. Separately check later judicial treatment before relying on the case.
Worked example
Illustrative example. A researcher saved a current statute in June to answer a question about conduct the previous February. The amendment note identifies a March amendment. The researcher retrieves the earlier text and checks when the amendment took effect, then stores both versions with the relevant dates. A reviewer can now see which version supports the February analysis and why.
Primary sources
Related work at Agentic Attorney
This source-record guide is part of the shared Agentic Attorney resource collection. The hub explains its work on AI implementation for legal teams. Explore Agentic Attorney’s approach to AI implementation.