Graphical Statutes

Fast after Westlaw’s new interface, developments on the statutory research front.

You have until Friday to experimentThe website claims that the service is free until April 7, but regular access to content charges will still apply. with a new way of organizing the legislative evolution of statutes: West has announced a Graphical Statutes service.

Graphical Statutes illustrates the evolution of a statute. It presents the big picture in an easy-to-read display that incorporates prior, current and future versions of a statute. Users can track changes in the law, as well as locate relevant legislative history materials for each statute version.

Graphical Statutes displays:

* Prior, current and future versions of statutes
* Links to proposed legislation
* Relevant legislative history materials, such as bill drafts, reports, journals, and the Congressional Record
* Cases that negatively impact a statute
* Legislation that has been enacted but has not yet been codified

Users can navigate the graphical display with a timeline at the top of the screen. Arrows on either side of the timeline indicate additional statute versions, and users can also access related legislative documents by selecting the “more” links within the display.

The content is
* United States Code Annotated 1996 to present
* California 1999 to present
* New York 1999 to present
* New Jersey 2000 to present
* Pennsylvania 2000 to present
* Texas 2000 to present

“Customers have told us that a visual tool illustrating in one display all the changes to a statute and the relevant supporting documents will save them time and money. Graphical Statutes will also give customers peace of mind that their research is more complete,” said Jon Medin, director, New Product Development, Thomson West.