NFPA Paralegal Core Competency Exam (PCCE)Legal ResearchHard
A paralegal is reviewing a statute that refers to specific administrative agency rules for implementation. To ensure the paralegal is examining the rules as they existed at a particular point in the past, rather than their current form, which resource would be most reliable for historical versions of federal regulations?
- ACurrent Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
- BArchived editions of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
- CUnited States Statutes at Large
- DFederal Register
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Archived editions of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
While the current C.F.R. shows present regulations, archived editions of the C.F.R. are specifically designed to preserve historical versions of federal regulations. This allows researchers to view the exact text of a regulation as it stood on a specific past date, which is crucial for understanding its application at that time.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. The current C.F.R. contains the most up-to-date regulations, not historical versions.
- C. United States Statutes at Large contains federal statutes in chronological order, not administrative regulations.
- D. The Federal Register publishes daily updates, including proposed and final rules, but it does not provide a consolidated, easily navigable historical record of codified regulations like archived C.F.R. editions.
Archived C.F.R. Editions
Past editions of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) that preserve the text of federal regulations as they existed on specific historical dates.
- Crucial for historical legal research.
- Available in print, microfiche, and online databases.
- Different from the current C.F.R. or Federal Register.
Memory trick: To see the past 'Rules,' look in the 'Archived' C.F.R. pools.