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How do you search the Oregon Revised Statutes? Using
the ORS is straightforward - or is it? Keep the following
in mind when using the ORS:
1. Annotations
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Post-1971- Annotations to ORS sections are grouped
together in Volume 21, rather than following each section.
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Pre-1971 - These annotations are found in the separate
two volume 1971 Permanent edition under the relevant title
and section number.
2. Constitutions
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Federal - The Federal Constitution and its index
are found at the end of Volume 17.
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Oregon - The Oregon State Constitution and its index
are found at the end of Volume 17. The General Index
found in Volumes 18 and 19 duplicate some, but not all,
of the index terms found in the index to the Constitution.
3. Indices
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General Index - The General Index is organized
from the general to the specific using cross-referencing
to synonymous and multiple terms. Cross-references
are also provided from subcategories to the larger inclusive
topic, but there are omissions. For example, Chapter
475A is entitled Civil Forfeiture. You will
find neither "civil forfeiture" nor "forfeiture;
civil" as main entries in the general index, or for
that matter, in the Quick Search Index or under Words
and Phrases. You will find "forfeitures, Civil
forfeiture, criminal activities," in the General Index.
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Quick Search Index - This index precedes the General
Index in Volume 18. It is a brief index that includes
laws by popular names, titles of laws and uniform laws.
For example, the “Determination of Death Act” can be found
here, but is not indexed by name in the General Index.
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Words and Phrases - Terms defined in the ORS,
but not necessarily found as a heading or subheading in
the General Index, may be listed under the General Index
term “Words and Phrases”. Approximately 9,000 terms
are listed alphabetically under the term “Words and Phrases”.
4. Legislation
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Effective Date - Oregon Constitution, Article 4,
Section 28, provides that “no act shall take effect, until
90 days from the end of the session at which the same shall
have been passed, except in the case of an emergency; which
emergency shall be declared in the preamble, or in the body
of the law.” The adjournment and subsequent effective
date of laws passed in the most recent session is noted
on the title page of ORS Volume 1.
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Referred Measures - Enacted measures (session
laws) referred by the Legislature to the electorate and
which are subsequently rejected are not compiled as part
of the ORS. This fact will be noted in the comparative
section tables.
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Sources - The enactment date and subsequent amendment
dates for laws enacted after 1953 are in the ORS following
the section. However, for laws enacted prior to 1953,
the dates have been omitted from the current ORS and you
must use the two volume set referred to as the Legislative
History, Reviser’s Notes and Annotations; commonly referred
to as the 1953 “Reviser’s Notes”.
5. Prior Codes
6. Rules
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Appellate procedure - These rules supplement the
statutory requirements for appeals and judicial review contained
in the ORS and are not reprinted therein.
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Civil procedure - the ORCP appear in Volume 1 following
Chapter 10. It is not a separate numbered chapter
within the ORS, although it is indexed in the General Index
under Rules of Civil Procedure. (The ORCP are promulgated
by the Counsel on Court Procedures; see ORS 1.745)
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Evidence - The Rules of Evidence, known as the Evidence
Code, are codified as Chapter 40 of the ORS (the Rules
of Evidence are enacted by the Legislature). They
are indexed under evidence in the General Index.
7. Sections
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Renumbered - The legislative history of a renumbered
ORS Section for the period before the renumbering of the
section is found under the original ORS section number.
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Repealed with Enactments in Lieu - Where a new section
has been enacted in lieu of a repealed section, that information
will be contained in a parenthetical addition.
8. Tables
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Comparative - Volume 20 provides cites to the 1953
ORS corresponding from the Oregon Compiled Laws Annotated
(OCLA).
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Session Laws - Also provided in Volume 20 are cites
to the ORS corresponding from session laws beginning in
1941.
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Sections Renumbered - In the back of Volume 20,
Sections Renumbered in the most recent legislative session
are related to the former section numbers.
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Senate and House Bills Enacted - In the back of
Volume 20 Senate and House Bills enacted in the most recent
legislative session are listed.
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Titles - A Table of Titles follows the preface in
ORS Volume 1.
NOTE: The ORS may be searched online at http://www.leg.state.or.us/bills_laws/home.htm.
Law students may also search the ORS online using either
Westlaw or Lexis.
Return to Research Guides Index
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