June 2009
MANY "BACK DOORS" TO THE RIGHT CFR SECTION
If you don't find the right Code of Federal Regulations section using one method, try another method.
Thanks to notes of decisions, Westlaw fields, and other editorial enhancements, your first search is likely to retrieve the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) sections you need.
But what if it doesn't? What if the agency's terminology doesn't occur to you on your first try?
Happily, there are many paths to relevant CFR sections, including the following:
Browse or search using the Table of Contents service
Access the Code of Federal Regulations database (CFR), and then click Table of Contents at the top of the Search page. The publication's table of contents is displayed. Browse the table of contents by clicking the plus (+) and minus (–) symbols next to the headings. If you see the name of a potentially relevant section, you can view the full text of the section by clicking the section name. In the alternative, you can select the check boxes next to potentially relevant chapters, subchapters, or other portions you want to search. Click Search at the bottom of the Table of Contents page. At the next page, your selections are listed in the TOC selection(s) box. To retrieve only those sections containing specific terms, type a term or terms in the Add search terms and connectors text box, and click Search.
Use the RegulationsPlus® Index
When you need CFR sections governing a topic, e.g., punitive damages, it may be as simple as looking under "P."
At the CFR Search page, click RegulationsPlus Index. At the top of the RegulationsPlus Index you will find the alphabetical navigation tool and a text box. To jump to a portion of the index, click a letter of the alphabet. In the alternative, you can scan for a topic via a term search. Regulations cross-referenced under your topic heading can be accessed instantly, i.e., directly from the portion of the index you are viewing. There is no need to jump from topic to topic through the index.
Use the Links tab to jump from a statute to related regulations
A search that comes up empty in the CFR database might very well score a bull's-eye in the United States Code Annotated database (USCA).
If you start with a relevant USCA® section, links to regulations that interpret or administer the section may be displayed on the Links tab in the left frame. Click Administrative Code on the Links tab; a list of related federal and state regulations is displayed in the right frame.
Follow links from a related case or secondary source
Cases and secondary sources (such as law review articles, American Law Reports annotations, and treatises) are full of citations to federal regulations. If you retrieve a case or secondary source addressing your issue, you may be able to retrieve related regulations simply by clicking citations in the document.
