Legal Research

From Hurricanes to Hollywood

1) Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Outstanding Need, Slow Progress 2) Editing Hollywood’s Editors: Cleaning Flicks for Families 3) Steroids in Sports: Cheating the System…

What do all of these things have in common? They are all the titles of hearings before the U.S. Congress. Although other documents, such as Committee Reports, are considered more valuable sources of legislative history, hearings are still a piece of the puzzle. They provide great background and include a range of useful information.

Hearings are usually held to assist Congress with proposed legislation and give committee members the opportunity to ask questions and collect information from experts, scholars, and officials. Hearings commonly contain transcripts of Q & A sessions, prepared statements by witnesses and exhibits.

LexisNexis Congressional is available to members 24/7 and has complete versions of hearings from 2004 - present. In addition, select testimony transcripts and submitted statements are available from 1988-present.

If you need any help with your research, call the Reference Desk at 215-574-1505 or email research@jenkinslaw.org

Full post as published by Jenkins Webblits on November 19, 2008 (boomark / email).