How to read and interpret a statute (law)

Some folks seem to find a statute that has some words that are associated with the issue they are co9ncerned about, and then cite the statute without realizing that in fact the statute is not relevant to the subject. Or they claim that the statute allows/permits/condones or denies/prohibits/censurs some action they wanted toi do/wanted to not be done to them.

I'm not an attorney, and what I'm suggesting is not legal advice or legal education that one could apply towards graduation and/or eligibility to sit for the bar exam. It is basic and mildly advanced instruction that the lay person can use to understand a little bit better how to figure out what a law says.

Folks might find these interesting reading:

http://courses.washington.edu/civpro03/helpful_hints/StatuteMAP.doc

http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/pubslegref/readingabill.pdf - you will need to make certain adjustments to fit states other than Texas

http://www.nolo.com/legal-research#readStatute - the "How to read a law" part especially, but it's all good

http://lawbore.net/articles/letterstoalawstudent.pdf - "Reading Statutes" is about halfway

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/97-589.pdf - a "style booK for both the writing of and interpreting of statutes (focuses on trying to get Congress to do a better job).

stay safe.