Lawyers have the difficult job of understanding and working through legal systems in order to represent the rights of their clients: the issue here is the fact that every situation is unique and some may not happen to fit nicely into a defined area. These gray areas demand a thorough mastery of federal legislative history and an advanced knowledge of regulations and administrative code sections — if we were to fault attorneys for lacking in this department, we would be all but without litigation in court.
How the Legislative System Works
The Constitution of the United States of America was signed on September 17, 1787; naturally we inhabit a much different world than our forefathers did. Thankfully, the Constitution was created with this in mind as there have been a total of 33 proposed by the United States Congress with 27 approved amendments. Amendments, like all laws, first start out as a bill that has been proposed by either a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives. After deliberation, both the House and Senate must approve the bill before it is passed on to the president. If the president vetoes the bill, it can go back to Congress for ratification; the bill becomes a law when the president either signs the bill or waits for ten days without vetoing the bill.
What is Legislative Intent?
Due to the complex history of legislature, attorneys occasionally enlist the aid of legislative history services. These experts on legislative history are able to help attorneys preserve the rights of their clients by guiding them through the history of how a law came into effect. Armed with historical knowledge, lawyers are able to find exceptions that had not been considered when a law was enacted and thereby ultimately change the nature of that law to reflect a given situation. Whenever lawyers need an expert’s knowledge on legislature, legislative history services are never too far behind.