Reverse Deception: Organized Cyber Threat Counter-Exploitation (53 page)

Chapter
   This term refers to related state or federal statutes grouped together in a particular title or code.

Chaptered
   A bill becomes chaptered if it is approved by the legislature and signed by the governor.

Citation
   This term refers to formal references to statutes that describe where they are published. For instance, the citation “23 Vt. Stat Ann § 1185” tells us that this cited statute is in Section 1185 of Title 23 of Vermont Statutes Annotated. Similarly, the federal citation “42 USC § 1395” tells us that this cited federal statute can be found in Title 42, Section 1395 of the United States Code.

Code
   This term essentially refers to the main body of statutes of the jurisdiction (for example, the United States Code or the Arizona State Code). The statutes within a given state code are organized by subject matter into Titles, as in Title 50 of United States Code (War and National Defense). In some states (such as California, Texas, and New York), the term may be used to refer both to the overall collection of statutes and the separate subject matter groupings of the statutes, as in Penal Code, Family Code, and Probate Code.

Engrossed
   This term refers to when a legislative body, such as the House, votes to approve a bill and sends it on to the other legislative body (the Senate).

Enrolled
   The bill is enrolled when both houses of the legislative body voted to approve it, and it has been sent to the executive branch (the president or a state governor) for signing).

Legislative history
   This term refers to assorted materials generated in the course of creating legislation, including committee reports, analysis by legislative counsel, floor debates, and a history of actions taken.

NOTE

Legislative history for recently enacted federal statutes can be found at
http://thomas.loc.gov/
. Legislative history for state statutes is rarely found online, and will likely require a trip to the law library
.

Session Laws
   When bills become laws, they are published in a text according to the session of the legislature that enacted them into law. Thus, laws passed by the California legislature in 1989 were passed in the 1989–1999 session. The individual laws in the publication for a particular session (such as Session Laws 1989–1999) can be found according to their original bill number.

Statutory scheme
   This term refers to a group of statutes that relate to one particular subject. For instance, all of the federal statutes that make up Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (which forbids employment discrimination and sexual harassment) are known as a statutory scheme because they are all related to each other.

Title
   In the federal system and in some states, this term is used to denote a collection of state or federal statutes by subject matter, as in Title 11 of the United States Code for bankruptcy statutes or Title 42 of the United States Code for civil rights statutes. The term is also used to denote a group of statutes within a larger set of statutes, as in Title IX of the Civil Rights Act (which itself is located in Title 42 of the United States Code).

The Role of Statutes in Our Legal System

When people talk about “what the law says” or “what the law is,” they are generally referring to
statutes
(sometimes called
codes
), which are created by the US Congress and our state legislators in an attempt to lay out the ground rules of “the law.” When disputes arise over the meaning of the statutes, state and federal courts issue court opinions in an effort to interpret the statutes more clearly. The by-product of that process is referred to as
case law
.

How to Find a Law

Essentially, there are two ways to find a given state or federal statute on a state website: do a general search or browse the table of contents. Many states permit such searches, but not all. If the site allows searches, simply enter a few terms that relate to the subject of the statute. Each state has its own computer- or cyber-related laws (such as codes and statutes), covering the spectrum of issues from hacking, viruses, contaminants. destructive transmissions to intellectual property, and so on.

To do a good search, you need to anticipate the words used in the statutes you are seeking.

Searching can be difficult because you may not know the exact terms your state uses to address the issue you’re researching. Browsing the table of contents of statutes is often a better way to find laws on your subject. You can first look at the general subjects (titles or divisions). From there, you can move on to particular topics (chapters or articles), and then to the precise statutes you need (sections). By browsing, you also get a general idea of all the statutes there are on a specific subject.

Do Your Background Homework

If you are interested in a particular area of the law, you will need to read all relevant statutes on that subject. If you do not, you may miss an important statute that contradicts the law you have found.

Fortunately, most statutes are organized in clumps called
statutory schemes
, which are published together in one title, chapter, section, or act. So, once you find a statute on your subject, it is simply a matter of finding out where the statutory scheme starts (usually by backing up to earlier statutes), and then reading all related statutes until you reach a new title, chapter, section, or act.

Sometimes the statutes you read will refer to other statutes. You should take the time to read those statutes as well. Often, they will include exceptions, further explanations, or details that are important to your issue.

Keep in mind that you are gathering background information in preparation for working with counsel. This is not to suggest that you can’t have a productive working relationship with a lawyer if you have not done extensive background research on the relevant legal issues. A happy medium is probably the best approach. If you have a general sense of the law, it can be of value in developing strategies and plans to address your operational needs and requirements, especially if you do the development work in collaboration with your lawyer. Most lawyers would prefer to be involved from the beginning stages, to ensure legal compliance, rather than being handed the operational plan at the eleventh hour.

Reading the Law

Some statutes are clearly written, meaning that you can easily understand exactly what the legislature intended and what the law is on a particular subject. Unfortunately, many statutes are very difficult to understand. Exceptions to the statute, “whereas” clauses, and cross-references to other statutes can make it very hard to understand what a statute means. Here are some rules to use when interpreting a statute:

Read the statute three times, and then read it again.

Pay close attention to all the “ands” and “ors.” The use of “and” to end a series means that all elements of the series are included, or necessary. An “or” at the end of a series means that only one of the elements needs to be included.

Assume all words and punctuation in the statute have meaning. For example, if a statute says you “may” do something, that means you are allowed to do it. But if a statute says you “shall” do something, that means you are required to do it.

It’s tempting to skip words you don’t quite understand. Don’t do it. If you’re confused about what a word means and can’t understand from the context, look up the word.

If the statute is one of a number you are studying, interpret it to be consistent with the other statutes if at all possible.