District of Columbia (D.C.) Law
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Germaine Leahy
About D.C. Law
"Created by Congress in 1801 as the nation's capital, the District has for various purposes been treated as a state, municipal corporation, territory, and federal agency. Under its plenary constitutional power over the District, Congress had established various local judicial systems, legislative bodies, and executive authorities, but usually retained a measure of federal control."
Source: District of Columbia Practice Manual, at 1 (29th ed., 2022).
Sources of D.C. Law:
| Council of the District of Columbia legislation & laws |
U.S. Congressional legislation & laws |
| D.C. agency regulations & administrative decisions | Federal agency regulations & administrative decisions |
| D.C. court decisions | Federal court decisions |
Find D.C. Materials
Search by Subject:
Search by Call Number:
A "call number" is a combination of characters assigned to a library book to indicate its place on a shelf within a library. D.C. legal materials can be found on reserve and in the stacks in this call number range: KFD1201 - KFD1796.
DC Data
- Open Data DC
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Managed by the Enterprise Data team in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO); promotes open data by proactively working with agency partners to identify, curate, distribute, and use city government open data. - Contracts and Procurement Transparency Portal
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Created by the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP), as a public clearinghouse for all information related to the District Government’s contracting and procurement efforts. - EdScape
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Enables the public to search all digital land surveys. This tool is used to view all field survey records and surveyor plats. - Lab @ DC
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Uses scientific insights and methods to test and improve policies and provide timely, relevant and high-quality analysis to inform the District's most important decisions. - SCOUT
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An online consolidated database serving customers of the Department of Buildings and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. Use Scout to view permitting, inspection, licensing, enforcement and compliance information, and other District data. Create a password to access the website. - Surveyor Land Record Management System (SURDOCS)
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Enables the public to search all digital land surveys. This tool is used to view all field survey records and surveyor plats.
Related Guides
- "Chapter 1: Finding the Law" in Volume 1, The District of Columbia Practice Manual
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(The District of Columbia Bar) - D.C. Courts Libraries
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(D.C. Court of Appeals and D.C. Superior Court Libraries)
Provides links to D.C. legal materials. - District of Columbia Resources
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(Georgetown Law Library) - Guide to Law Online: U.S. Washington, D.C.
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(Law Library of Congress) - Online Legal Information: District of Columbia
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(American Association of Law Libraries (AALL))
Provides status information about free online access to D.C. primary legal materials and links to public law libraries located in D.C.
