How to Do Online Research on Connecticut Statutes and Laws
Use the Online Text of Connecticut General Statutes and Acts
The Connecticut legislature passes laws just like any other sovereign state. Connecticut has two main sets of laws that are enacted by the legislature: Connecticut General Statutes (CGS) and Connecticut Public and Special Acts. If you intend to do online legal research on Connecticut law, search both of these sets of law to find all legislative law. If you have a specific legal problem, contact a Connecticut lawyer. Only a lawyer will have the training to find all relevant law on a topic and construct a legal plan to solve your problem.
Access the main page for Connecticut legislative law at the Connecticut State Library website. You will notice that the page has links to the CGS and the Public and Special Acts. Click on "Browse the Table of Contents" to find the actual text of the CGS. You will find that there are Titles, which are the large areas of law. You can then find Chapters and Sections by clicking on the links.
It is best to find the general area of law you are looking for by browsing on the Table of Contents. You can then go back and search what you are looking for with the search links. There are also Special Acts index links. Try to find what you are looking for in the index PDF files first. You can then go back and use the Search feature.
Use the "List of Public and Special Acts" links to find the text of the Acts. Look at the titles on the list and click on the Act number to read the text.
Note that, according to the website, you can only search back to 1988 for Connecticut Public and Special Acts. You may need a law library or a lawyer with additional resources to complete your search.
You can also use the search link to find other Connecticut law. Constitutions are found in there. Even Committee Meeting Minutes and Session Transcripts can be searched.
Use FindLaw to find links to other areas of Connecticut law. No legal research is likely to be complete without including searches for Connecticut administrative law and case law. Use a lawyer for the most comprehensive legal research for your particular legal problem.
