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Researching Bankruptcy Law in Maryland
Introduction
Bankruptcy law is governed by primarily by federal statute, however, state statutes also play a role. Depending on the specific problem you are trying to research, you will probably need to research both federal and Maryland law.
Federal Statutes The United States Bankruptcy Code is found in Title 11 of the United States Code, and is divided into eight parts:
The official source of the federal statutes is the United States Code. All Maryland law libraries (list) and many Maryland public libraries (see SAILOR, Maryland's Online Public Information Network sponsored by Maryland public libraries) carry the United States Code in print. Many of the same libraries also carry one of the unofficial versions, the United States Code Annotated and the United States Code Service. It is a good idea to do your federal statute research in one of these unofficial print versions of the Code, because they are both more up-to-date than the official Code, and because (unlike the version linked above) they include summaries of cases that interpret each statute. For more information on researching federal statutes, see Finding Statutes and Searching the United States Code When You Don't Have a Citation.
Maryland Statutes
In Maryland, the official source of the state statutes is the Annotated Code of Maryland. All Maryland law libraries (list) and many Maryland public libraries (see SAILOR, Maryland's Online Public Information Network sponsored by Maryland public libraries) carry the Annotated Code of Maryland in print. For your convenience, this guide provides a link to a free database of Maryland's statutes maintained by Lexis-Nexis. Keep in mind, however, that the print version may be more useful in your research because it provides summaries of and citations to cases that have interpreted each statute. The free web version does not give summaries of case law.
Citations to selected Maryland bankruptcy-related statutes (available online from Lexis-Nexis; click the "+" next to Maryland Code to see a list of titles):
For more information on researching Maryland statutes, see Finding Statutes and Searching for Maryland Statutes When You Don't Have a Citation.
Court Rules & Forms
Resources for Additional Help The resources below may help you to understand bankruptcy law. Keep in mind, however, that books that explain the law are no substitute for the law itself. You should always verify what the authors of these books say about the law by looking up the statutes, cases, and regulations the books cite. Some of these books may also include sample forms.
Cases
There are several ways to begin research into bankruptcy case law. One way is to find the statutes that apply to your situation in the United States Code Annotated, the United States Code Service, the Annotated Code of Maryland then look at the case summaries that follow them. You can find additional cases by reading books that explain the law and noting the cases they cite. Another method of finding cases is to search or the Federal Practice Digest, which is a subject index to federal case law, or the Maryland Digest, which is a subject index to Maryland case law. Many, but not all, law libraries also carry a specialized Bankruptcy Digest that summarizes only cases about bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Digest would probably be the most helpful digest if you have access to a library that carries it. The Digests arrange summaries of published cases by legal issue using something called the "topic and key number" system. Once you know the topic and key number combination that represents your issue, look up that topic and key number in the Digest and you should find a list of summaries of cases that discuss your issue. Each summary includes a citation to the full text of a case. For more information on researching Maryland case law, see Finding Maryland Case Law, Finding Federal Case Law, and Finding Case Law by Subject. Source: This section developed by Sara Kelley, Librarian, Georgetown University Law Library, in partnership with the Maryland Legal Assistance Network. Last Review Date 10/04 (MLAN/SK)
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