This is the date the decision was issued from the court or the law was passed by the legislature and signed by the chief executive officer. This also makes it difficult to locate. Therefore, a citation is necessary to find the law . Initially, each entity publishes its own laws and decisions. These laws and decisions are then republished into collections of the law.
Statutory law is republished in a federal or state compilation of laws and codes.
Case law is republished in a federal reporter or a regional reporter. There is no single source to find the law. Therefore, a citation is necessary to find the law . For example, Texas statutes are initially printed as session laws, then published in Vernon's Annotated Texas Statutes and Codes . As another example, Texas Supreme Court decisions are initially released as single case decisions.