Why should constitutional or statutory law be located first in legal research?

Locating constitutional or statutory law first in legal research is essential because these laws often provide direct answers to legal questions. Statutes and constitutions articulate the rules and principles that govern a jurisdiction, establishing legal standards and frameworks. When legal research begins with these sources, researchers can quickly identify the foundational legal texts that apply to the issue at hand, leading to a clearer understanding of the law's requirements, rights, or obligations applicable in that situation.

This approach is particularly valuable as statutes and constitutional provisions can explicitly dictate the legal landscape, allowing for a more efficient research process. Furthermore, once the relevant statutory or constitutional law is identified, it can guide the researcher in understanding how it has been interpreted or applied in subsequent case law. This foundational step is crucial, as it ensures that the research is firmly grounded in the primary legal authority before delving into secondary sources or case law, which interpret and apply those foundational legal texts.

Other options, while they may have elements of truth, do not encapsulate the primary reason for prioritizing constitutional or statutory law in the research. For instance, while it is true that some case law stems directly from these foundational texts, constitutional or statutory law should not be seen simply as a means to eliminate the necessity for case law