Whats the difference between the U.S. Code and the Statutes at Large?
The Statutes at Large are purely a compilation of all the bills that became laws during a congressional session, published in the order that they passed. The U.S. Code is a compilation of all current law arranged by legal subject. What this means is that in the Statutes at Large you will find the USA PATRIOT Act, reprinted exactly as it passed Congress: USA PATRIOT Act In the U.S. Code, you will find the various elements of the USA PATRIOT Act located under the appropriate subject (or “title”): 18 USC 1, 28 USC 524, 18 USC 3056 and so on. When a statute is published in Statutes at Large, it will generally include notes in the margins indicating where each section will end up in the U.S. Code. If you’ve already started working with a particular law, use the Statutes at Large to help direct your use of the U.S. Code. It’s easier and will help clarify the difference between the two publications.
