Re: [legaldocml] Duplicate US Code sections

Wendy:

This is not the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last, 
unfortunately.  And the duplicated numbers tend to coexist for some 
time, as they don't get cleaned up until the annual "errata" bill comes 
out of the House Judiciary Committee in mid-December (or so I believe).

Our internal solution here has been to append an opaque, unique string 
to the identifier of the newer claimant.  It's ugly, but there's nothing
 better we've thought of.   I would welcome a general strategy for 
dealing with such errata.

A similar problem is posed by aggregations -- quite common in the Code 
of Federal Regulations, but not in USC -- that have no identifier, but 
appear in tables of contents and are (we believe) of some significance 
to the agency  that maintains the material and whatever specialized 
constituencies they may have.

t.

Wendy Carter wrote:

  

  

  

  

Grant and Co. --

 

I was reminded earlier today that there are two 
sections with the identifier of  5 USC 3598.    I was looking at this 
section through the US Code in xml and thinking how problematic it is – 
it breaks search and the footnote does not provide
 any substantive information. In the xml there is no identifier 
distinction and you have to look at the source credit to see that one 
was added by
Pub. L. 108–447 and the other by  Pub. L. 108–458. 

 

I thought this could be a
 useful example for the  id attributes that we have been hashing out in 
Akoma Notoso and wanted to share it just in case it was not well known. 
 I don’t see how the currentId can be unique
 in this scenario? They are two competing documents with the same 
semantic legal identifier, rather than two versions. 

 

Wendy Carter

 

Here’s the xml:

 

<section id="id7aae53bd-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d" identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598"><num
 value="3598">§ 3598.</num><heading><ref class="footnoteRef"
 idref="fn002050">1</ref><note type="footnote"
 id="fn002050"><num>1</num> Another section 3598 is
 set out after this section.</note> Federal Bureau of Investigation Reserve Service</heading><subsection class="indent0"
 id="id7aae53be-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d" identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/a"><num
 value="a">(a)</num><heading> Establishment.—</heading><content>The
 Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation may provide for the 
establishment and training of a Federal Bureau of Investigation Reserve 
Service (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “FBI Reserve 
Service”) for temporary reemployment of employees
 in the Bureau during periods of emergency, as determined by the 
Director.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aae7acf-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/b"><num 
value="b">(b)</num><heading>
 Membership.—</heading><content>Membership in the FBI Reserve Service shall be 
limited to individuals who previously served as full-time employees of 
the Bureau.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aae7ad0-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/c"><num 
value="c">(c)</num><heading>
 Annuitants.—</heading><content>If an annuitant receiving an annuity from the Civil
 Service Retirement and Disability Fund becomes temporarily reemployed 
pursuant to this section, such annuity
 shall not be discontinued thereby. An annuitant so reemployed shall not
 be considered an employee for the purposes of chapter 83 or 84.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aae7ad1-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/d"><num 
value="d">(d)</num><heading>
 No Impact on Bureau Personnel Ceiling.—</heading><content>FBI Reserve Service members reemployed on a 
temporary basis pursuant to this section shall not count against any 
personnel ceiling
 applicable to the Bureau.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aae7ad2-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/e"><num 
value="e">(e)</num><heading>
 Expenses.—</heading><content>The Director may provide members of the FBI Reserve
 Service transportation and per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
accordance with applicable provisions of this
 title, for the purpose of participating in any training that relates to
 service as a member of the FBI Reserve Service.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aae7ad3-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/f"><num 
value="f">(f)</num><heading>
 Limitation on Membership.—</heading><content>Membership of the FBI Reserve Service is not to 
exceed 500 members at any given time.</content>

</subsection>

<sourceCredit id="id7aaea1e4-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d">

(Added <ref href="/us/pl/108/447/s114/a">Pub. L.
 108–447, div. B, title I, § 114(a)</ref>,
<date date="2004-12-08">Dec. 8, 2004</date>,
<ref href="/us/stat/118/2869">118 Stat. 
2869</ref>.)</sourceCredit>

</section>

<section id="id7aaea1e5-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d" identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598"><num
 value="3598">§ 3598.</num><heading><ref class="footnoteRef"
 idref="fn002051">1</ref><note type="footnote"
 id="fn002051"><num>1</num> Another section 3598 is
 set out preceding this section.</note> Federal Bureau of Investigation Reserve Service</heading><subsection class="indent0"
 id="id7aaea1e6-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d" identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/a"><num
 value="a">(a)</num><heading> Establishment.—</heading><content>The
 Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation may provide for the 
establishment and training of a Federal Bureau of Investigation Reserve 
Service (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “FBI Reserve 
Service”) for temporary reemployment of employees
 in the Bureau during periods of emergency, as determined by the 
Director.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aaea1e7-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/b"><num 
value="b">(b)</num><heading>
 Membership.—</heading><content>Membership in the FBI Reserve Service shall be 
limited to individuals who previously served as full-time employees of 
the Bureau.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aaea1e8-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/c"><num 
value="c">(c)</num><heading>
 Annuitants.—</heading><content>If an individual receiving an annuity from the 
Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund on the basis of such 
individual’s service becomes temporarily reemployed
 pursuant to this section, such annuity shall not be discontinued 
thereby. An individual so reemployed shall not be considered an employee
 for the purposes of chapter 83 or 84.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aaec8f9-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/d"><num 
value="d">(d)</num><heading>
 No Impact on Bureau Personnel Ceiling.—</heading><content>FBI Reserve Service members reemployed on a 
temporary basis pursuant to this section shall not count against any 
personnel ceiling
 applicable to the Bureau.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aaec8fa-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/e"><num 
value="e">(e)</num><heading>
 Expenses.—</heading><content>The Director may provide members of the FBI Reserve
 Service transportation and per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
accordance with applicable provisions of this
 title, for the purpose of participating in any training that relates to
 service as a member of the FBI Reserve Service.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aaec8fb-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/f"><num 
value="f">(f)</num><heading>
 Limitation on Membership.—</heading><content>Membership of the FBI Reserve Service is not to 
exceed 500 members at any given time.</content>

</subsection>

<subsection class="indent0" id="id7aaec8fc-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d"
 identifier="/us/usc/t5/s3598/g"><num 
value="g">(g)</num><heading>
 Limitation on Duration of Service.—</heading><content>An individual may not be reemployed under this 
section for more than 180 days in connection with any particular 
emergency unless, in the
 judgment of the Director, the public interest so requires.</content>

</subsection>

<sourceCredit id="id7aaec8fd-f639-11e2-8470-abc29ba29c4d">

(Added <ref href="/us/pl/108/458/s2004/a">Pub. L.
 108–458, title II, § 2004(a)</ref>,
<date date="2004-12-17">Dec. 17, 2004</date>,
<ref href="/us/stat/118/3703">118 Stat. 
3703</ref>.)</sourceCredit>

</section>

 

  

-- 
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Thomas R. Bruce 

Director, Legal Information Institute

Cornell Law School

 / @trbruce / http://www.linkedin.com/in/tombruce/

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