Also known as: Pub.L. · Public Law · P.L. · public law
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard abbreviation designating a federal statute enacted by Congress and signed into law by the President.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Preston Pratt faced charges for selling examination answers after an undercover officer posed as a student and encouraged the conduct over several weeks. Pratt's counsel introduced evidence that the officer made false statements about university policy. The defense brief cited Pub. L. 89-259 to show the statutory framework governing the underlying conduct and to support the entrapment claim under the Model Penal Code standard.
Pioneer Energy challenged the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board after receiving an adverse inspection report. The company argued that the Board's members were improperly insulated from presidential removal. Its complaint referenced Pub. L. 107-204 as the statute creating the Board and sought declaratory relief on separation-of-powers grounds.
Portia Price, a nonresident shareholder, sued to quiet title to shares in a Delaware corporation. The defendant moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Price's opposition memorandum cited Pub. L. 94-583 to argue that the forum's long-arm statute and the situs of the shares supplied the necessary contacts for adjudication.
Pablo Perez, a naval officer, libeled a vessel captured during hostilities. The district court required proof that the seizure complied with statutory authorization. Perez's brief invoked Pub. L. 81-774 to establish the procedural rules governing condemnation and distribution of prize proceeds.
Paul Peterson obtained a judgment against a nonresident debtor whose only asset in the state was a parcel of land. When the debtor challenged the judgment for lack of personal jurisdiction, Peterson responded by citing Pub. L. 73-415 to demonstrate that the state's attachment and publication procedures satisfied due process requirements at the time of the original action.
Progressive Healthcare formed a political action committee to advocate on health-care legislation. When the Federal Election Commission limited the committee's independent expenditures, the organization sought declaratory relief. Its complaint cited Pub. L. 92-225 to argue that the statutory caps on expenditures violated the First Amendment.
The abbreviation Pub. L. stands for Public Law and is the conventional designation for a statute enacted by Congress and signed by the President.
Supporting sources
After a bill becomes law, the Office of the Federal Register assigns a sequential Public Law number that appears in the United States Statutes at Large and in subsequent citations to that statute.
Supporting sources
Yes. Every enacted federal statute receives a Pub. L. number regardless of whether it is later codified in the United States Code.
Supporting sources
…States are not truly independent sovereigns, Mr. Justice Field found that their jurisdiction was defined by the "principles of public law" that regulate the relationships among independent nations. The first of those principles was "that every State possesses exclusive jurisdiction and sovereignty over persons and property…