Nevada Supreme Court Law Library: Uniform & Model Laws

To learn about uniform or model laws, you can look at two main types of information. First, read the "prefatory note," which explains why the law was made and how it helps solve problems in different states. Second, check the history of how each state adopted or changed the law and how it works with other laws. For Nevada, search the state's code and use tools like KeyCite to find cases about these laws. You can also see how the Nevada Supreme Court has used these laws in different cases to understand them better.

Uniform laws have two types of legislative history. The first is the prefatory note, which appears before the uniform law in the ULA or on the ULC website. This note explains the inconsistencies in laws across jurisdictions on a particular issue and why uniformity is necessary.

The second legislative history would be any documents produced as part of a state’s legislative process in enacting the law: why the state is enacting the uniform law, why they are considering changing the language from that set forth in the uniform law, and how the new law will integrate and work with existing laws.

The process of researching Nevada legislative history is outlined in a separate research guide. Sometimes the compiled legislative histories also include reports written by the Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB) or other entities with expertise in the area to accompany the proposed legislation. 

See also Nevada Legislative History Guide

To locate Nevada cases interpreting a specific uniform law provision enacted by the Legislature, you must KeyCite the provision from the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS).

Example:

• To find cases citing Nevada’s adoption of § 306 of the Revised Uniform Partnership Act, KeyCite NRS 87.433 (Liability of Partners).
• Then, review the Citing References tab for relevant cases.

Note: Statutory titles may differ from uniform law section titles, so be sure to search using the correct NRS citation.