Is a respected and reliable secondary source considered to be the actual law?

The assertion that a respected and reliable secondary source is not considered to be the actual law is fundamentally accurate. Secondary sources, such as legal encyclopedias, law review articles, treatises, or commentaries, serve important purposes in legal research. They provide analysis, interpretation, and guidance on the law, but they do not have the force of law themselves.

Secondary sources can help practitioners understand legal principles, find relevant primary sources, and gain insights into complex legal issues. However, they are not binding authority in legal proceedings. Actual law comprises statutes, regulations, and case law that courts have established, which have the legal force required to govern behavior and resolve disputes.

Thus, while secondary sources can be respected and highly reliable, they remain tools for understanding and navigating the law rather than forms of law themselves. This distinction is crucial for legal practitioners and researchers to keep in mind.