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United States — American Samoa
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Reviewed 15 September 2013 E-mail: Administrator@LawSource.com

American Samoa Court Decisions

  1. High Court of American Samoa (Am. Samoa)
    Decisions are not available on any official web site, but see Additional Resources below.

    Additional Resources

    NOTE—The chief justice and associate justices who compose the High Court of American Samoa are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. The judiciary also comprises district and village courts, the judges of which are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate of American Samoa. U.S. civil and criminal cases, augmented by such local laws and regulations as are enacted by the American Samoa legislature, constitute the body of law adjudicated in the courts.

    NOTE—Unlike other U.S. territories, American Samoa does not have a U.S. district court.

    American Samoa Reports1st Series (1901–1974) • 2nd Series (1978–1996) • 3rd Series (1997–Present)… [American Samoa Bar Ass’n] — Note that the current series (3rd) of reports is some years in arrears. The ASBA also provides a digest and selected “recent decisions” (called “unpublished” because they are not yet published in the 3rd series of reports).
    American Samoa Digest … [American Samoa Bar Ass’n] — Blurbs on decisions, arranged under topical headings. The database has a text-search function.


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American Samoa Constitution and Legislation

  1. Constitution (Am. Samoa Const.)
    The constitution is not available on any official web site, but see Additional Resources below.

    Additional Resources

    NOTE—American Samoa, an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States, is administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is “unincorporated” because not all provisions of the U.S. Constitution apply to the territory. American Samoa is an “unorganized” territory because Congress has not provided the territory with an organic act. Instead, Congress gave plenary authority over the territory to the Secretary of the Interior, who in turn allowed American Samoans to draft their own constitution under which their government functions.

    Title 48, Chapter 13, U.S. Code … Provisions of the U.S. Code concerning American Samoa.
    Territorial Organic Documents … [American Samoa Bar Ass’n] — These are treaties, cessions, federal laws, and other documents respecting the creation of the territory and territorial government.
    Constitution … [American Samoa Bar Ass’n]
    Constitution … [Eni F. H. Faleomavaega, M.C. (American Samoa)]

  2. Session Laws of American Samoa (Am. Samoa Sess. Laws)

    Additional Resources

    NOTE—The bicameral legislature of American Samoa, known as the Fono, comprises a senate and a house of representatives. The legislature convenes for 45-day sessions twice yearly.

    Laws and Historical Documents … [Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, M.C. (American Samoa)] — A small collection made available by the American Samoa delegate to Congress.
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  3. American Samoa Code (Am. Samoa Code)
    The code is not available on any official web site, but see Additional Resources below.

    Additional Resources
    American Samoa Code … [American Samoa Bar Ass’n]


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American Samoa Rules of Procedure and Practice

The rules are not available on any official web site, but see Additional Resources below.

    Additional Resources
    American Samoa Court Rules … [American Samoa Bar Ass’n] — High court rules, appellate court rules, trial court rules, district court rules, and village court rules.


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American Samoa Administrative Law Sources

See also a page of links to sources of rules, maintained by the Administrative Codes and Registers Section of the National Association of Secretaries of State.

  1. American Samoa Administrative Code (Am. Samoa Admin. Code)
    The code is not available on any official web site, but see Additional Resources below.

    Additional Resources
    Administrative Code … [American Samoa Bar Ass’n]


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American Samoa Law-Related Periodicals

Periodicals providing on-line articles are linked here. See also links to web sites of all U.S.-published law reviews and periodicals.


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Other American Samoa Commentary



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American Samoa Law-Related Topical Web Sites



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American Samoa Court Information

See also links to state court web sites, maintained by the National Center for State Courts. Additionally, the Ballotpedia.org web site presents information about courts and judges in the state, covering both state courts and federal courts, in a Wikipedia-style format.


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American Samoa Forms



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Other American Samoa Resources

  1. Government-Related Web Sites
    See also the Piper Resources list of sites.

    Additional Resources
    ¶ Vital Records — Contact Information … [Elizabeth Orsay (Ind.)]
    ¶ Workers’ Compensation — Agency Contact Information … [Robert W. McDowell / N.C. Indus. Comm’n]

  2. American Samoa Bar Association


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Legal Research and Assistance

  1. Low-Cost Legal Aid … Contact Uunai Legal Services Clinic, Pago Pago (no web site). See the web site for LawHelp.org and the web site for SelfHelpSupport.org.

 

 


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Revised 15 September 2013
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