Also known as: directories · directory provision
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
An alphabetical compilation of names, addresses, telephone numbers, or other identifying information about residents, businesses, or members of an organization. Such compilations are generally relied upon by the public or by persons in particular occupations.
A statutory or procedural directive that guides the manner of performing an act but does not render the act invalid for failure to comply strictly with its terms.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
An alphabetical compilation of names, addresses, telephone numbers, or other identifying information about residents, businesses, or members of an organization. Such compilations are generally relied upon by the public or by persons in particular occupations.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A statutory or procedural directive that guides the manner of performing an act but does not render the act invalid for failure to comply strictly with its terms.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Denise Donovan offers a printed city business directory to prove the address of a supplier in a contract dispute. The court admits the directory excerpt under the hearsay exception for public compilations because the directory is generally relied upon by persons in the trade.
Dustin Donovan challenges a congressional map and cites population figures drawn from the Congressional Directory. The directory supplies the official district totals that the court uses to evaluate the one-person-one-vote claim.
Demetrius Douglas objects to the town board's prayer practice. The board responds that it selects clergy from a printed congregation directory that lists all local houses of worship without regard to denomination.
Diana Delgado seeks to keep referendum signatures private. The state responds that the names appear in publicly available voter and address directories that anyone can consult to verify the signers' identities.
A directory is admissible when it qualifies as a market quotation, list, or compilation generally relied on by the public or by persons in particular occupations.
Supporting sources
A directory statute guides procedure but does not invalidate actions taken without strict compliance when the statute provides no penalty or enforcement mechanism for noncompliance.
Supporting sources
Failure to follow a directory provision does not invalidate the action when the statute lacks an enforcement method or a clause declaring noncompliance fatal.
Supporting sources
…as four of the five seats in the State’s delegation to the United States Congress, see GPO, 2009-2010 Official Congressional Directory, 111th Cong., pp. 299, 307 (2009). The difficulty in predicting which referendum measures will prove controversial—combined with Washington’s default position that signed referendum…