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Hahnah Williams I. II. III. IV.

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

Legal Research Process a. Find, Read, Update b. Where to begin? Why? What do you expect to find? Legal Authority a. Primary or Second b. Mandatory or Persuasive Legal Authority Primary The Law a. Administrative Law ResearchGerogia i. Judicial, Legislative, and Executive ii. Agency regulations and decisions are primary sources of law. iii. Georgia administrative law and agencies similar to federal government but scope of authority limited to state matters. iv. Sources 1. The Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia 2. Free on Web a. Session Laws, Statutes, Administrative Regulations 3. Lexis 4. West Law b. State Statutes & State Regulations i. Created by state legislatures ii. How Statutes Interact with Case Law 1. Might codify, clarify, or supplement preexisting common law (UCC) 2. Might overturn the common law (Workers compensation statutes) 3. Might create whole new areas of law (Americans with Disabilities Act) 4. Courts interpret legislatures language & apply statutes in legal disputes 5. Courts assess whether a statute is constitutional (judicial review) iii. Print sources of statutory law 1. Slip Lawa copy of an individual act, as passed 2. Session Lawsa chronological publication of laws passed by a legislature during a specific session. a. Georgia Lawsfor text of amendments to the code section. b. Updating Codes i. Advance Legislative Service and/or Advance Annotation Service for new enactments, recent amendments, new annotations (precedes pocket part) c. Uses i. Historical Research

Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

ii. Determine exact language of statute as originally enacted iii. Determine language of statute at a particular point in time iv. Find local and special laws that have not been codified 3. Code---set of statutes currently in effect in a jurisdiction, organized by topic. a. Codifiedorganized by subject in a states code i. Ex: Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A) ii. Ex: Unofficial CodesWests Code of Georgia Annotated. iii. Not all official codes are unannotated b. In Georgia, Both the current official and the current unofficial codes are annotated c. Three parts: Title, Chapter, Section i. Every states topical arrangement and numbering scheme is different. ii. OCGA 31-9-6.1 1. Title 31, Chap 9; Section 6.1 4. Other Resources with Annotated Codes a. Constitutions, Court Rules, Index to Local and Special Laws, Tables iv. Using State Codes 1. Locate the relevant code section a. With a Known Cite to a relevant section (found where?) b. Use the Popular Name Table (Short Title Index in GA) c. Use a Title Index d. Use a General Index. 2. Read (analyze) the code section a. Catchline or descriptive heading b. Text of statute c. History Line at the end of each section d. The default effective date is July, 1 of the year enacted. e. Case law annotations f. 3. Update the code section a. Use pocket part to determine currency use, printed date, and note the legislative session included. b. Update both statute and annotations i. Statute not amended but see new annotations; law review, case, and ALR 5th

Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy c.

Intro to Legal Research

c. Case Law i. Anatomy of Case 1. The heading contains a. Parallel Cite to an official reporter, case name, court rendering decision, and the date of decision 2. A synopsis of the decision written by case editors, not by the court. 3. Head notes a. One or more paragraphs summarizing the key points within the decision. b. Written by case editors and not by the court. 4. Names of attorneys a. Who represented the parties and the judge or judges who decided the case. 5. Opinion of the court a. If the decision has any concurring or dissenting opinions, these will follow immediately after the majority or plurality opinion. b. Only item that constitutes legal authority. c. Only thing to rely on. d. Opinion starts after judge deciding the case. 6. At the end of opinion a. Date of decision b. Court appealed from c. Attorneys ii. What decisions are published ; Courts of last resort (All states publish; all US SC), Intermediate Appellate (Most states; Not all federal COA) , Trial (Few states) 1. Unpublished or non-precedential opinions are decisions not designated for publication; iii. Where published in print? 1. Reportersset of books containing cases published in chronological order. a. Officialpublished under state authority i. Ex.Georgia Case Reporters; Georgia Reports; Georgia Appeals Reports b. UnofficialPublished by commercial publisher without state authority; Regional Reporter i. Largest commercial publisher of cases is Thomson West; formerly West Publishing Company ii. National Reporter SystemWest created a network of unofficial reporters.

Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

iii. Ex.Georgia Case Reporters; Wests South Eastern Reporter with editorial enhancements. iv. OffprintAll Georgia cases published in one volume of S.E.2d Reporter. 1. Wests Georgia Cases 2. One states cases pulled from regional reporter, published separately. 3. Cite regional, not offprint 4. Available for about 30 states v. Front page of every regional reporter lists states covered in that reporter series. vi. West Editorial Enhancements 1. Procedural History 2. Headnotes a. Summarizes points of law in opinionNOT part of opinion. b. Each headnote is numbered and assigned a Topic and Key Number by West editors c. Use headnote number to locate where point of law can be found in opinion [brackets]. vii. Advance Sheets 1. Recent cases; slip opinions; may be on the web 2. Find on shelf at end of reporter series 3. Discarded when bound volumes arrive 4. Volume # and page range on spine; Date of issue on cover 2. Digests a. Highlights i. Digest means to arrange and summarize ii. Law is arranged into different subject categories such as torts; contracts; or criminal law iii. Within each category the digest provides summaries of cases that discuss the law on that subject iv. Use the summaries to decide which cases you should read to find the answer to your research question.

Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

b. c. d. e.

f. g. h.

v. Each topic is listed alphabetically in the digest vi. Each subdivision within a topic is assigned a number that West calls a key number vii. Key number subdivisions allow you to focus more specifically on the precise issue you are researching The encyclopedic arrangement of headnotes, by topic. Finding Court opinions using digests Tool for finding cases by subject Arranges and summarizes cases by specific legal issues i. If a state digest, with both state and federal case summaries, federal case summaries appear first. ii. Highest state court case summaries appear in reverse chronological order, followed by next highest level of court. iii. Check abbreviation tables in front of digest volume if court abbreviations are not clear. 1. D stands for Disrict; Trial courts in the federal system are District courts. 2. CA is Court of Appeals An index to case law Organizes cases by subject, provides summaries of cases that discuss a particular subject within the law, gives you cites to cases, but not the full text. How to find cases that are on point i. Cases published chronologically in reporters ii. Need a way to find cases by subject or issue, because goal of research is finding primary mandatory authority. iii. Wests Topic & Key Number System 1. Divides the law into over 400 broad digest topics; topics arranged alphabetically and numbered 1-450. a. Translation tables in digests for old and new key # classifications; New areas of law develop and West adds new topics or change the names of topics over the years and renumber topics too.

Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

b. Sometimes the only place to find information about a relatively new development is in a digest pocket part. 2. An outline of published American case Law. a. Each topic outline includes a detailed analysis or outline with name or subject for each key number. 3. An index & classification system for Wests National Reporter series 4. A universal systemTopics & Key Numbers help find cases with similar legal issues in any jurisdiction. a. Ex. If you have a relevant case from outside your jurisdiction, that is, primary persuasive authority, you can use it to obtain a topic and key #, and then use that topic and key # in your states digest to find cases in your jurisdiction that have addressed that issue. iv. Using Digests to find cases on a particular topic (sloan p. 84) 1. Generally, choose the smallest digest that includes cases from your jurisdiction. 2. Choose the correct digest (Sloan p. 84; fig 4.9) a. State digeststate cases plus federal cases from courts within that state All states have digests (except Delaware, Nevada, and Utah) b. Regional Digests i. Cover the states in the regional reporter; contain cases from all the states covered in that regional reporter. (no federal cases) ii. Only 4 regional digests are published:

Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

Atlantic, North Western, Pacific and South Eastern c. Combined digest (Sloan p. 85, fig. 4.10) i. Covers all state and federal cases ii. Also called decennial digest or general digest. d. Subject specific digests i. Bankruptcy Digest, US Federal Claims digest ii. Also called practice specific digests d. 1. Locate the relevant Topics and Key Numbers (important: 3 ways) (Sloan p. 89) a. Descriptive word indexto find relevant topics and key numbers. i. If you have no relevant cases, and no relevant topics and key numbers, use the DWI. ii. Brainstorm for terms in DWI iii. Use DWI to identify topics and key numbers. iv. Example: v. You represent Earl, who was recently struck in the head and injured, from a foul ball hit at an Atlanta Braves baseball game. He wants to know if he has any cause of action against the team.

Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

vi. BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER, DECIDE WHAT YOUR JURISDICTION IS STATE OR FEDERAL, AND IF STATE, WHICH STATE? AND GENERATE SEARCH TERMS (baseball, spectators) TO USE IN THE DESC WORD INDEX. Did he assume the risk of injury? b. Start with a known Case use headnotes in a case on point to find other relevant cases in a digest. i. A headnote is a paragraph summary of a single point of law discussed in the case. ii. Headnotes are useful in helping you see at a glance whether or not that case is relevant and useful in your research. iii. Headnotes from each case are picked up and put into the digest, in alphabetical order by topic and then in key number order, within the topic. iv. West editors assign a topic and key number to every point of law in every case reported by West.

Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

v. Some points of law are assigned more than one topic and key number. vi. Headnotes are not the law. c. Start with a known topic use topic analysis to find relevant key numbers. i. Arranged alphabetically; Scan spine for volume covering topic 2. Read case summaries under topics and key numbers a. Read entire cases if they appear relevant or useful 3. Update your research a. After you have a relevant key number in the bound digest volume; check the pocket part under the same topic and key number. b. Check the supplemental pamphlets; if there are any; these update the pocket parts 2-3 times a year. i. Look at the last volume and page number of the reporter that is covered by or included in the digest ii. Check the case closing table on the inside front cover of most recent pocket part supplement. c. Check LawCat for latest pocket parts and cumulative pamphlets. d. Check the mini digest in each bound reporter volume after case closing; Check mini digest in each advance sheet after the bound volumes.

Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

V.

e. The most current info is in the pocket parts; using this can get you to a current key number quicker than if you go to the main volume first. f. Index pocket parts are important v. Table of Cases (sloan p92) a. List the cases in the digest volumes alphabetically, by case names, under both P and D names. b. Use if you have a case name and jurisdiction, but need citation. c. Use to find parallel cite d. Updated by pocket parts. vi. Digest Words and Phrases (sloan p. 98, fig. 4.12) a. Organized like a dictionary, used to determine if a court has defined a term. vii. ii. Where published online? 1. All states have their supreme court opinions on Web 2. Some states also have intermediate appellate opinions on Web 3. Dates of coverage vary from state to state 4. Format inconsistent (HTML, PDF, etc.) 5. Not always searchable 6. Broken links abound 7. Findlaw.comU.S. Law: Cases & Codes: States e. Mandatory Binding i. Constitutional provisions, statutes, and regulations in force within a jurisdictions are mandatory for courts within the same jurisdiction. ii. Decisions from higher courts within a jurisdiction are mandatory authority for lower courts within the same jurisdiction. f. Persuasive NonBinding i. Decisions from courts in one jurisdiction are persuasive authority for courts within another jurisdiction. ii. Decisions from lower courts within a jurisdiction are persuasive authority for higher courts within the same jurisdiction. Secondary a. Persuasive; commentary about the law; provides background information; leads to primary authority; Never mandatory b. Uses i. When researching an unfamiliar area ii. When looking for persuasive primary authority

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

iii. When researching an undeveloped area of law iv. When unable to find authority, or when finding too much authority. c. Three steps i. Using an index or table of contents to find references to material on the topic you are researching ii. Locating the material in the main text of the source and iii. Updating your research d. How to Use Secondary Authority i. Generate search terms 1. Parties 2. Places and Things 3. Potential Claims and Defenses 4. Relief Sought 5. WWWWHW (who, what, when, where, why, and how) ii. Use Index or Table of Contents to find references iii. Often have Table of Cases and Table of Statutes iv. Locate Material in main text v. Update both text and primary authority e. Legal Encyclopedias i. Research Process 1. locate material using the subject index or table of contents 2. locating relevant sections in the main subject volumes 3. updating with the pocket part ii. Highlights 1. Provide a general overview of the law on a variety of topics 2. They do NOT provide analysis or suggest solutions to conflicts in the law 3. They simply report on the general state of the law 4. Use them to get background information on your research topic and to a lesser extent to locate citations to primary authority iii. National Legal Encyclopedia 1. Highlights a. Many of the citations to primary authority are relatively old and may not provide you with much useful information. b. Published annually be sure to use the most recent set. c. Cover the material in such a general way that they are useful primarily for background information. 2. American Jurisprudence 2d AmJur2d (West) 3. Corpus Juris Secundum CJS (West) 4. Start with General Index 5. Update using pocket part; look at issue date iv. State Legal Encyclopedia

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

1. Highlights a. When researching a question of state law, state encyclopedias are often more helpful than the general encyclopedia because the i. summary of the law will be tailored to the rules and court decisions within the state, and therefore, is likely to be more helpful ii. Citations to primary authority will usually be more up to date and will, of course, be from the controlling jurisdiction; consequently state encyclopedias can be more useful for leading you to primary sources. 2. Georgia Jurisprudence, New York Jurisprudence 2d, South Carolina Jurisprudence, Strongs North Carolina Index, 3. Not every state has an encyclopedia 4. Where to find legal encyclopedias? a. LawCat; location; reference; Call # b. GA Jurisprudence: Start with finding Aids; General Index (2 vols.) i. Volumes arranged by Topic (personal injury & Torts and number) ii. Cites primary authority 5. Check for Updates a. Search the pocket part supplement in back of GaJur. Volume b. Note date of issue c. Arranged by same sections as main volume f. American Law Reports (ALR) i. Highlights 1. contains articles called annotations 2. Annotations collect summaries of cases from a variety of jurisdictions to provide an overview of the law on a topic. 3. Combines the breadth of topic coverage found in an encyclopedia with depth of discussion in a treatise or legal periodical. 4. They are more detailed than encyclopedia because they contain summaries of individual cases. 5. They mostly report the results of cases withOUT much analysis or commentary in comparison to treatises or legal periodicals. 6. Helpful at the beginning of your research to give you an overview of a topic. 7. Helpful in directing you toward mandatory or persuasive primary authority. ii. Annotation title & authors name;

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

iii. Table of Contents; iv. Total Client Service Library References: Cites to other secondary sources. v. Table of Jurisdictions Represented vi. IntroductionScope Note vii. Related Matters: cites to other ALR annots. And 2dary sources viii. Index is updated by annual pocket partsbe sure to check for the most recent annotations. ix. Update annotation with pocket part; note date issued and phone # for later cases x. Annotation History Tableat the end of each index volume xi. Six series and Federal xii. Research Process 1. Using the ALR index locate material in print 2. Locate the relevant annotations in the main volumes 3. Updating with the pocket parts xiii. 4 ALR5th 273; 27ALR Fed 92 1. volume 4; ALR; 5th series; 273 starting page numbers. g. Treatises (books) i. Using Treatises 1. Highlights a. Treatises have a narrower focus than legal encyclopedias b. Treatises provide an in depth treatment of a single subject, such as torts or constitutional law c. Most Treatises provide an overview of the topic and some analysis or commentary. d. They usually contain citations to many primary and secondary authorities. e. You may cite it in a brief or memo if it is widely respected and considered a definitive source in an area of law. f. The more difficult aspect is finding one on your research topic. 2. Locate relevant text a. Index, ToC, Table of Cases, Table of Authorities b. Online catalog LawCatStart with narrowest keyword or concept i. Dont use the word treatise ii. consider using jurisdiction iii. reference from other secondary source or from case or code iv. Ask expert: librarian, professor, practitioner 3. Read, evaluate a. Evaluate coverage, currency, or reputation 4. Update

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

a. Pocket part, supplemental pamphlet, loose leaf ii. Citations to primary authority and others secondary iii. May be analytical, explanatory, or practical iv. May be authoritative if author known expert (vs. editorial staff or publisher) v. **State treatises provide analysis of one states case law and statututes. vi. In depth treatment of single subject 1. General: Criminal Law 2. Specific: Defense of Narcotic Cases vii. National or State Specific 1. Estate Planning 2. Florida Estates Practice Guide h. Periodicals (law reviews, scholary or academic journals) i. Highlights 1. Thorough, thoughtful treatments of legal issues by law professors, practitioners, judges, and even students 2. Usually focused fairly narrowly on specific issues 3. They often include background or introductory sections that provide a general overview of the topic 4. Generally well researched and contain citations to many primary and secondary authorities. 5. They often address undeveloped areas in the law and propose solutions for resolving problems in the law. 6. Normally would not cite if you can support your analysis with primary authority; if you cannot find primary authority you might cite a persuasive article. a. Persuasion depends on authors expertise, reputation of the journal, articles age, and the depth of the articles research and analysis. 7. Useful for a. Obtaining an overview of an area of the law b. Finding references to primary and secondary authority c. Developing ideas for analyzing a question of first impression or resolving a conflict in the law ii. Thorough treatment of specific issues iii. Authoritative (if scholary, by expert) iv. May address new, undeveloped areas v. May address areas where there is a conflict of authority vi. May include policy discussions vii. Cites to primary and secondary authority viii. HeinOnline 1. A service that provides electronic access to legal periodicals among other types of authority.

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

2. Holdings go back futher in time than Lexis and Westlaw; and displays in pdf format ix. Find, Read, Update 1. Locate a relevant article a. HeinOnline for full text b. Index to Legal Periodicals (ILP) i. Updated daily ii. Accessible from any computer on the law school network iii. Accessible from home via library web pagelaw.mercer.edu/library; you need your student ID number iv. Use Thesaurus to expand search terms v. ILP Full Text: More than 1025 periodicals 1. Index from 1981 2. Abstracting from 1990 3. Select full text from 1995 (about 270 journals) vi. Legal Periodicals Retro: More than 750 periodicals 1. Indexing from 1908-1981 2. Read and evaluate the article a. Coverage, Reputation, Currency 3. Update a. No pocket part! Update the primary sources cited b. Read and update the primary authority c. Because they are noncumlative, they are not updated with pocket parts; instead subsequent volumes cover later time periods. x. Law Reviews 1. articles written by academics, judges, and attorneys 2. Casenotes and comments written by law students i. Restatements i. Highlights 1. In determining what the common-law rules are, the Restatements often look to the rules in the majority of United States jurisdictions 2. Will state emerging rules where the rules seem to be changing or proposed rules in areas where the authors believe a change in the law would be appropriate. 3. Rules in the Restatement are set out almost like statutes, breaking different doctrines down into their component parts. 4. Also provide commentary on the proper interpretations of the rules; and summaries of cases applying and interpreting the rules.

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Hahnah Williams ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii.

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

VI.

Restate the common law rules on a subject Written by reporters who are eminent scholars in the field Published by American Law Institute Very authoritative Courts may adopt as rules Mulit-volume collections of discrete legal subjects, published in series viii. Sections restate a rule of law, the black letter statement of a common law rule synthesized from cases, and illustration fact pattern applying rule ix. Cases citing or interpreting Restatement sections are in Appendix volumes x. Research Process 1. Use subject index or Table of Contents to identify relevant sections 2. Use the noncumulative Appendix volumes to find pertinent case summaries 3. Update using the pocket part in the latest Appendix volume to locate the most recent cases j. Uniform Laws i. National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws (and others) ii. Consist of proposed statutes 1. UCC 2. MPC iii. Becomes statutory law only if adopted by a states legislature iv. Research process 1. use the directory of uniform acts and codes; Tables and Index to search by subject, by the name of the law, or by adopting jurisdiction 2. Locate relevant provisions in the main volumes 3. Update with the pocket part Citators a. Updating and finding Tool b. The process of Shepardizing a case is fundamental to legal research and can be completed in minutes, especially when done with the aid of a computer c. Index or compilation listing every published instance in which a case has been cited d. A guide to determine if your case is still good law. You must read citing cases to determine validity. e. Cited case: case you are shepardizing or Keyciting f. Citing case: Case that cites the case you are shepardizing or KeyCiting g. Purposes

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

i. Catalog cases and secondary sources, analyzing what they say about the authority they cite; some track the status of statutes and regulations, indicating, for example, whether a statute has been amended or repealed. ii. They will also help you locate additional authorities that pertain to your research question. iii. Help you determine whether an authority is still good law meaning it has not changed or been invalidated since it was published. h. Citator Formats i. Shepards in print 1. State Set covers two sets of reporters: States official reporter and Wests regional reporteryou can use the state books to Shepardize an original case that has been published in either type of reporter; Regional set covers only decisions published in the regional reporter; usually you will find more research references in the regional set than in the state set. 2. Choose the correct Shepards citator???????? a. Base volume **not updated with pocket parts instead each volume covers a specific period of time** i. Start with the base volume and find your case citation; there are multiple base volumes find the one that contains your volume. ii. Locate the volume number iii. Then, locate the initial page number in bold iv. Then you will see columns of citing cases with signals or abbreviations. 1. Abbreviations for Case History (decisions emanating (coming) from same case) a. in the Preface in all Shepards volumes b. a affirmed c. r reversed d. v vacated 2. Abbreviations for Case Treatment (subsequent cases) a. c criticized b. d distinguished c. o overruled v. Example 1. f 698NE2d(14) 1205; Case 698 NE2d at p. 1205 follows Games case

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

for point of law in West headnote 14 of Games. b. Bound Supplements c. Supplemental Pamphlets 3. Always check What your Library Should Contain 4. ii. Shepards on Lexis 1. Signals indicate the precedential value of your case 2. Shepards tab 3. Enter citations 4. Defaults to FULL report 5. Shepards Summary provides quick overview of entire Shepards Report a. Includes an overview of all citing references to your case with analysis b. Includes Non-caselaw citing references c. Includes Lexis headnotes from your case that match headnotes in the citing case d. Summary indicates whether there is negative subsequent appellate history (vacated or reversed) e. Also why cited case was assigned a particular signal. 6. Following the gray summary box, all of the history (prior history and subsequent appellate history) is listed 7. Following history are all of the citing references and noncaselaw sources that have cited the case you are Shepardizing. 8. Following citing references are all of the citing decisions with Signals Displayed; symbols following citing cases indicate how the citing cases have been treated by later cases. 9. The Focus-Restrict By a. You can restrict the total number of citing references to one or more of these categories. (Analysis, Focus, Jurisdictions, Headnotes, Date) b. Only the categories that actually appear in the citing references are shown c. If you dont see a particular state or federal court listed under Jurisdictions, there are no cases from that state or federal circuit that cite your case. d. You can display to only those decisions that discuss your case for the point of law referenced in a specific headnote of your case. iii. KeyCite on Westlaw 1. More up to date then Sheperds in print;

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

2. Key Cite Status flags indicate the precedential value of your case 3. Unique to KeyCite a. Depth of Treatment stars are unique to Keycite i. Number of green stars on the Key Cite Diplay indicates the depth of discussion given to the case by a citing case. ii. The Stars indicate the extent of discussion of the cited case, not the quality of the decisions. 1. 4 stars; examinedextended discussion; more than a printed page 2. 3 stars; discussedsubstantial discussion; more than one paragraph but less than a printed page 3. 2 stars; citedcontains some discussion of the original case; usually less than a paragraph 4. 1 star; Mentionedcontains a brief reference to the original case, usually a string of citiation. b. Graphical KeyCite i. Direct history of a case: Visuall depicts how a case moved through the appeals process; includes prior and subsequent appellate history. ii. Useful when you are checking the validity of a case with complex history because it allows you to see a snapshot of any prior or subsequent history. 4. Keyciting a Case a. Click on KeyCite button at top or enter citation in KeyCite this citation bar. b. Diplays Full History by Default (Direct History and Negative Citing References) i. To view a graphical display of direct history Click on Direct History (Graphical View) link in left frame. ii. A Graphical Display of how the case moved through the appeals process will be shown. c. Citing References **** i. To view all citing references (except Direct History), including negative case treatment, positive case treatment and non-case law sources; click on the Citing References link.

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

1. Negative Cases displayed first 2. Positive Cases displayed next arranged by depth of treatment. 3. NonCase Law references follow 4. KeyCite uses the language the court used; disapprove gets a red flag on KeyCite. 5. HN: Headnote numbers. Citing case discusses your case for the point of law addressed in a particular headnote of your case (the cited case). 6. Symbols next to the citing cases indicate how the citing cases have been treated by later cases d. Limit KeyCite Display i. You can limit to citing cases for a particular point of law summarized in a particular West headnote or set of headnotes in the cited case. ii. You can limit by jurisdiction, depth of treatment, date, document type and locate (search for particular terms within the citing documents)

VII.

i. Reasons to Use Case Citator i. To determine the history and treatment of a caseupdating, validatingstill good law? A court can reverse the case on appeal or overrule a case. ii. To find additional cases that stand for the same legal principal, and to find secondary authorityfinding tool. To find additional cases that stand for the same legal principle and to find secondary materials which cite to your case. iii. Can also shepardize or key cite a statute or 2dary source to find citing references. And Pending legislation or legislation history. Case Citation a. Bluebook i. Table 1, US jurisdictionsfederal and state b. ALWD Citation Manual i. App. 5Legal Periodicals ii. App. 1Primary sources by jurisdiction; Ex: GA court system and reporters; Abbreviation; Dates of Coverage; Official or unofficial

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy iii. App. 3General abbreviations iv. App. 4---Court abbreviations

Intro to Legal Research

VIII.

Questions a. You are looking for law review articles that discuss MGM studios, Inc., v. Grokster, Ltd, a very recent Supreme court case about file sharing. Which of the following sources or tools will you use? A) IndexMaster B) ILP C)Federal Digest D)LawCat b. You are researching an issue that has not been addressed in your jurisdiction. You want to find primary persuasive authority from other jurisdictions. Which of the following sources or tools will you use, and why?

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

c. a. General Digest d. b. AmJur2d e. c. ALR f. d. National treatise g. You are researching an issue that has not been addressed in your jurisdiction. You want to find primary persuasive authority from other jurisdictions. Which of the following sources or tools will you use, and why? h. a. General Digest i. b. AmJur2d j. c. ALR k. d. National treatise l. m. Which secondary source will likely provide an in-depth analysis of a narrow legal topic or issue, and citations to primary authority? n. a. Encyclopedias o. b. ALR Annotations p. c. Legal Periodicals q. d. Treatises r. e. Restatements s. t. Which secondary source will likely provide an in-depth discussion and some analysis of an area of law, and citations to primary authority? u. a. Encyclopedias v. b. ALR Annotations w. c. Legal Periodicals x. d. Treatises y. e. Restatement z. Reporters are updated by pocket parts. True/False? aa. F A L S E bb. 2. Reporters are updated by _________ . cc. A D V A N C E S H E E T S dd. 3. True/False? Reporters are not organized by subject. ee. T R U E ff. 4. Reporters publish cases in what order? gg. CHRONOLOGICAL hh. 4. To find cases on a specific topic, researchers use a _______________ ii. DIGEST jj. 5. A digest is a/an _________ . kk. INDEX FOR CASE LAW ll. 6. Digests are the encyclopedic arrangement of _____ by subject. mm. HEADNOTES nn. 7. T/F? With a relevant topic and key #, you can probably find relevant cases from other state or federal jurisdictions. oo. TRUE

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

pp. What is the difference between an official code and an unofficial code? qq. Where can you look to determine what code is the states official code? ALWDApp1, BluebookTable 1 rr. The permanent record of all laws passed during a legislative session, in order of enactment: ss. tt. The public general statutes currently in effect, arranged by subject: uu. List the features of an annotated code vv. Find the Georgia Medical Consent Act ww. Youd use xx. Has Georgia enacted a statute on medical consent? yy. Youd use: zz. There is a code section about informed consent in the Health title of aaa. the Georgia code. bbb. Youd use: SPRING SEMESTER 2008 PART II. ILR I. II. Federal Statutory and Administrative Law Research Introduction to Federal Statutes a. Statutory law is one of the three primary sources of federal law b. Judicial Branch: Cases c. Legislative Branch: Statutes d. Executive Branch: Agency Regulations, Decisions e. Statute created 1) Congress passes a bill 2) President signs the bill 3) President may veto the bill, but Congress can override with 2/3 majority vote f. Congress passes two types of laws: public and private First Step: once the bill is signed, it is given a public law number and the bill becomes known as slip law a. Organized according to Congresscurrently in 110th (which is further subdivided into 1st and 2nd sessions) b. Then, the laws are numbered by Congress. c. It is granted according to the session of congress when it was passed and the order in which it was passed. d. The second public law of the 110th Congress is P.L. 110-2 Second Step: Session Laws: End of annual session of Congress then all public and private laws are published chronologically as session laws. Called session laws because they are organized according to the session of Congress in which they are passed. a. U.S. Statutes at Large: Official session laws published by U.S. Government (runs 3-4 years behind) i. Citation format: volume # Stat. page #

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

ii. Slip law and session law text should be identical the only difference is the form of publication b. U.S.C.C.A.N: US Code Congressional & Administrative News: Unofficial version of all public session laws published by West. (researchers look at this one because it contains more recent public laws; it is updated monthly during the congressional session) c. Session Laws: Why important? i. Exact text of law as enacted ii. All laws enacted during a session, public and private or special or local iii. Permanent record of the law (includes recently enacted USCCAN and laws no longer in effect) 1. & Key number system d. Third Step: Codified: Session laws organized topically in the United States Code (U.S.C) i. Conversion Tableshows where a specific session law was codified. (civil rights act) 1. appears in a separate softcover tables volume 2. see page 169 for example. 3. conversion and popular name tables published annually so there is no pocket part; at the end of each noncumlative supplement you can find updates to the tables. 4. if you are unable to find material in the general index or the popular name table check the noncumlative supplements. ii. Popular name Table 1. USCA; dedicated volume also available on Westlaw 2. USCA: In Tables volume iii. Codified: a session law is a mandate from Congress or the state legislature as to how the statutory code for that jurisdiction must be changed. iv. Once it is codified, it is Critical that you look for a statute in the code rather than in its session law form because the Congress or state legislature may later pass session laws that amend or repeal the code sections originally created by the original session law. 1. these changes are reflected in the code version of the statute but not in the original session law. 2. The present text of the law will be in the code. v. Session laws mandates changes to many different code sections and titles. vi. Codified in 3 ways: 1. may add an entirely new section to the code 2. may amend a current section in the code 3. may repeal a current code section vii. Only public laws codified in the U.S.C. (no private laws such as grant amnesty or immigration or non permanent/general laws such as resolution or appropriations or naming of federal buildings)

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Hahnah Williams

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Intro to Legal Research

V.

viii. USCofficial codification of federal statutes, published every six years by US GPO; annual hardbound supplements are slow they are only current through January 3, 2005. (do not research here because it is not up to date an there are no annotations) 1. broken down into 50 subject titles and organized in alphabetical order 2. further subdivided into Parts and statutes 3. further divided into sections: which contain the actual text of the statute 4. 21881(a)(4)(A): Title 21; section 881; Subsection a: Paragraph 4; subparagraph A (can go further to clauses and subclauses) ix. USCAunofficial code published by West: preferred by researchers because it has valuable editorial features that help the researcher understand the statute and expand research to other sources an updated several times throughout the year by various supplements while USC is only updated once a year with an annual supplement. 1. includes case annotations, citations to 2dary sources, refs to CFR, West Topic 2. **has more references to court decisions than USCS**but fewer USCS has a more comprehensive administrative materials. x. USCS: United States Code Service published timely by Lexis; includes case annotations, citations to 2dary sources, and refs to CFR (includes references to administrative decisions) 1. update with pocket parts and cumalaitve later cases and statutory service (only check the most recent one unlike USCA when you have to check all because they are noncumaltive). Finding Relevant Statutes a. Westlaw: current and historical versions of federal and state codes are available on Westlaw i. Do term search without using annotations to search text of code only ii. USC and USCA are found under Federal Materials; General Index, TOC and Popular Name Tables are searchable databases iii. Natural language searching works better with statutes than with cases. b. Shepards: will show which cases cite specific paragraphs of the Title. c. Free online: www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode---same currency as the print version d. General Index: finds statutory sections relevant to an issue. Easiest and most common way of locating relevant statutes when using print sources. Use Search Terms. e. Popular name table (Short title index in Ga)

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Intro to Legal Research

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f. Title index found at the end of each title volume: Verifying Statutory Research a. Pocket parts are published annually; date on pocket part usually reflects the publication date rather than the date the session law was passed. b. Use separate interim pamphlets for recent amendments: issued 4 times during the Congressional Session: USCA arranged by Title and Noncumulative. c. USCA statutory supplements are issued to capture all of the session laws passed during the flurry of lawmaking at the end of each Congressional session. (arranged chronologically by their public law number rather than by USC/USCA title) d. Shepardizing: it is a useful tool for locating cases interpreting a statute; and is published more frequently than pocket parts and supplemetneray pamphlets so you may find more recent research references; i. Literal: links to citing references by individual subsections and paragraphs. ii. Also a link for cites to the exact match iii. No citations to pending legislation but citations to amendments in Statutes at Large e. Westlaw: i. Red Flag shows recent amendments or repeal of a statute ii. Yellow Flag shows proposed legislation; Exclusive proposed legislation service for links to current federal bills concerning a statute. iii. includes citing references Expanding Statutory Research a. After verified expand research on how the statute has been interpreted and applied. b. Editorial enhancements in annotated codes provide research tools for further understanding and interpreting a statute c. History Line: cites session laws that enacted and amended the section i. 3 components: Public law number, date, most recent amendment. d. Annotations i. Historical notes: history of the section including summaries of amendments and the public law numbers and Statutes at Large citations for the laws containing the revisions. ii. Cross References: contains cross references to related provisions of the code iii. Library References: contains references to related topics and key numbers in the West Digest System, as well as references to legal enclyopedia sections with inof on the subject. iv. Code of Federal Regulations: references to administrative agency regulations implementing the statute v. Law Review Articles: contain references to relevant law review articles

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

vi. Notes of Decisions: contains summaries of cases interpreting the statute VIII. e. . Introduction to Federal Administrative Law Research a. Sources: Regulations and Ruling of federal administrative agencies and Presidential proclamations and executive orders b. Administrative agencies are authorized to act under enabling statutes which are enacted by Congress c. Congress establishes administrative agencies to implement, administer, and enforce regulatory policies embodied in federal statutes. (quasi legislative functions) d. Federal Register: notices of proposed rulemaking and the final text of regulations when first issued are published everyday in the Federal Register. i. Arranged chronologically ii. Its a daily publication which begins on the first business day of the new year with page one and is consecutively paginated from that point on until the last business day of the year. iii. Table in the back to locate relevant page numbers. iv. After federal regulations are published in the federal register then they are codified in the CFR e. Code of Federal Regulations: All final rules promulgated by federal agencies are codified here. i. Research process 1. Start with CFR index (look for agency or specific topic) 2. Review TOC for the part of the volume that you are researching 3. Review authority linelists the enabling statute or executive order that authorizes the promulgation of the specific regulation. 4. Review History Line--??? 5. Update with the LSA 6. Check eCFR online at www.gpo access.gov ii. Organized into 50 titles, subdivided by part and section 1. titles are subdivided into chapters which are usually named for the agencies issuing the regulations. 2. chapters subdivided into parts covering the specific regulatory area 3. parts are subdivided into sections 4. to find a regulation you will need to know its title, part, and section number 5. 16 CFR 1210.1: title 16; part 1210 and section number 1210.1 6. contains citations to FR where originally published and statutory authority for promulgating the regulations iii. Regulations currently in effect, arranged by topic

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

iv. Published annually v. Updated in the interim by LSA (List of Sections affected) 1. cumulative so check the most recent issue to determine whether any changes to a regulation have taken place since the date the relevant title to the CFR was last published vi. Not annotated vii. May also access on GPO; select e-CFR which includes the latest updates within 2-3 days f. Example: info on OSHA regulations for construction workers i. References found in 2dary sources like ALR annotation or in treatises ii. Reference found in cases iii. Reference found in annotated code iv. Start with CFR index (separate volume) 1. search terms (construction industry etc.) 2. 29 CFR 1926: at the beginning of Part 1926 look at the table of contents to find individual sections 3. Eg. 1926.20 (section .20) 4. History or source section cites to Federal Register where changes have been made to a subpart. Semi-colons delineate the start of another FR cite amending this rule. I. II. Electronic Research cautionary signal---(yellow or orange)---If the point of law you are relying on is indeed the legal issue that is being criticized or distinguished in the citing cases, you need to carefully read the courts reasoning in both your case and the citing cases. The precedent or the authoritative value of your case may be weakening significantly if the facts and legal issues are similar. red warning signal---Generally, cases analyze more than one point of law. A red signal indicates that at least one part of your case was affected and is no longer good law, but that part may not be relevant to your research needs or argument. Review Shepards and Westlaw Symbols Review what an entire Shepards report contains. Shepards includes a. Prior history and subsequent Appellate history b. Summary Report c. Citing Decisions (Analysis) i. An overview of all citing decisions: citing decisions are organized by court and then in reverse chronological order d. Other Sources i. Non-case law citing references such as statutes, law review articles, 2dary sources, treatises, and limited briefs that cite to your case e. Lexis Head notes

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Hahnah Williams

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

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f. Table of Authorities?????? Keycite includes a. Depth of Treatment Stars i. The number of green stars on a Keycite display indicates the depth of discussion given to a case by a citing case b. Graphical Keycite i. Chart of the appellate history of a case visually depicting how a case moved through the appeals process. Includes prior and subsequent appellate history. c. Full Hx includes direct hx and negative citing references i. Quickly answers has the point of law in my case been reversed on appeal or overruled by a later case ii. A quick glance at the appellate history of the case as well as any negative treatment by subsequent cases. d. Citing references i. To view the entire KeyCites report click on citing references link in left frame ii. Lists includes negative and positive case treatment followed by non case law references iii. Negative cases listed first and then positive cases e. West Headnotes and topic and key number searching f. Table of Authorities g. Review Flags; and remember that they may have different meaning for Statutes. h. Flags indicate the precedential value of your case I. II. III. IV. V. Electronic Searches TARC T=Terms a. Generated by research issue. i.e. doctor A=Alternatives a. i.e. doctor or physician or surgeon R=Root Expanders a. ! and * b. Litigat! Searches for litigation, litigates, litigator, and litigating c. Litigat** searches up to a specific number of characters, e.g. litigatES (two characters) or litigate (one character) d. Wom*n (searches women and woman): replaces a letter within a word e. Do no truncate too early or too latesurger! Does not find surgeon. But surg! Will find both surgery and surgeon. C=Connectors TARC a. /s i. In the same sentence in any order ii. Ie. Doctor /s sponge

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Hahnah Williams b. / p

Fall 2007 Outline Cassidy

Intro to Legal Research

i. In the same paragraph in any order ii. Ex. Doctor /p sponge c. d. /n i. Within a certain number of words, in any order ii. Ex: doctor /15 sponge Grammatical and Numerical connectors are used to define the relationship among words. This will help you find the most relevant documents for your issue and weed out the irrelevant documents. i. Numerical connectors can be more efficient than a grannatical connector such as /s. because the sentence in an opinion can be only 3 or 4 words and if the other term in the following sentence then you wont pick it up. ii. Can narrow or expand with a numerical connector very efficiently. /2 /5 /10 /15 /25 /50 and so on. Boolean Connector AND i. Finds words that must appear somewhere in the same document. ii. EX. Doctor and sponge iii. BUT: there may be no relevancy btw these two terms connected by and and the result may be too broad and documents retrieved may be irrelevant iv. INSTEAD: use numerical and grammatical connector to define the relationship among your search terms. v. Lexis and Westlaw do not use AND as a default between words as many other search engines do. Lexis i. Phrase searching is automaticeno need to put quotes around a phrase ii. Ex. First amendment iii. If you have several words with no connectors then Lexis automatically reads those words as phrases Westlaw i. Need to put quotes around a phrase ii. Ex: First Amendment iii. If search terms are not connected by a proximity connector, or phrases are not put in quotes, Westlaw defaults to the word OR between the words. Lexis and Westlaw Review i. Review Finding cases ii. By citation iii. By party name iv. By headnote (using known and unknown headnotes) v. KeyCite and Shepardize vi.

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