Legal Research Review

1. Legal Research Review Legal Research March 2005 Leah Sandwell-Weiss Reference Librarian

2. Primary Authority • “The Law” generated by the three branches of government • Cases • Statutes • Administrative Regulations • Accessing primary authorities is the ultimate goal of nearly all legal research

3. Secondary Authority • NOT “the law” • Provides citations to primary authority • Provides background information that can aid in understanding primary authority (“the law”) • May present novel theories that later find their way into primary authority • Often provides the best starting point for research, especially when legal issues are unclear

4. Mandatory Authority • “The law” of your jurisdiction • Your state’s highest court • Your state’s statutes • Your state’s regulations • Your federal district court • Your federal court of appeals • The United States Supreme Court • Have to follow

5. Persuasive Authority • “The law” from somewhere else • Another state’s supreme court • Another federal court of appeals • Some secondary sources • Don’t “have to” follow, but use to persuade

6. Secondary Sources • Provide commentary on law & references to primary law & other secondary sources • Persuasive Authority • Law Reviews • Treatises (but not hornbooks or nutshells) • Restatements • Not Persuasive Authority • Legal Encyclopedias • American Law Reports (ALRs)

7. Organization of Federal & State Courts

8. Reading a Case • Parallel Citation (editorial enhancement) • Title (editorial enhancement) • Docket # (editorial enhancement) • Case Summary (editorial enhancement) • Headnotes (editorial enhancement) • Opinion (official)

9. Case Reporters • Organized by jurisdiction • Cases in chronological order • Arizona Cases • Arizona Supreme Court = • Arizona Reports, P., P.2d • Arizona Court of Appeals = • Arizona Appellate Reports (1965 – 1976), Arizona Reports, P., P.2d

10. Federal Courts & Reporters Supreme Court = • U.S. Reports (U.S.) (official) • Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.) • U.S. Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer’s Edition (L. Ed., L. Ed. 2d) Courts of Appeals = • Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, F.3d) District Courts = • Federal Supplement (F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d)

11. Finding cases • Annotated Codes • Secondary Sources • Digest Topic Name and Key Number (subject index to all case law) • If have case name but no citation: Digest Table of Cases • Database search on Westlaw or Lexis (pick the most narrow database)

12. Digests • All cases on a given legal point collected under the same digest topic & key number • Digest topics & key numbers consistent through all West digests • Select the appropriate Digest • Most jurisdictional

13. Using Digests to Find Cases • From a case on point • Use the headnotes to identify relevant topics & key numbers • From the Descriptive Word Index • Look up relevant subjects • Check for new entries in pocket part • From a topic entry • Check out the outline of key numbers

14. Using Digests, cont’d • Find topic & key number in right volume • Check court & dates to target appropriate cases to read • Read summaries • Update with pocket parts or interim pamphlets

15. Finding Cases Online • Use Annotated Codes online • Find known case online & use headnotes (Westlaw) or core terms/core concepts (Lexis) • If already have a topic & key number, use them to find more cases on Westlaw • Use Shepard’s/KeyCite • Terms & Connectors/Natural Language Searches • Pay attention to database selection

16. Case Law Tips • Look for mandatory authority first • Note: case law always primary authority • If there is insufficient mandatory authority, look for primary persuasive • Read opinions in full and cite only to the opinion itself

17. Statutory Publication • Slip laws • Separately issued versions of each law as passed • Session laws • Chronological arrangement of statutes • Law as passed by legislature - No amendments • Codes • Organized by subject, often called “Titles” • “Current” version of law, with amendments

18. Annotated Codes • Can be official or unofficial • Contain references to: • Cases (Notes of Decisions) • Administrative code sections (CFRs) • Legal encyclopedias • Legislative history • Law reviews & Treatises • West Codes – Headnotes & Key Numbers

19. Finding Statutes • In Print • Subject indexes • Secondary Sources • References in cases • Popular Names Table to find specific act • Online • References in cases • Shepard’s/KeyCite • Terms & Connectors/Natural Language Searches

20. Updating Primary Law • Pocket Parts in Print • Citators (Shepard’s/KeyCite) Online • Validating - is it still “good law?” • History of the case – Was your case overruled/revised on appeal? • Citing References – Was your case been overruled/ invalidated entirely? Was it chipped away at such that the validity is questionable? Has your specific issue been affected by negative treatment? • Expanding Research • Citing References & secondary sources on the same or similar points of law

21. Limiting Citing References • Headnote number (specific Topic/Issue) • Jurisdiction • Type of document (case law, admin law, secondary sources) • Specific additional terms (Locate on Westlaw and Focus on Lexis) • Depth of treatment (Westlaw)

22. Completing Your Research • Did you address the question asked? • Did you research the correct jurisdiction? • Do you understand the area of law you are researching? • Did you find enough applicable primary, mandatory authority to answer the question? • If not, did you find relevant primary persuasive authority? • Do you have the current language of all statutes?

23. Completing Research, cont’d • Did you use several methods to locate relevant case law? • Did you validate statutes & cases using KeyCite/ Shepards? • Did you use KeyCite/Shepards to expand your research? • Did you check a secondary source near the end of your research to see if you have found what there is to find? • Do you keep finding the same materials everywhere you look?

24. Remember, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE Questions?