Judicial Branch Publications

1. Judicial Branch Publications Peggy Roebuck Jarrett, guest lecturer http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/judbranch.html

2. Sources of Primary Law • Statutes passed by legislative bodies • Regulations promulgated by administrative agencies • Case law created by judges • Constitutions

3. Case Law: Why • U.S. is a common law country • An evolving body of doctrine

4. Case Law: What • Primary law • Created by judges in the course of resolving disputes • The written resolution of the issues • The words “case,” “opinion,” and “decision” are often used interchangeably • Not a jury verdict

5. Publication of Opinions • Only opinions of precedential value are published in reporters • Precedent allows similarly situated people to be treated the same • Published v. unpublished matters, not official v. unofficial • Some courts allow citations to unpublished opinions in briefs

6. Publication of Opinions • United States Reports only major reporter in Federal Depository Library Program • Lower federal court and state appellate opinions are commercially published • Some states have official reporters • Opinions in commercial reporters are primary law

7. Opinions and the Court System • A generic court system consists of • trial courts • intermediate appellate courts • the appellate court of last resort • Specialized courts • Courts of limited jurisdiction

8. Opinions and the Court System • Where do reported cases come from? • State: appellate courts • Federal: appellate plus some trial courts • In a jury trial, there is nothing to “report” except a verdict

9. Court Systems • Washington State Courts • Federal Courts • Home • Federal Court Locator • U.S. Court Locator

10. Washington State Courts • Supreme Court • Court of Appeals • 3 divisions • Superior Courts • by county • Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

11. The Federal Court System • U.S. Supreme Court • U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals • Washington State is in the 9th Circuit • U.S. District Courts • Western and Eastern District of Washington • Bankruptcy handled by special district courts

12. Specialized Federal Courts • U.S. Court of Federal Claims handles claims against the federal government • Court of International Trade deals with international trade and customs • U.S. Tax Court • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces • U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

13. How to Find Case Law • Use Internet Legal Resources to find free sites • Use a commercial database, such as LexisNexis Academic(UW restricted) • Use an annotated code • Use secondary sources

14. How to Find Case Law • Update, update, update • Reversed or overruled opinions are not deleted from reporters or databases • Use Keycite or Shepard’s

15. Best Free Sites for Case Finding • Washington State Courts • LegalWa.org • U.S. Supreme Court • Official site • Cornell Legal Information Institute • FindLaw • GPO just has bulk data from 1937-1975

16. Other Places to Look for Cases • U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals and States other than Washington • Federal and State court websites • FindLaw • Public Library of Law • Google Scholar • U.S. District Courts • Google Scholar

17. Google Scholar • Start with Advanced Scholar Search • Limit by jurisdiction • Limit by date • Includes West reporter citations • Disadvantage: “how cited” is not a case verification tool • Advantage: free text, includes Federal District Court opinions!

18. LexisNexis Academic • Federal: all published appellate and district court cases • State: all available appellate court cases • Shepard’s Citations • Finding tools: secondary sources and annotated codes • UW Restricted

19. Court Briefs & Oral Arguments • Briefs are written arguments submitted to an appellate court • Larger law libraries may have paper or microfiche • Patrons may need to obtain them directly from the court clerk • Some briefs & oral arguments are online

20. Court Briefs & Oral Arguments • Audio of U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments at Oyez • Audio (and some video) of Washington State Supreme Court at TVW • Gallagher Law Library, Briefs & Oral Arguments

21. PACER • Public Access to Court Electronic Records • Case and docket information from Federal courts • Fee-based • PACER Service Center • Issues: • Not in FDLP • Privacy

22. Judicial Branch Business • Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts • Federal Judicial Center • Judicial Conference of the U.S. Courts • Reports, studies, monographs, newsletters, and statistics

23. US Sentencing Commission • Develops guidelines for sentencing in Federal courts • In 2005 US Supreme Court made guidelines advisory, not mandatory • USSC Home

24. Administrative Agency Decisions • Most administrative agencies have a quasi-judicial function • Decide (adjudicate) individual cases arising from the application of their rules and regulations • Few agency decisions are distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program

25. Administrative Agency Decisions • Administrative Decisions & Other Actions (UVA) • Washington State Administrative Decisions (Gallagher) • LLMC Digital(UW Restricted) • HeinOnline(UW Restricted) • Use web and law library print resources

26. Gallagher Law Library • We are located on L1 and L2 (lower level) of William H. Gates Hall. We are open to the public! • Home • U.S. Government Publications • Internet Legal Resources • Legal Research Guides • Judicial Branch Publications • Ask Us!