Research Review

1. Research Review For Grimes Moot Court January 18, 2005 http://www2.bc.edu/~shearj/grimes

2. What is legal research? • The search for authority: • to predict a likely outcome • to advise a client • or • to advocate for a client

3. Where to Start • Think • Plan • Choose

4. Research to Understand the Problem • Understand the facts - read your record. • Understand legal terms - legal dictionaries, words and phrases. • Understand general legal principles and what general areas of law are involved - general secondary sources.

5. Types of Authority Primary (Can be binding) Secondary (Can only be persuasive) Sources Constitutions Cases Statutes Regulations Commentaries e.g. Law Reviews Background Materials e.g., Records and Briefs Researching the Problem Itself

6. Citation Theory • Why we cite • To provide authority for our pronouncements • What cites do • Identify source of authority • Tell where to find source of authority • Provide limited information on weight of authority • date - jurisdiction - relevant subsequent history

7. Lawyers often start with secondary sources. • Easier to read and understand • Contains cites to primary materials • Leads you to leading cases • Well organized

8. Treatises (Books) • Used for: • general overview • citations to primary sources • persuasive authority

9. Find Books in CatalogsTips for Using QUEST • Index browses when you only know the beginning of a title or when you want to browse a list of authors, titles, or a known Library of Congress Subject Heading.

11. Find Books in CatalogsTips for Using QUEST • Keyword search when you don’t know the exact title, author or subject heading.

15. Find Books in CatalogsTips for Using QUEST • Choice of databases • Law • Whole catalog • Internet resources only

17. Find Books in CatalogsTips for Using QUEST • Advanced search for field-restrictors, and more sophisticated searching.

21. Suggested Title: Constitutional Law • American Constitutional Law, 3rd ed. Vol. 1, by Laurence H. Tribe. (Foundation Press 2000). Use 2nd ed. for • Chapters 9 - 18 (1988). Law Permanent Reserves • KF 4550 .T785 2000 & 1988.

22. Suggested Title: Constitutional Law • Constitutional Law, 7th ed. by John E. Nowak and Ronald D. Rotunda (West 2004). • Hornbook Series Law Permanent Reserves KF 4550 .N6 2004.

23. Suggested Title: Constitutional Law • Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies, 2nd ed., by Erwin Chemerinsky (Aspen Law & Business 2002). • Law Permanent Reserve • KF 4549 .C655 2002.

24. Suggested Title: Constitutional Law • Treatise on Constitutional Law: Substance and Procedure, 3rd. ed. by Ronald D. Rotunda & John E. Nowak (West 1999). • [5 vol.] • Law Permanent Reserves • KF 4550 .R63 1999.

25. Suggested Title: Constitutional Law • Understanding Constitutional Law, 2nd ed. by Norman Redlich, John Attanasio, Joel K. Goldstein (Matthew Bender 1999). • Law Permanent Reserve  • KF 4550 .R43 1999. 

26. Suggested Title: Civil Procedure • Federal Practice and Procedure, by Charles Alan Wright. (some volumes with Arthur R. Miller and May Kay Kane) 2d and 3d editions (West 1982- Gradually replacing 2d ed. since 1998). • [67 volumes plus index.] • Law Permanent Reserve KF 8840 .W68 1982 and • Law Permanent Reserve KF 8840 .W68 1998. 

27. Suggested Title: Civil Procedure • Civil Procedure, by Jack H. Friedenthal, Mary Kay Kane, Arthur R. Miller. 2nd ed. St. Paul, Minn.(West 1993). Hornbook series • Law Permanent Reserve  • KF 8840 .F72 1993.

28. Suggested Title:Civil Procedure • Civil Procedure,  Fleming James, Jr., Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr., John Leubsdorf. 4th ed. Boston (Little, Brown 1992). • Law Permanent Reserve KF • 8840 .J3 1992. 

29. Suggested Title: Civil Procedure • Moore's Manual, Federal Practice and Procedure,  by James Wm. Moore, Allan D. Vestal, and Philip B. Kurland. New York,  (M. Bender,  1962- ) • [3 volumes]. • Law Permanent Reserve  KF 8820 .A313M64.

30. Law Reviews • Uses • recent developments • citations to primary sources • persuasive authority

31. Indexes lead you to articles about a particular topic. Full text searching leads you to any use of a term. Start with Indexes

32. Law Review Indexes - ILP • Index to Legal Periodicals & Books • Available electronically (back to 1980) through • The web link from law library electronic resources page (on campus only) • Westlaw - ILP • Lexis - LAWREV;ILP or Index to Legal Periodicals

33. Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (ILP) Broad Legal Subject Headings

34. Current Law Index Available electronically through the web link from law library electronic resources page (on campus only) Westlaw - LRI Lexis - LAWREV;LGLIND or Legal Resource Index Law Review Indexes - CLI

35. Current Law Index/Legal Resources Index (LRI) Specific general subject headings with subdivisions

36. Law Review Indexes - CILP • Current Index to Legal Periodicals • Available electronically through • The web link from NELLCo web page (on campus only) • Westlaw - CILP

37. WESTLAW TP-ALL contains: law reviews, texts, American Law Reports (ALR), legal encyclopedias (American Jurisprudence 2d and Corpus Juris Secundum), CLE course materials, bar journals, and legal practice-oriented periodicals. LEXIS LAWREV;LGLPUB Legal Publications Group File contains: law reviews, bar journals, ABA journals, legal newspapers, legal newsletters, specialty legal publications, and CLE materials Law Reviews - Full Text

38. Hein Online • Historical collection of images of legal sources. • Large collection of law review pages accompanied by searchable text.

47. ALR (American Law Reports) • Case Finding Tool • Provides: • historical background; • citations to primary sources; • structure/ organization

48. ALR (American Law Reports) • Check Annotation History Table before reading annotation • Indexed by: • ALR Index; • ALR Quick Index • Full text searchable: • ALR (Westlaw) • ALR;ALR (Lexis)

49. Statutes and Constitutions • Annotated codes to find interpretive cases.

50. Cases - Print Sources • Digest Searches • Useful for finding cases under legal concepts and principles. • Brings together cases with a variety of fact situations.