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First Amendment: Legal Sources

First Amendment: Legal Sources. September 29th. What is a Case? . Case = decision = opinion = judgment Issued in writing by a court of law Resolves a controversy. How a Case Begins?. Lawsuit filed with a court In writing 98+ % of lawsuits filed settle out of court

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First Amendment: Legal Sources

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  1. First Amendment:Legal Sources September 29th

  2. What is a Case? • Case = decision = opinion = judgment • Issued in writing by a court of law • Resolves a controversy

  3. How a Case Begins? • Lawsuit filed with a court • In writing • 98+ % of lawsuits filed settle out of court • Very small percentage goes to trial

  4. Trial Court • A judge presides • Jury may be present • Typical in criminal cases • Evidence introduced • Witnesses testify • Documents introduced • Many trial court decisions not published

  5. Appellate Court • Judge presides, usually at least 3 • Hears appeal from trial court • No jury; judges and attorneys only • No additional evidence or legal issues presented • Decisions frequently published, but not always • Can overturn trial court or lower appellate court decisions

  6. U.S. Court System • U.S. District Courts – trial courts • U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal – intermediate appellate courts • U.S. Supreme Court

  7. Case Reporters • U.S. District Courts • Federal Supplement (F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d) • U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal • Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, F.3d)

  8. U.S. Supreme Court Case Reporters • United States Reports (U.S.) • Published by U.S. government • United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers’ Edition (L.Ed., L.Ed.2d) • Published by LexisNexis • Supreme Court Reporter (S.Ct.) • Published by West

  9. Case Citation Form Gonzales v. Williams, 192 U.S. 1, 24 S.Ct. 177, 48 L.Ed. 317 (1904). First number = volume of case reporter Second number = page number of first page of decision

  10. Anatomy of an Opinion • Caption • Names of parties • Court • Date of decision • Headnotes • Syllabus by Court Reporter • Opinion of the Court • Concurring and Dissenting Opinions

  11. How to Find a Specific Case • Citation – use Westlaw Campus • Identify the jurisdiction • Identify a party’s name (plaintiff or defendant) • Identify a fact from the case and a relevant legal concept; then run a search

  12. Why Can’t I Find the Case? • Trial court decisions – small % published • State trial court decisions rarely published (except New Jersey and Pennsylvania) • Case settled – no opinion • Jury trial – jury verdict form only; not published • Unpublished opinion • Written opinion but judge decides not to publish; copy available at courthouse

  13. US Supreme Court Briefs • Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the United States Supreme Court • Records and Briefs of the Supreme Court of the United States (microfiche) • LexisNexis Academic • Westlaw Campus • Findlaw Supreme Court Center

  14. Case Digests • Organized by legal subject • West key number • Includes abstract of case and citation to case reporter • Multivolume descriptive word index • Federal Practice Digest • Atlantic Digest

  15. Electronic Legal Sources for Cases • LexisNexis Academic / Legal Research • Westlaw Campus • LexisNexis (commercial version) • Findlaw

  16. Verifying Law is Current • Shepard’s • Shepardizing • By LexisNexis • KeyCite • By Westlaw

  17. Shepard’s and KeyCite as a Research Tool • Citations to all cases mentioning the principal case • Citations to law review articles and certain treatises that mention the principal case

  18. Legal Research Guides • How to Find the Law • Fundamentals of Legal Research • Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It • Law Librarians’ Exchange • www.llrx.com

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