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Legal Process primary materials

Legal Process primary materials. Daniel Perlin Reference Librarian Week of September 8 th , 2008. Primary Materials. Introduction to Primary Materials Canadian Legislation Canadian Case Law. Introduction to Primary Materials. When do you use them in the legal research process?.

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Legal Process primary materials

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  1. Legal Process primary materials Daniel Perlin Reference Librarian Week of September 8th, 2008

  2. Primary Materials • Introduction to Primary Materials • Canadian Legislation • Canadian Case Law

  3. Introduction to Primary Materials • When do you use them in the legal research process?

  4. Checklist to researching Primary Materials • 1. Identify level of government having jurisdiction over subject matter • 2. Identify relevant statutes • 3. Note up statutes • 4. Check for regulations • 5. Identify relevant court cases

  5. Common Law • Developed through decisions of courts • Notion of stare decisis – “to stand by things decided” – prior court decisions must be recognized as precedent • Lower courts must follow decisions of higher courts

  6. How a Bill becomes Law • First reading>>Second reading>> Committee stage>> Third reading >>Royal Assent • Proclamation – a bill can also become law when it is proclaimed in force by the GG (usually later than the day of Royal Assent) – look in Canada Gazette or Canadian Legislative Pulse

  7. Sources for Bills • Online • QL, WL • Parliament and Legislative Assembly websites • Debates - Hansard

  8. Canadian Statutes • If not sure which statute has what you are looking for - Use a secondary source first e.g. CED (in text and online) DIG A242 -Index of Revised Statutes of Canada (R.S.C. 1985) e.g. if deal with Privacy Act P-21 -Canada Statute Service (through law library website or e-resources) -CANLII (http://www.canlii.org) -e-laws (http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca) -Justice Canada (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en)

  9. Canadian Statutes (continued) • How to find current statutes • Canada Statute Service (on law library website) • Department of Justice Laws • CANLII • Searching for history of statutes • Table of Public statues << back to R.S.C. 1985 (next slide) • Canada Statute Citator (also in Canada statute service)

  10. P-21 Privacy Act

  11. Canadian statutes (continued) • Statutes judicially considered • Canadian Statute citations (in print) eg. Next slide • QL – Canadian Statute citator • WL

  12. Regulations • What are they? • More specific than statutes • Done by Ministry responsible for the law, not parliament • Where to find them? • Canada Gazette Part II (online is official) • QL, WL, elaws

  13. Canadian Courts and Cases • SCC is highest court in Canada • Decisions can be binding or persuasive • Eg. SCC decisions are always binding • USSC decisions can be persuasive • Decisions can also be reported or unreported • Reported cases – written in a reporter • Unreported cases – not written down

  14. Canadian Cases • How do you know if a decision is reported or not? • Headnotes – done by editors of the law reporters • Have keywords on the case, as well as a summary of the case and the decision • Headnotes will always be in reported cases, and sometimes in unreported cases • Eg. on next slide Horsley v. McLaren

  15. Canadian Cases • How to find decisions • Online • QL • WL • CANLII • Print • Case reporters • Canadian Case Citations (next slide)

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