1 / 25

Chapter 13

Chapter 13. Computerized Legal Research. Chapter Objectives. Understand the use of microforms in legal research. Understand the use of floppy disks and CD-ROMs in legal research. Understand the use of video and sound recordings in legal research.

kamil
Download Presentation

Chapter 13

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chapter 13 Computerized Legal Research

  2. Chapter Objectives • Understand the use of microforms in legal research. • Understand the use of floppy disks and CD-ROMs in legal research. • Understand the use of video and sound recordings in legal research. • Use the Westlaw and Lexis/Nexis Web sites as resources. • Understand strategies for conducting legal research on the Internet.

  3. Microforms • Microforms are a record of images in a reduced format on film. • Utilized by libraries and publishers as space savers. • Three types: • microfilm • microfiche • ultrafiche

  4. Microfilm • Film bearing a photographic record on a reduced scale. • Comes in two sizes: 16 and 35 mm. • Not usually used for legal information. • Used for governmental records, bank records, and other documentation of non-legal nature. • Microform readers are bulky and inconvenient. • Microforms not frequently used outside of library research.

  5. Microfiche • Sheets of microfilm containing rows of images that are recorded pages of printed matter. • Thin transparent sheets that can hold approximately 400 pages of images; usually arranged in grid pattern. • Not usually used in legal documents. • Libraries often use microfiche to record their card catalogs. • The Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations are available on microfiche.

  6. Ultrafiche • Like microfiche but it can hold up to 1,800 images per sheet. • Viewed in same manner as microfiche (on a reader). • Some West publications available on ultrafiche.

  7. Sound Recordings and Videos • Sound recordings may be encountered when utilizing CD-ROMs. • Videotapes are sometimes used to: • videotape deposition testimony, • make presentations to clients, • provide basic information to clients regarding trial processes and deposition procedures.

  8. CD-ROMs • A CD-ROM is a compact disk with read-only memory that can store over 200,000 pages of text. • Legal publishers now produce numerous books and treatises on CD-ROM. • CDs are convenient for the legal researcher in many ways.

  9. Advantages of Computer-Assisted Legal Research • Speed. • Quantity of material that can be searched at one time. • Efficiency and variety of resources available.

  10. Lexis/Nexis • The first computerized legal research service. • Database containing over three billion documents. • Organized into topics called “libraries.” • Provides current resources. • A fee-based subscription service.

  11. Features on the Homepage of Lexis/Nexis • The Search icon enables the researcher to review sources like federal and state authorities, public records, and other secondary sources of information. • The Search Advisor icon enables the researcher to review an area of the law and locate cases by legal issue or topic.

  12. Features on the Homepage of Lexis/Nexis • The Get Document icon allows the researcher to obtain a document quickly when the researcher knows the case citation, statute, or regulation. • The Check Citation icon does just as the name implies: it enables the researcher to shepardize primary authorities. • Found at www.lexis.com.

  13. Westlaw • Similar to Lexis/Nexis. • A subscription service with fees. • Composed of 15,000 databases, over 6,000 news and business publications, and more than a billion public records. • Offers “Find Document” icon to quickly obtain a document. • Provides the key number system. • A part of Thomson/West. • Found at www.westlaw.com.

  14. Other Internet Sources • Some sources available for free; others are fee-based. • Access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. • Provides access to public documentation. • Offers sample briefs, memoranda, and other documents. • Should be used to complement other research techniques.

  15. Web Sites • www.findlaw.com • www.hg.org • www.law.emory.edu • www.jmls.edy/cyber/index • www.patents.com • www.legalcounsel.com/resource.htm • www.ncsc.dni.us/courts/sitets/lawsites • www.ncsc.dni.us/court/sites/libs.htm • www.abanet.org • www.lcweb.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html

  16. Web Sites • www.uspto.gov • www.whitehouse.gov • www.senate.gov • www.house.gov • www.un.org • www.fedworld.gov • www.uscourts.gov • www.ucab.uscourts.gov • www.martindale.com • www.law.com

  17. Web Sites • www.law.cornell.edu • www.lawguru.com • www ll.georgetown.edu • www.washlaw.edu • www.ilrg.com • www.catalaw.com • http://megalaw.com

  18. Boolean Searching • A special type of logic used in computer searches that employs symbols, word phrases, and numbers rather than plain English. • Searches conducted by connectors. • To perform a Boolean search, you must first formulate a query.

  19. Boolean Searching • Boolean searches also enable the researcher to search for variations of words without typing in each variation. • The asterisk is a universal character and can be used in place of a character in a word. • The exclamation point is known as a root extender.

  20. Natural Language or Plain English Searching • Enables the researcher to forget about connectors and type a search query in plain English. • Helpful when a researcher is looking for broad concepts.

  21. To Prepare for Research • Make sure you completely understand your research assignment; • Review all the facts of the assignment before beginning your research; • Identify all key facts and legal issues create vocabulary lists; • Consider variations of the words and terms you wish to search;

  22. To Prepare for Research • Look at the relationship between words, and try searches using these relationships; • Develop search queries in advance; • Determine the relevant legal resources that might be the best sources for information prior to beginning your search.

  23. Summary One of the advantages of computer-assisted legal research is that it allows you to search the entire text of a document -- the researcher is not searching an index, but rather searching the document itself. In a full-text search, the researcher tells the computer which words, or combination of words, to look for in a document, and the full-text search will locate those words in the document and identify them.

  24. Summary • Microforms are images recorded in greatly reduced form on rolls or sheets of film; • Microforms are usually viewed on a device that looks like a computer screen, which is attached to a printer so material can be printed from the film. • A CD-ROM can contain over 200,000 pages of text on one disk; • Because of this, many legal publishers now produce numerous books and treatises on CD-ROMs, thus saving space for their customers.

  25. Summary • Lexis/Nexis was the first computerized legal research service: • Its database contains over three billion documents; • The Lexis/Nexis database is organized into topics called “libraries.” • Westlaw is very similar to Lexis/Nexis: • Westlaw is also a subscription service and there are fees associated with its use; • It is composed of approximately 15,000 databases, over 6,000 news and business publications, and more than a billion public records.

More Related