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Basics of Online Legal Research. Orientation 2014. Goals Today. Why Legal Research is important. What is Legal Authority. How to recognize the types & precedential value. Document delivery (printing, emailing, downloading). A Few Words About Legal Research. Train, Train, Train!
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Basics of Online Legal Research. Orientation 2014
Goals Today • Why Legal Research is important. • What is Legal Authority. • How to recognize the types & precedential value. • Document delivery (printing, emailing, downloading).
A Few Words About Legal Research • Train, Train, Train! • Learn Now! • Learn All! • Change is Constant.
What makes Primary Authority Mandatory? Jurisdiction & On Point.
Is a case mandatory? • Three-tiered court systems
What makes a case mandatory? As much as we respect our esteemed colleagues from various circuit courts, Plaintiff's counsel would be well advised to begin citing mandatory authorities from the Fifth Circuit rather than simply persuasive authorities from all other circuit courts.Washington v. U.S., 2005 WL 3296678 (W.D. La. 2005).
How Can You tell what court an opinion is from? Federal Supreme Court: Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). Courts of Appeals: United States v. Reid, 369 F.3d 619 (1st Cir. 2004). United States v. Reid, 214 F.Supp.2d 84 (D. Mass. 2002)
Massachusetts How Can You tell what court an opinion is from? Supreme Judicial Court • Goodridge v. Dep’t of Pub. Health, 798 N.E.2d 941 (Mass. 2003). Massachusetts Appeals Court • Mihalik v. Duprey, 417 N.E.2d 1238 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981). Massachusetts Superior Court • Goodridge v. Dep’t of Pub. Health, 14 Mass.L.Rptr. 591(Mass. Super. 2002).
Same with Statutes Statutes Federal • United States Code • 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012). • State • General Laws of Massachusetts • Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 9(2012).
A word on Secondary Authority Everything else!
a Word on Platforms Evaluation: Is it Current? Is it Comprehensive? Cost? Citable?
Following a lawful arrest, must the police get a warrant before they search a cell phone?
So…..before starting. • We need to find Mandatory Primary Authority on this issue controlling in Massachusetts? • What could those be? • Cases? • From What Courts? • Statutes? • Constitution? • Administrative Material
Following a lawful arrest, must the police get a warrant before they search a cell phone?
Let’s review one case…… Class #2 Class #2
So we found the following ……. “The search of Wurie's cell phone incident to his arrest was limited and reasonable. . . . “I see no principled basis for distinguishing a warrantless search of a cell phone from the search of other types of personal containers found on a defendant's person that fall within the . . . exceptions to the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirements.”U.S. v. Wurie, 612 F. Supp. 2d 104, 110 (D. Mass. 2009).
And……. • “We therefore hold that the search-incident-to-arrest exception does not authorize the warrantless search of data on a cell phone seized from an arrestee's person. . . .”U.S. v. Wurie, 728 F.3d 1, 13 (1st Cir. 2013).
So which do we rely on? • U.S. v. Wurie, 612 F. Supp. 2d 104, 110 (D. Mass. 2009). • U.S. v. Wurie, 728 F.3d 1, 13 (1st Cir. 2013). • Riley v. California, 134 S. Ct. 2473, 2495 (2014). Why?
When we meet again. • Week of Sept 29: Secondary Sources • Week of Oct. 7: Citators and Topics & Keynumbersi.e. what to do with One Good Case • Week of Oct. 13: Statutes and Developing a Research Plan