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Legal Research Resources Seneca College January 7 2011

Legal Research Resources Seneca College January 7 2011. John Bolan, Reference Librarian Bora Laskin Law Library. AGENDA. Legal Research Process Secondary Sources Textbooks/legal encyclopedias/articles Primary Sources Legislation Case law What it is & where you can find it Noting up

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Legal Research Resources Seneca College January 7 2011

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  1. Legal Research ResourcesSeneca CollegeJanuary 7 2011 John Bolan, Reference Librarian Bora Laskin Law Library

  2. AGENDA • Legal Research Process • Secondary Sources • Textbooks/legal encyclopedias/articles • Primary Sources • Legislation • Case law • What it is & where you can find it • Noting up • Citation / neutral citation / abbreviations

  3. Primary v Secondary Sources

  4. The Legal Research and Writing Process Review of Facts Issue Identification Research Analysis Written Product Secondary Sources Primary Sources Update

  5. Research Process: Secondary Sources • Always start with SECONDARY SOURCES • Secondary sources are commentaries which explain, analyze, synthesize, describe and discuss the law • It is especially important to refer to secondary sources if you are researching and area of law that is not familiar. • Secondary sources will refer you to primary sources (cases and legislation) which are the law and which have binding authority in the courts.

  6. Books 6 Step 1: Search for Books on the Topic Why? Written by experts and provide a good overview of the law. Provide commentary on the law Refererences primary sources: cases and legislation Will also include a "Table of Cases" or "Table of Legislation“ which is useful if you are looking for commentary on a particular case or statute

  7. Books 7 Tools for finding Books / Treatises on Canadian law Legal Research & Writing by Ted Tjaden Chapter 8: Legal Research by Topic KE250 .T53 2004 Newnham The Practical Guide to Canadian Legal Research by McCormack, N. et al. KE250.M26 2010 Newnham Appendix “Selective Topical Bibliography” The Practical Guide is also very useful when in doubt as to research procedure! ham General CollectionCall Number: KE250 .T53 2004

  8. Legal Encyclopedias Legal encyclopedias Encyclopedias provide brief overview of the law and often and are typically written by subject experts. -cover wide range of topics, arranged alphabetically -fairly general info -good for a quick overview -available online -include references to primary sources Canadian Encyclopedic Digest Available on WestlawCanada and in print in Newnham reference

  9. Articles 9 Journal Articles Are important to researchers because: They are written by legal scholars They concern current/developing/controversial issues They may be persuasive in court But : they tend to be very in-depth, narrowly focues and advanced

  10. Articles cont’d 10 Journal Indexes Not full text, so why search them? Only 50% of journal articles are available in full text More comprehensive than full text databases Can use assigned subject headings to focus your research But Electronic Indexes only cover from the 1980’s onward.

  11. Articlescont’d 11

  12. Articlescont’d 12

  13. Court Cases • Court Cases: • Case law = reported record of a written judgment • Not every case results in a judgement • Not every judgement is reported (published in print) • No interest • Most do not make new law • Too many judgements • Market too small • Unreported judgements are in courthouse and ONLINE

  14. How cases are published Cases published either in: case reporter (hard copy) online (database or website) REPORTERS Official (published by the Queen’s printer) Semi-official (published under the auspices of a bar association) Unofficial

  15. Primary Sources: Case Law • To find cases… • Use citations from secondary source research • Use digests (short case summaries organized by subject) • The Canadian Abridgment (in Law Source) • Fulltext online db’s: Lexis, Law Source BestCase, Canlii • Note up to find other cases on point & update

  16. Primary Sources: Case Law • Finding case law online via: • LawSource on Westlaw Canada • -Canadian Abridgment Digests! • LexisNexis Academic – International Legal – Canadian cases • Best Case • Canlii.org – free online, case law & legislation

  17. What is “Noting-Up”? Noting Up (Canada) or Sheppardizing (US): • Complete history of a case • Subsequent judicial treatment Both are necessary to determine if a case is still good law

  18. Why Note Up? Three Good Reasons: • Judicial History (same case) • Is there a lower court decision? • Has it been appealed to a higher court? • Judicial Treatment (subsequent cases) • What have other courts said about the case? • Used as a precedent, or criticized? • Research • Often leads to cases dealing with similar issues or facts

  19. Methods of Noting Up • Online: • From within a case in LNA or Westlaw, or • Starting from LawSource (Westlaw Canada) Keycite with a case name or citation • Can also use BestCase and Canlii • In Print: • Using the Canadian Abridgment’s Canadian Case Citations (CCC)

  20. Solution to Limitations: Full-text Searching Search Party A / 10 of Party B e.g. Miranda v Arizona 384 U.S. 436 (1966) Miranda /10 Arizona In print, Canadian Case Citations lists US and UK decisions cited by Canadian courts

  21. Legislation – Current Online Sources

  22. Annotated Statutes 22 Books Annotated Statutes • Example: Annotated Construction Lien Act • REF KE 308.3.A13 G57 (Newnham)

  23. Noting Up Legislation Use the same tools that we used for cases, with similar options: Online: From within a piece of legislation, or Starting from Keycite with a statue name or citation, or Via full-text searching In Print: Canadian Statute Citations

  24. Citation In Canada rules are in the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (7th ed) More commonly known as the “McGill Guide” Queen’s Law School Library web resources on legal citation are a good online resource for students

  25. Hierarchy of Sources

  26. Neutral Citation

  27. Legal Abbreviations 28 Deciphering Abbreviations Appendix at the back of the McGill Guide Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk

  28. Chapter 1 of the Mcgill Guide General rules on : • Writing bibliographies • Footnoting • In-text references for facta and memos

  29. Sources - electronic Per McGill Guide, electronic services are still a last resort. Always prefer print sources. So in practice, you will find yourself using electronic databases to find a case, then obtaining print citations from the electronic version to cite!

  30. Which sources to use when citing? Consult table in section 3.1 of the McGill Guide

  31. Research Guides Fitzgerald, Maureen F. Legal Problem Solving: Reasoning, Research and WritingKE250 .F57 2001 Newnham McCormack, N. et al. The Practical Guide to Canadian Legal Research KE250.M26 2010 Newnham Tjaden, Ted. Legal Research and WritingKE 250 .T53 2004 Newnham

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