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Internet Legal Research for Professor Mika’s Legal Writing Class Mar. 1, 2011

This outline provides insights into internet legal research, comparing it with Lexis and Westlaw, exploring legal portals and search engines, accessing free case law and primary sources, evaluating web sites, and more.

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Internet Legal Research for Professor Mika’s Legal Writing Class Mar. 1, 2011

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  1. Internet Legal Research for Professor Mika’s Legal Writing Class Mar. 1, 2011

  2. Outline • Internet v. Lexis, Westlaw • Legal Portals and Search Engines • Free Case Law/Primary Sources • Forms • Evaluating Web Sites

  3. Internet v. Lexis/Westlaw • Internet is Free. No charges to clients • Some info exclusive to Internet • Municipal Ordinances • Some Court Filings • New case/regulation (within one day) • New topics/issues

  4. Internet v. Lexis/WL Benefits of Lexis, WL: • Coverage. Internet, Ohio cases back to 1950 • Better Search Mechanisms • Editorial features – headnotes, annotations • Secondary sources – treatises • Aggregate Info • Trustworthiness

  5. What’s on the Free Web • All US Supreme Court Cases • Reported Federal Appellate 1882-, Fed District 1932- • Some Unreported Fed • State cases: Reported 1950-, unreported varies -1990s- • Statutes & Regulations- federal and states • LOTS more!

  6. Internet Portals • Library Home Page – Legal Research on the Web • Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) • FindLaw

  7. Use LEGAL Search Engines • Cornell University Legal Research Engine • LexisWeb • List of Search Legal Engines

  8. Search Engines • Clustering search engines: Yippy, Ask.com • Metasearch engines: Dogpile, Yippy • Internet Wayback Machine • Learn search syntax

  9. Case law • Google Scholar – state reported 1950-, fed circuit/ district 1923- • Ohio Supreme Court – Ohio reported & unreported (oldest 1992) • LexisOne – Last 10 yrs, Lexis searching • Legal Research on the Web - Cases

  10. Search = “birth certificate” marriage transsexual OR transgender OR “sex change”

  11. Why don’t we get the Nash case, a 2003 unreported Ohio case?

  12. Limit to Ohio

  13. Google Advanced Operators • AROUND –ex. constitution AROUND(5) "home rule“ • ~ searches for synonyms and related words ex. ~constitutionality - searches for constitutional, unconstitutional, etc. • * placeholder for a word.  Ex. sexual * abuse picks up “sexual misconduct abuse”, “sexual child abuse”, etc.

  14. Demo Ohio Supreme Court case search

  15. Finding Dockets, Pleadings, Motions • LLRX or Resources for Online Court Dockets to find dockets • Some dockets have full text documents ex. Ohio – Montgomery & Summit Counties, federal • PACER – Federal Court dockets • On Westlaw/Lexis – more search capability

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