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Basic resources and strategies for legal research

Basic resources and strategies for legal research. Davida Scharf, SoM Librarian scharf@NJIT.edu Heather Dalal, Information Literacy Librarian dalal@njit.edu NJIT Van Houten Library Last updated Fall 2010 http://web.njit.edu/~scharf/mgmt-legal.ppt. Facts of the Case & Part I.

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Basic resources and strategies for legal research

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  1. Basic resources and strategies for legal research Davida Scharf, SoM Librarian scharf@NJIT.edu Heather Dalal, Information Literacy Librarian dalal@njit.edu NJIT Van Houten Library Last updated Fall 2010 http://web.njit.edu/~scharf/mgmt-legal.ppt

  2. Facts of the Case & Part I Suppose college officials knew that there has been a number of assaults on or attempted rapes of female students in a certain area on campus, where a stairway was hidden by foliage and trees. Suppose they chose not to publicize these incidents and had not warned students in any way. Then another attack occurred, and the male assailant used a modus operandi similar to the one that had been used previously on the same stairway. In view of these circumstances, from the standpoint of law, and of ethics, evaluate and answer the following questions: • On what legal provisions can the victim base his lawsuit? Is he likely to win? • How much responsibility should a college have to protect its students from crime? • Check: Peterson v. San Francisco Community College District, 685 P.2d 1193 (Calif. 1984) Can you find this case using Lexis-Nexis?

  3. Research – Part 2 1) Is there a trend for or against holding them legal responsible? 2) What are the arguments pro and con?

  4. Research – Part 2 1) Is there a trend for or against holding them legal responsible? • Who are the parties? What is the issue? • Who was liable? • What year was the Peterson case resolved? (Appeals?) • What are the arguments of each party? • How many cases must you read to see a trend? • Has anybody already synthesized this? 2) What are the arguments pro and con? • What were the outcomes? • On what arguments were they based?

  5. Break it down! You will need to: • Find the ‘Peterson’ case & read it • What was the outcome? • On what legal arguments was it based? • Use it to find more recent similar cases & read them • Find out what else has been written on the issues • Analyze your findings for 1) trends and 2) arguments • Cite your sources correctly

  6. Accessing Legal Information @ NJIT Academic

  7. Remote access for catalog and ILL Library website http://library.njit.edu Library Subscription Databases Including Lexis-Nexis Get Help

  8. Select “Legal” databases from website 2 pathways to Lexis-Nexis

  9. Find a case when you know the citation Use the widget . . . or use advanced search Show me! Watch a YouTube Video

  10. Results for Peterson v. SF CCD Here is the citation you were given 1983 decision was superseded

  11. Understand the parts of the full case document DOCUMENT HEADINGS Disposition – how was it resolved- who won Procedural posture – Overview Outcome Torts Summary Opinion Look up words you don’t know !

  12. Understand the parts of the full case document Full citation for the document complete document 4 different addresses for the same document; only one is required Sometimes just the address is also called a ‘citation’. the law on which the suit was based

  13. 1. Use the automatic citation generator inside Lexis-Nexis 2. Copy the proper citation for the case—make sure all the elements are there.

  14. Scroll down to CASE HEADINGSfor ideas for keywords to find similar cases CORE TERMS are prominent legal and factual terms taken directly from the opinion HEADNOTES (HN1 … HN26) are key legal points of a case drawn directly from the language of the court. Click on the HN# to see the reference.

  15. To understand trends. . . find cases that cite this one-- Shepardize When you Shepardize® a case, LexisNexis provides a report showing every opinion where that case has been referenced, all treatments of the case, and, most importantly, whether or not the case is "good law." If the case has been overruled, it is considered "bad law" and may no longer be cited as a legal precedent.

  16. Shepard’s Summary For HELP on Shepardizing seehttp://wiki.lexisnexis.com/academic/index.php?title=Shepard%27s_Citations Positive/Negative analysis Scroll down for cases that cited yours 182 citing decisions

  17. Elements of a legal citation • What? What is the thing cited, a case, a statute, a law review article, etc.? • Where? Where can the reader go to find the information? e.g. 617 F. Supp. 341 • When? When did this information come into being? Usually the date is given as a year but • sometimes more specific information is required. • Who? Who is the author of the information? A court? A legislature? A law student? Source: Handout on Legal Citation, Northeastern University, School of Law, Library http://www.slaw.neu.edu/library/citation.pdf

  18. Case Citations A complete case citation has four elements • PARTIES The parties' names • ADDRESS At least one ID or address for the case • DATE • COURT Pay attention to formatting and details (e.g. italics, brackets, abbreviations, etc.)

  19. How to read a case citation 1. WHO are the parties? Peterson v. San Francisco Community College District, 685 P.2d 1193 (Calif. 1984) 3. WHEN=Year 4. WHO is the author of the information? The court. Pacific Reporter 2nd series (abbreviation) State court Starting Page # • WHERE can the reader go to find the case? (The “reporters” are the • books where the legal decisions are published.) Volume No.

  20. More Sources of Legal Information Cases [Primary sources] Law reviews and journals [Secondary sources] What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?http://library.njit.edu/researchhelpdesk/tutorials/lo17.php

  21. Law Reviews and Journals (Secondary) Law Reviews A law review is a scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, normally published by an organization of students at a law school or through a bar association (e.g. Harvard Law Review, NYU Law Review) Law Journals (Peer-reviewed or scholarly) Feature articles written by researchers and practitioners. Recognized researchers in the field will evaluate a manuscript and recommend its publication, revision, or rejection. (e.g. Journal of Law and Health)

  22. Search Law Reviews & Journals

  23. Search by topic: campus AND assault

  24. Search by topic: campus AND assault 997 articles in law reviews & journals View tagged Or refine—add terms

  25. Sample article from Law Review Cite this source: Author, Title, Volume #, Journal Name, Page #, (Year) Griffaton, Michael C., Forewarned is Forearmed: The Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 and the Future of Institutional Liability for Student Victimization, 43 Case W. Res. 525 (1993). Cases may be embedded in the text. Law Review articles should be footnotes or endnotes.

  26. Find relevant info, click on the in-text reference… n341

  27. It links to the footnote reference n341

  28. …which links you to full text of case

  29. Case Law and Case Reporters (Primary) In the United States, opinions and decisions of federal and state courts create precedent which is binding on other courts; therefore, many of the opinions and decisions of these courts are published. Source: BU Law Library http://www.bu.edu/lawlibrary/training/classes/findcaselaw.html

  30. When to quit searching for new cases… Did the courts continue to side with the victim (plaintiff) rather than the institution (defendant)? Were the conditions similar? • Look for a few of the most current cases • Sample the 2000’s • Sample the 1990’s • What happened immediately following the case – 1980s? • Try other states? Compare to NJ? Do you need to look at cases older than Peterson? . . . Until you feel you understand whether or not the tide turned. YOU MUST READ MORE CASES THAN YOU CITE

  31. Online Legal Citation Guides • William and Mary http://law.wm.edu/library/research/researchguides/howto/citation/index.php Including list of Reporter abbreviations http://law.wm.edu/library/research/researchguides/howto/citation/index.php#Reporter_Abbreviations • Cornell http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/index.htm

  32. Rutgers Research Guides – Law* Federal Government Information Resourcesby Stephanie Bartz - last updated on Sep 21st, 2010Links to online resources and starting points for research. International and Foreign Governmentsby Stephanie Bartz - last updated on Sep 15th, 2010 Lawby Paul Axel-Lute - last updated on Sep 12th, 2010Selected resources for legal and law-related research. New Jersey State and Local Governmentsby Stephanie Bartz, Mary Fetzer - last updated on Sep 16th, 2010Links to websites and online resources for researching information from New Jersey state and local government. United Nations and United Nations Organizationsby Stephanie Bartz, Mary Fetzer - last updated on Sep 15th, 2010 * http://libguides.rutgers.edu/cat.php?cid=25854

  33. ResearchHelp Desk (973)596-3210 Our librarians have expertise in a number of subject areas

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