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Introduction to Legal Research

Introduction to Legal Research. Why is research important?. Sources of Law. Primary Sources of Law Secondary Sources. Remember to: . Take advantage of ALL of the information provided! Learn parts of research tools: What type of information does it contain?

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Introduction to Legal Research

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  1. Introduction to Legal Research • Why is research important?

  2. Sources of Law • Primary Sources of Law • Secondary Sources

  3. Remember to: • Take advantage of ALL of the information provided! • Learn parts of research tools: • What type of information does it contain? • How do you locate relevant information within the source (finding tools)? • How do you update it? (How up-to-date is it?)

  4. Secondary Sources • Legal Dictionary • Legal Encyclopedia • Treatises • American Law Reports • Legal Periodicals • Restatements of the Law • Jury Instructions

  5. Legal Dictionary • Legal definitions of words and phrases in alphabetical order • Often has citations to other resources, like cases or statutes

  6. Dictionary entry Legal Definitions Reference to other “definition” Reference to treatise

  7. Legal Encyclopedia • Provide a general description of the law • Include lots of citations to cases and other sources of information • Find relevant information through the index or the topic outlines • Update with the pocket part

  8. Examples of Legal Encyclopedia • American Jurisprudence, Second Edition (Am.Jur. 2d) • Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.) • Jurisdictional Encyclopedia-Florida Jur, 2d (Fla Jur, 2d)

  9. FLJur Digest: to find more cases Broad overview of issue Also may include illustrations and practice tips Relevant FL cases Relevant FL statute

  10. Treatises • Book or set of books written by an authority on the subject • Can vary widely in their coverage from very scholarly analysis to practical application • Locate appropriate sources by using the Library’s online catalog, Baron • List of leading treatises in library’s research guides

  11. Corbin on Contracts Treatise mentioned in dictionary Treatise p. 1 Reference to digest (for cases) and legal encyclopedia References to cases from a sampling of jurisdictions and other secondary sources

  12. Treatise p. 2 Discussion is scholarly treatment of “all” issues that arise in contracts Even historical development

  13. American Law Reports • Provide in-depth discussion of a specific issue • Use the ALR Index to find annotations • Update with pocket part and Annotation History Table

  14. Legal Periodicals • Describe and analyze the law or a specific area of law • Also provide tons of other information in the footnotes • Find articles through various indexes: • Recent: LegalTrac and Index to Legal Periodicals - Baron • Older: Index to Legal Periodicals, Hein Online

  15. Law Journal In-depth discussion of legal issue Relevant primary & other secondary sources

  16. Restatements of the Law • Clarify rules of common law • Each restatement is divided into sections, followed by comments and illustrations • Finding tools - no comprehensive index • Restatements are updated with newer editions, but the appendices cite to more recent cases (federal and state) • Also other model law sets.

  17. Restatement Not shown: Illustrations Following Comments Restatement itself Comments explaining Restatement Reference to Appendix for cases

  18. Jury Instructions • Plain-language description of the elements of a cause of action • Usually divided between civil and criminal causes of action • Finding aids include index and table of statutes • Sometimes provide citations to other resources, such as cases and statutes

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