Term
| What is the purpose of legal research? |
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Definition
| Find authority that will persuade the court to rule in your favor |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of taking the law and putting it in a subject arrangement based on a numerical scheme |
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Term
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Definition
| codified common law -- collaboratively written by eminent legal scholars and approved by all members of the American Law Institute (ALI) |
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Term
| Why are ALR annotations useful in legal research? |
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Definition
- Broad survey of narrow issue
- treatment of the topic across jurisdictions
- Citations to primary sources from multiple jurisdictions |
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Term
| Who writes ALR annotations? |
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Definition
| Attorney authors working for the publisher |
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Term
| What kind of cases do the ALR annotations cover? |
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Definition
| The annotations cover timely and/or controversial opinions. New point of law or a new wrinkle in existing point of law. |
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Term
| Are ALR annotations mandatory or persuasive authority? |
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Definition
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Term
| Of all the secondary sources that we have studied this year (encyclopedias, treatises, periodical articles, ALRs, Restatements) which one is the most persuasive to a court? Why? |
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Definition
- Restatements.
- Why? Written by eminent scholars in the field. Collaborative process, drafts approved by all members of the American Law Institute. |
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Term
| What editorial enhancements are in ALR? |
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Definition
- Total Client Service Library
- Article Outline
- Article Index
- Jurisdictional table of cited statutes & cases
- Related Matters |
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Term
| What access points are available for ALR’s? |
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Definition
• ALR Indexes
• Quick index (one-volume)
• Multi-volume
• ALR Digests
• Online (Lexis & Westlaw)
• Citators (Shepard’s & Keycite) |
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Term
| Why are access points important in legal research? |
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Definition
- Help you use the sources more efficiently
- Entry point to the sources |
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Term
| What is a Root Expander/Term Expander and how is it used? |
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Definition
- ! is the root expander. A root word may have many endings. Drunk. Drunken. Drunkard.
- Using a root expander retrieves both the root term and its variants. drunk! retrieves drunk, drunken, and drunkard.
(e.g. writ! = write, writing, written) |
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Term
| What is the Universal Character/Single Character Wildcard and how is it used? |
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Definition
- * is the universal character in WestlawNext and Bloomberg Law. ? is the universal character in Lexis Advance.
- It can be used within a word to retrieve varations of that word, for example, dr*nk retrieves drank, drink, and drunk.
- The universal character can be used at the end of a term to specify how many letters may be added. Example: object** would retrieve object, objects, and objected but not objective. |
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Term
| When you are in Lexis doing a search using terms and connectors, a space between two terms is processed as a phrase? T or F |
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Definition
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Term
| When you are in Westlaw doing a search using terms and connectors, a space between two terms is processed as an OR connector. T or F ; Does it matter, and why? |
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Definition
| True; Yes; Will broaden your search. Phrase will narrow your search. Will affect both precision and recall. |
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Term
| Define segment (LexisNexis)/field (Westlaw). Why are segments/fields used in online research? |
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Definition
- Documents are divided into segments.
- You can restrict your search to a specific segment of a document.
- Will affect both precision and recall. |
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Term
| Westlaw divides documents into sections called __________________; and Lexis divides them into _______________. |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Give two examples of segments/fields |
|
Definition
- Date
- Author
- Title
- Judge
- Attorneys
- Docket number |
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Term
| What is the publication cycle of a case? |
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Definition
- Slip Opinion
- Advance Sheet
- Bound Volume
(all of these are published in chronological order) |
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Term
| What is the difference between official and unofficial reporters? |
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Definition
- Official: published by government authority (may be granted to commercial publisher)
- Unofficial: published by commercial publisher (1) Commercial Publisher has editorial enhancements: headnotes, ***syllabus*** |
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Term
| What are parallel citations? |
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Definition
| citation to the same case in different reporters |
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Term
|
Definition
| Summary of one issue in a case. In West, written by a West attorney editor; LexisNexis: Language taken directly from the text of the case, selected by a LexisNexis attorney editor. |
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Term
|
Definition
| attorney editors working for a publisher |
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Term
| What are the principal reporters that cover each level of the federal court system? |
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Definition
- Federal Supplement
- Federal Reporter and Federal Appendix
- United States Reports; Supreme Court Reporter; United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition |
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Term
| What are the purposes of a citator? |
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Definition
- Verification: To make sure that your case/statute is good law
- Research: To find other useful cases and secondary sources
- Table of Authorities: To evaluate the underpinnings of a case (and perhaps undermine opponents authority) |
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Term
| What is meant by the term ‘direct history’? |
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Definition
| Same parties, same case as it goes through the appellate process |
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Term
| What is meant by the term ‘indirect history’? |
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Definition
| Cases outside of the appellate process that cite your case (i.e. negative and positive treatment) |
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Term
| A signal indicator, such as a red flag indicates... |
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Definition
|
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Term
| What should you do if your case has received a red flag? |
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Definition
| Read the case(s) that have given your case negative treatment. |
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Term
| What is persuasive authority? |
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Definition
| Authority that the court does not have to follow, but that you hope will persuade the court to rule in your favor. |
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Term
| One of the senior partners in your firm wants to know if the local public library can restrict public computer use to machines with filtering software. He suggests you look AmJur. Will you begin with AmJur? If so, why? If not, why not? |
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Definition
• AmJur is a legal encyclopedia
i. Yes:
1. general overview=a quick way to learn the basic concepts/terminology.
2. Provides many cites to cases
ii. No
1. slow to adopt new topics
2. very general overview=may have to spend additional time searching elsewhere for the details
3. national encyclopedia
a. Does not provide comprehensive view across jurisdictions
b. if your state is one of the few that has a state encyclopedia, and the issue is an issue of state law will get much more state specific detail |
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Term
| What information is important in deciding whether or not you will purchase a certain set of treatises for your firm's law library? |
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Definition
• Content
• Coverage
• Currency
• Organization
• Accuracy
• Reputation of Book
• Reputation of Author
• Reputation of Publisher |
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Term
| List two methods of locating a treatise containing a discussion of ground water. |
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Definition
• Online catalog
• Svengali Book: Legal Information Buyers Guide
• Browse an online service like LexisNexis or Westlaw by area of practice
• Search IndexMaster
• WorldCat
• Index to Legal Periodicals
• Catalog of Current Law Titles |
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Term
| What is the difference between a bar journal and other periodicals? |
|
Definition
• Written by a practicing attorney.
• Practical articles (not theoretical)
• Jurisdiction Specific
• Fewer Footnotes |
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Term
| Where can you find the full text of legal periodical articles online? |
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Definition
• LexisNexis & Westlaw Periodical Databases
• HeinOnline
• Increasingly, both LegalTrac and ILP are linking to full text. |
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Term
| What is the primary distinction between LegalTrac and the Index to Legal Periodicals? |
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Definition
• LegalTrac indexes legal newspapers. ILP does not.
• LegalTrac only goes back to the early 1980s.
• ILP retro goes back to the beginning of the 1900s
• ILP is available in print.
• LegalTrac has more practitioner materials. |
|
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Term
| How is HeinOnline distinct from LegalTrac and the Index to Legal Periodicals? |
|
Definition
- Full Text of all titles, in most cases back to the first volume
- No controlled vocabulary or subject indexing
- HeinOnline goes back to 1908-ish and ILP goes back far as well, whereas LegalTrac only goes back to 1980 |
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Term
| The two national encyclopedias often refer you to state statutes? T/F. |
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Definition
|
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Term
| When generating search terms, what does it mean to expand the breadth of your terms? |
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Definition
| Expanding the search using synonyms and related terms, e.g., motel-hotel-inn |
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Term
| When generating search terms, what does it mean to expand the depth of your terms? |
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Definition
| Expanding the search by varying levels of abstraction, e.g., crime-theft-robbery |
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Term
| Westlaw and Lexis include all legal periodical articles in their database systems. T/F. |
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Definition
|
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Term
|
Definition
| Slip Laws are a single law, in chronological order, as it was passed by the legislature |
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Term
|
Definition
| • Session Laws are a compilation of laws, in chronological order, as passed by the legislature during a session. |
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Term
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Definition
| Revised Code is an arrangement of the law by subject (i.e., codified) |
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Term
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Definition
| Annotated Code is an arrangement of the law by subject (i.e., codified) with editorial enhancements added. |
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Term
| How would you locate relevant statutes given a specific fact situation? |
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Definition
- Full text search in a statutes database on LexisNexis or Westlaw
- and/or using a subject index (online or print) |
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Term
| What are Editorial Enhancements and why would you choose to use a source that includes them? |
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Definition
- What: value added by commercial publisher (e.g., headnotes in a reporter, annotations in a statutory code).
- Why: Assist in the research process |
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Term
| Give two examples of editorial enhancements. |
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Definition
- headnotes
- cross-references
- topic and key numbers
- references to secondary authority (encyclopedias, articles, treatises, etc.)
- case references
- historical notes
- notes of decisions |
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Term
| Where would you look for a scholarly discussion of privacy in cyberspace? |
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Definition
| Law review article. You can find law review articles on Legaltrac, Index to Legal Periodicals, HeinOnline, Journals databases on LexisNexis & Westlaw. You can find some on Google Scholar, but you don’t always have access to the full text. |
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Term
| What is the difference between 522 U.S. 269, 139 L.Ed.2d 702 and 118 S.Ct. 757? |
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Definition
same case in different reporters. Difference is whether the reporter is official or unofficial.
• These are parallel citations. |
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Term
| Name two reliable sources used to determine the continued validity of a case in a given jurisdiction. |
|
Definition
|
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Term
| What is the name of the publication in which the laws of the United States appear in chronological order? |
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Definition
- United States Statutes at Large.
- Although Statutes at Large are session laws, “session laws” is not, strictly speaking, the correct answer. Read questions carefully. Be specific. |
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Term
| Many Federal District Court opinions appear in what hard-copy publication? |
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Definition
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Term
| What type of legal publication often contains extensive commentary on novel or very current legal theories or trends? |
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Definition
| Legal periodicals (newspapers, bar journals, law reviews) can address new issues much more quickly than other secondary sources such as legal encyclopedias and treatises. |
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Term
| Name two publications that index legal journals. |
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Definition
| Index to Legal Periodicals, LegalTrac |
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Term
| Where would you look to find a case's parallel citations? |
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Definition
- Lexis & Westlaw top of the page
- Reporter |
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Term
| F.R.D. is the abbreviation for what publication? If you do not know what F.R.D. means, where might you look? |
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Definition
- Abbreviation for: Federal Rules Decisions.
- Where might you look: Bluebook tables. |
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Term
| Where would you look to find a general discussion of the law of ground water. |
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Definition
- Treatise
- legal encyclopedia |
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Term
| What is the publication cycle of a statute? |
|
Definition
- Slip Laws single law, in chronological order, as it was passed by the legislature
- Session Laws compilation of laws, in chronological order, as passed by the legislature during a session.
- Revised Code law that has been codified
- Annotated Code law that has been codified with editorial enhancements added. |
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Term
| What is the “One Good Case Method”? |
|
Definition
Using one relevant case to find others by:
- using the Topic & Keynumbers (Westlaw)/Legal Topic (LexisNexis) found in that case’s headnotes
- internal citations to other cases
- using a citator to find other cases which have referenced it |
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Term
| What's the difference between KeyCite and Shepard's? |
|
Definition
- Organization: KeyCite organizes the results by treatment and then depth of analysis, whereas Shepard's organizes by court hierarchy.
- Signal Indicators: KeyCite has only two indicators (red and yellow), but Shephard's has many (seven). |
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Term
| List three considerations when deciding whether to use a case that has been given negative treatment. |
|
Definition
1. Are they in your jurisdiction?
2. What point of law was at issue?
3. Are they distinguishable from your case? |
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Term
| Name the three reporters which publish U.S. Supreme Court decisions. |
|
Definition
| United States Reports (U.S.), Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.), United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer's Edition (L. Ed., L. Ed. 2) |
|
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Term
| Name the two reporters which publish U.S. Court of Appeals decisions. |
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Definition
| Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, F.3d) and Federal Appendix (F. Appx.) |
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Term
| Name the two reporters which publish U.S. District Court decisions. |
|
Definition
| Federal Supplement (F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d.) and Federal Rules Decisions (F.R.D.) |
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Term
| Name the seven regional reporters. |
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Definition
| Atlantic (A.), North Eastern (N.E.), South Eastern (S.E.), Southern (So.), South Western (S.W.), North Western (N.W.), and Pacific (P.) |
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Term
| West publishes unofficial reporters for which three states? |
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Definition
| New York (N.Y.S.), California (Cal. Rptr.), Illinois (Ill. Dec.) |
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Term
| Explain the difference in coverage between federal, state, regional and combined digests. |
|
Definition
- federal = all U.S. federal cases
- state = state and federal cases from the state
- regional = state cases within region (no fed.)
- combined = summaries of all state and federal cases within U.S. |
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Term
| How many titles does the federal code have? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is the Federal Appendix? What does it cover? |
|
Definition
| a West reporter covering unpublished/non-precedential U.S. Court of Appeals cases |
|
|
Term
| What is the Federal Rules Decisions? What does it cover? |
|
Definition
| a West reporter covering U.S. District Court cases interpreting the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure |
|
|
Term
| What are the two national legal encyclopedias and where can you find them? |
|
Definition
| American Jurisprudence (Am. Jur. 2d -- West and Lexis) and Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S. -- West) |
|
|
Term
| In reporters, how are cases organized? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What are the five parts of a case published in a reporter? |
|
Definition
- The heading: parallel citation to official reporter, case name, court, date
- A synopsis of the opinion
- Headnotes
- The names of the attorneys and judges
- The court’s opinion / concurring / dissenting |
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Term
|
Definition
| Case summaries organized by subject. |
|
|
Term
| Which digest should you use for federal cases? |
|
Definition
| West's Federal Practice Digest |
|
|
Term
| What can you do to make sure that you get updates about any changes to a Westlaw entry? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Name the three publications of the U.S. Code. |
|
Definition
USC (official)
USCA - West (A is for Annotated)
USCS - Lexis (S is for Service) |
|
|
Term
| List the four main sources of law. |
|
Definition
- constitutions
- statutes (from legislative brach)
- court opinions aka common law (judicial branch)
- administrative regulations (executive branch) |
|
|
Term
| What is the Decennial Digest? |
|
Definition
| A digest of ALL reported cases. Huge, unwieldy and updated with separate digests. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Slip laws passed by Congress. (e.g. Pub. L. No. 103-416) |
|
|
Term
| What is the U.S. Statutes at Large? |
|
Definition
| Chronological compilation of session laws passed by Congress, official, published yearly. |
|
|
Term
| How do you read a federal law? Pub.L 91-512 |
|
Definition
Public Law:
Passed by 91st Congress
512th law passed |
|
|
Term
| Name four digest features. |
|
Definition
1. Topic Analysis - outline listing all key numbers for that topic
2. Descriptive Word Index - use search terms to find topic and key numbers
3. Table of Cases
4. Words & Phrases - find cases that interpret various legal words or phrases |
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Term
| What can be found in A.L.R.s? How can you use them? |
|
Definition
| Topics derived from appellate cases by West editors; discusses discrete legal issues; summarizes relevant cases from many jurisdictions; some analysis or commentary; references to other sources |
|
|
Term
| Name the official reporter and the unofficial reporter for federal session laws. |
|
Definition
| U.S. Statutes at Large (official); USCCAN United States Code Congressional & Administrative News (unoffical) |
|
|
Term
| List 4 types of treatises. |
|
Definition
| Critical, Analytical, Explanatory, Practical |
|
|
Term
| What are the three broad categories of legal research tools? |
|
Definition
- primary legal texts
- secondary legal materials
- sources of ethical obligations of lawyers |
|
|
Term
| How do you update your digest research? |
|
Definition
- check pocket part & supplement
- check reporter advance sheets
- check interim pamphlets
- check closing tables; if any reporter listed has issued a new volume since publication of the digest, search the new volumes for relevant cases
- use a citator |
|
|
Term
| What is LegalTrac called in both the Westlaw and Lexis database systems? |
|
Definition
| LRI (Legal Resource Index) |
|
|
Term
| Are digest series cumulative? |
|
Definition
| No. If you use Missouri Digest 2nd Series, you will need to check the 1st series as well. |
|
|
Term
| How is statutory material cited? |
|
Definition
Title Number – Code Abbreviation – section symbol – section number – date
Ex: 8 U.S.C. § 1423 (2000). |
|
|
Term
| What do the bars in KeyCite indicate? |
|
Definition
How much discussion is found in the citing case:
**** examined – more than a page
*** discussed – more than a paragraph
** cited – less than a paragraph
* mentioned – string citation |
|
|
Term
| List at least two differences between the USCS and USCA. |
|
Definition
| USCA references more court decisions, while USCS references more administrative materials |
|
|
Term
| How often is the USC (official) reissued? |
|
Definition
| approximately every 6 years |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the exlusive online supplier of MO state bar CLE materials |
|
|
Term
| List the two print publications containing the federal session laws. |
|
Definition
- US Statutes at Large
-United States Code and Congressional Administrative News (USCCAN) |
|
|
Term
| List all the types of connectors that can be used in a Boolean search. |
|
Definition
- Adjacency
- proximity (including numerical and grammatical)
- conjunctive (and)
- disjunctive (or)
- exclusionary (not, "but not") |
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