6/3/2015 1 Case Research Online Donna Nixon Head of Reference Services Lecturing Fellow.

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Case Research OnlineCase Research OnlineDonna NixonHead of Reference ServicesLecturing Fellow

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Structure of state & federal Structure of state & federal courts-- 3 Levels:courts-- 3 Levels:Trial courtsIntermediate Appellate Court Highest court (often called Supreme

Court)

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Jurisdiction: Fed? State?Jurisdiction: Fed? State?

Federal courts have jurisdiction of:– federal constitutional issues – issues covered by federal law/statute

State courts have jurisdiction over: – state level matters that are not trumped by

federal lawSome overlap of jurisdiction where there

are both federal and state matters involved

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There are other jurisdiction There are other jurisdiction limitations for courts:limitations for courts:Geographic-does this court cover this area

of the country or world?Subject matter-does this court adjudicate

these types of matters (e.g. bankruptcy, military, family courts)

Over the person-does this court have authority to bind this person or entity to a judgment?

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Map of federal circuits (district & Map of federal circuits (district & appeals courts)appeals courts)

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Federal Case ReportersFederal Case Reporters

U.S. Supreme Court– U.S. Reports (official)– Supreme Court Reporter (West)– Lawyers Edition (Lexis)

Bankruptcy ReporterOther specialty court reporters: military, court

of claim, federal rules reporters, etc.Federal Supplement (West) prints some trial

court cases

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Sample Legal CitationsSample Legal Citations Supreme Court Citations: Turner Broad. Sys. v. FCC:

– 520 U.S. 180; (What is the reporter name?)– 117 S.Ct. 1174; – 137 L. Ed. 2d 369

Federal Appellate Court Citations: – 397 F3d 570;

– 968 F2d 158;

– 91 F. 114

Federal Trial Ct. Citation: 21 F.Supp. 19 State Regional Reporter: 78 SE2d 980 State Reporter (N.C.): 25 N.C. 250

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Searching Case Law by SubjectSearching Case Law by Subject

You will often search for a case by subject rather than by citation. Best method: ONE GOOD CASE METHOD-locate one case that is really on point, then use to find other cases on point. How?– Ask assigning attorney if there is any case that

illustrates issue.– Look at annotations to: relevant statute, legal

encyclopedia, journal or ALR article.

DOING A FULL-TEXT DB SEARCH IS LEAST EFFICIENT MEANS

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How to use “One Good Case”How to use “One Good Case”

Use headnotes in that case to find other cases with the same headnotes:– “More like this” in Lexis– “Custom Digest” in Westlaw

Read decision and note any earlier cases cited in that one good case.

Shepardize or KeyCite the case to find later cases on point (those that have cited your case).

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Searching Case Law by TopicSearching Case Law by Topic

Full-Text Searching. Choose:– Type of search:

Terms & Connectors-Boolean Natural language-keyword search w/out having to use

booleans.

– Use narrower database to limit unnecessary searching– Choose limiters (field/segment restrictions, date

limiters)– Brainstorm alternate keywords (eg. “death penalty” &

“capital punishment”). Terms also may change over time.

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After you have done a searchAfter you have done a search

If not many hits, broaden your terms (in some cases, may need to broaden jurisdiction

Once get a good 50 or less, look through the list of hits for cases on point

Use cases you’ve found to locate other cases on point (remember: custom digest & more like this)

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Now we need to update it?Now we need to update it?

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Updating CasesUpdating Cases

Use to:check the prior and subsequent history of a

case to make sure a case is good law to find other later cases that have dealt

with that area of law and cited your case to find other relevant material that have

cited to your case (law journal articles, ALR, etc.)

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Evaluating updating signals/flagsEvaluating updating signals/flags

If red flag, make sure that the flag is for the part of the decision on which you want to rely, if not, the flag is not as significant

If yellow/caution flag check:– if it means: criticism, modification,

distinguished– if it is from a binding jurisdiction (remember,

your court is not bound by decisions of a lower or co-equal court

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Updating Caselaw w/ShepardsUpdating Caselaw w/Shepards

There are two types of Shepard’s (Lexis) reports: Shepard’s for Research (FULL) provides a

complete report for your case, including prior history subsequent history and every citing reference.

Shepard’s for Validation (KWIC) provides a more limited report that allows you to quickly determine precedent.  It includes only those citing references with editorial analysis, and excludes any prior history.

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Westlaw Signals (con’t)Westlaw Signals (con’t)

Blue H: In cases or administrative decisions, a blue H indicates that there is some history but it is not known to be negative history.

Green C: A green C indicates that the case has citing references, but no direct or negative indirect history.

Quotations marks: Quotation marks indicate that the citing case directly quotes the cited case.

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Westlaw FlagsWestlaw Flags

Red Flag-In cases and administrative decisions, a red flag warns that the case or administrative decision is no longer good law for at least one of the points of law it contains.

Yellow Flag-In cases and administrative decisions, a yellow flag warns that the case or administrative decision has some negative treatment, but has not been reversed or overruled.

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Depth of treatment stars (West):Depth of treatment stars (West):

4 Stars - The citing case contains an extended discussion of the cited case, usually more than a printed page.

3 Stars - The citing case contains a substantial discussion of the cited case, usually more than a paragraph but less than a printed page.

2 Stars - The citing case contains some discussion of the cited case, usually more than a paragraph.

1 Star - The citing case contains a brief reference to the cited case, usually in a string citation.

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UpdatingUpdating

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How an unreported case looks in How an unreported case looks in Westlaw or LexisWestlaw or Lexis“Unreported” cases are cases the court does not

want to have precedent. Here are some examples of citations that should alert you to unreported status of a case:

185 Fed. Appx. 716 (Federal Appendix) 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 28127 2007 WL 465219 Note: if a case has a Westlaw or Lexis number, but

also has a regular reporter citation, such as F3d, it is a reported case, not an unreported case.

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