Legal Research 101: Researching Local, State

Legal Research 101:Researching Local, State &

Federal Cases

Rita Kaiser, King County Law Library &

Ann Hemmens, University of Washington Law Library

Washington Library Association 2006 Conference

Court Structure & Precedent

U.S. Legal System Federalism

two levels of government federal and state

Separation of Powers ensure that none of 3 branches of

government usurps powers of other branches

Organization of Federal & State Governments

Constitution

Legislative Judicial Executive

Statutes

Stat., USCRCW

Cases

US, Fed 3dP3d, Wash.

RegulationsAdministrative Decisions

FR, CFRWAC

How do Sources of Law Interact?

Court interprets a statute Court decision is overruled by same

court at a later time. Statute held unconstitutional by a

court Legislature writes statute in

response to a case Agency proposed rules in response

to statute.

Sources of Legal Authority: Cases Issued by trial & appellate courts Interpret & apply constitutional

provisions, statutes & previous case law Directly affect the parties in the dispute Influence application of the law in future

disputes (appellate court opinions) AKA: cases, decisions, judicial decisions,

common law (Reporters & online)

Court Structure – Federal & State

Federal StateCourt of Last

ResortU.S. Supreme

CourtWA Supreme

Court

Intermediate Appellate Court

↑

Ninth Circuit* Court of Appeals

* = Circuit map

WA Court of Appeals

Trial Court ↑

U.S. District Court for

Western District of WA

King County Superior Court

Published vs. Unpublished Opinions Unpublished = not for publication

= unprecedential WA State Court Rules (http://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/)

Rules of Appellate Procedure, RULE 10.4: PREPARATION AND FILING OF BRIEF BY PARTY

“(h) Unpublished Opinions. A party may not cite as an authority an unpublished opinion of the Court of Appeals. Unpublished opinions of the Court of Appeals are those opinions not published in the Washington Appellate Reports.”

Federal Courts Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1: allows citation to

“unpublished” opinions in Federal courts. New Rule approved by US Supreme Court April 12, 2006.

Effective Jan. 1, 2007.

“To stand by things decided” Doctrine of Precedent

“The rule that precedents not only have persuasive authority but also must be followed when similar circumstances arise.” Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)

Stare Decisis [Latin "to stand by things decided"] “The doctrine

of precedent, under which it is necessary for a court to follow earlier judicial decisions when the same points arise again in litigation.” Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)

Mandatory vs. Persuasive Authority Mandatory or binding precedent:

A precedent that a court must follow. (e.g., a lower court is bound by an applicable holding of a higher court in the same jurisdiction).

Persuasive or nonbinding precedent: A precedent that is not binding on a court, but

that is entitled to respect and careful consideration. (e.g., Neighboring Jurisdictions. If Oregon decided a case on similar facts, WA state courts might evaluate the court's reasoning without being bound to decide the same way.)

Considerations Published vs. unpublished opinion? Precedent: Mandatory or persuasive? Which Jurisdiction?

Federal issues: Banking, currency, bankruptcy, copyright, patent, immigration, interstate commerce, military, national defense

State issues: Driving, traffic, family law, insurance, occupational & professional regulation, property, real estate, torts

Federal and State: Crime, environment, labor, taxation

Legal CitationThe Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation

(18th ed. 2005)

Cases Party 1 v. Party 2, [volume number]

[reporter name] [page number] ([jurisdiction sometimes] [year]).

Washington State Case Foster v. Irrigation District, 102 Wn.2d 395,

404 (1984).

Legal CitationThe Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation

(18th ed. 2005)

Cases Party 1 v. Party 2, [volume number]

[reporter name] [page number] ([jurisdiction sometimes] [year]).

Federal Cases Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill, 437 U.S.

153, 98 S.Ct. 2279, 57 L.Ed.2d 117 (1978). San Carlos Apache Tribe v. U.S., 272

F.Supp.2d 860 (D.Ariz. 2003).

Legal Research Questions What type of law might govern

this issue? statutes? regulations? cases?

Which jurisdiction? Federal? State? Tribal?

International? Did you update your research?

State and Local Case Law

Rita Kaiser

Federal Case Law Good (free) starting points

Findlaw http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/ Lexisone.com http://www.lexisone.com/ Internet Legal Resources webpage

from UW Law Library (Federal & WA state websites) http://lib.law.washington.edu/research/research.

html

Federal Cases Lexisone (http://www.lexisone.com/)

Free case law* and legal forms From Lexis, aimed at small law firms Requires email to register

* CASES included: rotating 5 years of state cases & federal court of appeals cases plus US Supreme Court cases (1790 – current). Does not include Federal District Court cases.

Good Starting Point for Free Federal and State Legal Websites

Internet Legal Resources, http://lib.law.washington.edu/research/research.html From the University of Washington

Gallagher Law Library Updated regularly

US Supreme Court BRIEFS Brief: “a document prepared by

counsel as the basis for arguing a case, consisting of legal and factual arguments and the authorities in support of them.” Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)

The Curiae Project (YALE) [historical] http://curiae.law.yale.edu/

FindLaw [current] http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/briefs/index.html

US Supreme Court BRIEFS

FindLaw [current] http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/briefs/index.html

Federal Case Docket Info. PACER http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/

Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER): subscription based online access to case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts.

Obtain documents submitted to the court: copies of complaints, motions, memos, orders, judgments, etc.

US Supreme CourtORAL ARGUMENTS Oral Argument: “An advocate's spoken

presentation before a court (esp. an appellate court) supporting or opposing the legal relief at issue.” Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)

Oyez, http://www.oyez.org/oyez/frontpage (1995- )

Need Help? Contact a Law Library in WA State,

http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/lawlibraries.html UW Law Library (206-543-7672) King County Law Library (206-296-

0940) Pierce County Law Library (253-798-

7494)

Citators

Rita Kaiser