Legal Research skills Case law Academic Support Librarian October 2010 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported.

Legal Research skills

Case law

Academic Support Librarian

October 2010

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Why learn legal research skills?

To understand your reading lists To go beyond your prescribed reading To widen your research for your essays and

dissertations Mooting Further study – Masters..and beyond.. Job – law firms/chambers expect trainees to be able

to carry out legal research

Skills learnt now will continue to be useful to you in any further law studies or career.

What are we talking about?Terms you will come across

Primary sources

Case law Law report Judgment Transcript Decision Opinion

Secondary sources Books Journal articles

Why is case law important?

Where judicial precedent applied in courts by judges interpreting statute law

Large body of law within case judgments

Therefore: important to understand hierarchy of courts important to find fullest reports of judgments Law libraries will have access to collections of

law reports to enable research both in print and electronically across several centuries

What are law reports?

Published reports of cases Not all cases are ‘reported’ in UK Only a small proportion of all cases heard

published

Why are some reported? Interprets/clarifies/reinforces statute law Overturns a previous judgment

Editors of law reports series select what is to be published

What are law reports?

Several reports of the same case can exist Format might be different - judgment will be

the same in all

NOTE: some law reports are more authoritative and respected above others particularly in court and in mooting practice

Reading a law report Names of parties Dates of hearing in court Judge/judges Catchwords ; Headnote Lists of cases cited in the judgment Legislation cited Summary of actions and facts Judgments – full verbatim text Solicitors ; Names of Counsel

Case citations Derry v Peek (1889) L.R. 14 App. Cas. 337  R v Lowe [1973] QB 702 Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993] 1 AC 171 Re D (A Child) [2007] 1 A.C. 619

Party names - year - volume - law report abbreviation - page

Tip: Follow this principle in many jurisdictions not just UK

AbbreviationsCardiff Index of Legal Abbreviationshttp://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk Or in print, Raistrick Index to Legal Abbreviations and Citations [Reference Collection K50 R51 first floor]

- same abbreviation can refer to different law reports - if in doubt check jurisdiction (i.e. UK/Canada/Australia)

Search for series title on Library Catalogue – will show print and/or online versionPrint - note classmark and location, e.g. KD275Locate on first floor - ‘Law books and Law reports’ block Or access Electronic version – use the link on the Catalogue or go to E-Journals page

NB: no individual case name will be on the Library Catalogue

Is one report more authoritative/official than another?

Indexes and databases usually list the references in order of importance: Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v Hart, House of Lords, 26 November 1992Where Reported: [1993] A.C. 593; [1992] 3 W.L.R. 1032; [1993] 1 All E.R. 42; [1992] S.T.C. 898; [1993] I.C.R. 291; [1993] I.R.L.R. 33; [1993] R.V.R. 127; (1993) 143 N.L.J. 17; [1992] N.P.C. 154; Times, November 30, 1992; Independent, November 26, 1992

The Law Reports, 1865 - Several sequences representing different courts:

AC, Ch. KB/QB, Fam.

Authoritative series for England & Wales Judgments are approved by the judges before published

Should be "cited in preference where there is a choice". Where? Law Books and Law Reports KD275 – 279 1st floor Westlaw UK – select Cases; search by case name or

keywords in document text (free text) Justis – select Cases. Displays in original format Lexis Library – select Cases; search by case name;

keywords in document text

Weekly Law Reports (WLR) 1953 –KD282 W39 first floorWestlaw UKJustis

All England Law Reports (AllER) 1936 –KD288.A64 A41 first floorLexis Library

Specialised law reports series – many of theseSimon’s Tax Cases (STC);British Company Cases (BCC)… Use Library Catalogue for print / online Or use E-Journals web page to locate which

database to use – search by series title

Other law reports

Online resources for case law

Image Placeholder #1

Image: Screenshot of the ‘Cases’ search page of online legal service Westlaw UK

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: No

Date: 2010

Image Placeholder #2

Image: Screenshot of the ‘Cases’ search page of online legal service Justis

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: No

Date: 2010

Image Placeholder #3

Image: Screenshot of the ‘Cases’ search page of online legal service Lexis Library

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: No

Date: 2010

Finding by case nameIf you have no citation just the party name(s): Online – use Cases option; one / both party names

Westlaw UK – case law from 1235 -

Lexis Library - case law from 1865 -

Justis / JustCite (The Law Reports, Weekly Law Reports)

Print indexes/digests of casesThe Law Reports Index (first floor)

Current Law KD296.C8 C97 (first floor) Covers UK case law ‘reported’ since 1947 Alphabetical Index by first party name Annual volumes – Current Law Yearbooks

Image Placeholder

Image: Screenshot of the ‘Cases’ search page of online legal service Westlaw UK

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: Yes

Amendments: The ‘cases’ tab in the top of the screen is circled in red

Date: 2010

No need to add the ‘V’

Image Placeholder

Image: Screenshot of the ‘Cases’ search page of online legal service Westlaw UK

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: Yes

Amendments: In the 'Party Names' field, the names 'donoghue' and 'stevenson' are written. These names are circled in bold red, and 'No need to add the 'V' is written to the side in large bold red text. In the 'Browse' section below, the hyperlinks 'Case Analysis Documents' and 'Law Reports and Official Transcripts' are circled in bold red. The text 'Browsing options if you know the references' is written in large bold red text. Date: 2010

Image Placeholder

Image: Results screen for the Donoghue v Stevenson search described above, on Westlaw UK.

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: Yes

Amendments: The search result is: Donoghue v Stevenson, House of Lords, 26 May 1932. The last field of the search result is called 'Documents'. The documents are listed as hyperlinks, called 'Case Analysis'; '[1932 A.C. 562]', '1932 S.C. (H.L.) 31'; '1932 S.L.T. 317'. These hyperlinks are circled in bold red text. Next to this, large bold read text reads 'Full text documents on Westlaw'.

Date: 2010

Finding cases by subject Online

Westlaw UK – search by keywords in free text in Cases Lexis Library – keywords in Search term box in Cases

Justis – free text box in Cases

Search by keyword, names, legislation or other case names

Print – use the subject indexes of:– Current Law back to 1947 - KD296.C8 C97 (first floor)

– The Law Reports Index 1865 - KD285 L41 (first floor)

– The Digest - KD296.E52 E51– Textbook collections

Case summaries Westlaw UK – Case Analysis section Lexis Library – CaseSearch section JustCite Lawtel UK – daily updates WLR Daily – daily updates on latest cases in High courts Newspaper reports, e.g. Times Law Reports (Lexis

Library) Law journals, e.g. Solicitor’s Journal, New Law Journal Current Law Yearbooks and Monthly issues, KD296.C8 C97

Use for: keeping up to date reading key facts and outcome of decisions

Following history of a case Need history of a case to establish whether cases are still

‘good law’ Judgment can:

Be overturned by a later case; Overturn an earlier judgment Apply principles of a previous one; Follow or approve a previous decision Be followed by a later (subsequent) case

Use Westlaw Case Analysis record Lexis CaseSearch record Justis – look at the tabs on a case display Print: Current Law Citators and Current Law Yearbooks, first floor -

summaries and index note where a judgment has been followed, applied, distinguished.

Case Analysis – Westlaw UKImage Placeholder

Image: A screenshot of the screen displayed after clicking on the 'case analysis' hyperlink provided in the search results screen, on Westlaw UK.

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: Yes

Amendments: Text in the centre of the screen is circled in bold red. This reads 'Status: - Negative Judicial Consideration'; 'R. (on the application of Purdy) v DPP'; 'Court of Appeal (Civil Division)'; '18 February 2001'; 'Case Analysis'. Next to this selection is the bold red text: 'February Judgement noting that affected by another decision - see Appellate History for details.

On the left of the screen, the hyperlinks underneath the title 'Case Analysis' are circled in bold red. The selected text reads: Where Reported; Case Digest; Appellate History; Significant Cases Cited; Legislation Cited; Journal Articles'.

Date: 2010

Appellate / Case History Image Placeholder

Image: A screenshot of the screen displayed after clicking on the Appellate History' hyperlink described above, on Westlaw UK.

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: Yes

Amendments: Links to three documents are displayed on the right, in chronological order. In the centre of the screenshot, large, bold red text reads February judgement was reversed by House of Lords judgement in July 2009

Date: 2010

Case searching on Lexis Library

Image Placeholder

Image: Screenshot of the ‘Cases’ search page of online legal service Lexis Library

Subscription resource: Yes

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: Yes

Amendments:

The search boxes ‘Case name’; ‘Sources’; and ‘Search terms’ at the top of the screen are circled in bold red. Large, bold red text reads ‘Insert party names or key subject words’

Date: 2010

Full text official judgment

Image Placeholder

Image: A screen shot listing search results, having entered 'Purdy' into the 'Case Name' field of the case search screen.

Subscription resource: Yes

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: Yes

Amendments:

Three results are circled in bold red, to illustrate the different types of sources listed.

The 1st circled result is 'R (on the application of Purdy) v Director of Public Prosecutions'. Large, bold red text above this reads 'full text official judgement'.

The 2nd circled result is 'R (on the application of Purdy) v Director of Public Prosecutions - 109 BMLR 153'. Large, red bold text to the side of this reads 'published law report'.

The 3rd circled result is 'R (on the applpication of Purdy) v DPP [2009] UKHL 45, [2009] WLR 403'. Large, red bold text to the side reads 'CaseSearch provides notes about cases'.

Date: 2010

CaseSearch on LexisImage Placeholder

Image: A screen shot displaying the options available after clicking on a CaseSearch option described above.

Subscription resource: Yes

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: Yes

Amendments:

A bold red line circles a table in the centre of the page, which has three entries in it. The table column titles are 'Annotations'; 'Case Name'; 'Citations'; 'Court'; 'Date'; and 'Signal'. Large, bold, red text above the table reads 'See annotations about a case plus links to other related decisions'.

Date: 2010

Justis

Image Placeholder

Image: A screen shot displaying an individual record, after searching for Purdy on the Justis case search page.

Subscription resource: Yes

Subscription resource: Yes

Edited: Yes

Amendments:

A bold red circle highlights the tabs at the top of the page, which are ‘Outline’(in blue), ‘Also Reported In’, ‘Cases Considered’, ‘Subsequent Cases’, ‘Legislation Cited’, and ‘Related Articles’. To the side, large, red, bold text reads ‘Tabs with notes about case history, legislation, articles’

Date: 2010

Recent / unreported cases Only small number ‘reported’ so many

unreported All cases have ‘neutral citation’ Can be confusing as abbreviation here does

NOT refer to a print copy law report Cases can be published on the internet

before they appear in a law report seriesR v Herbert & Ors [2008] EWCA Crim 2501 (29 October 2008)

Name - year – jurisdiction - court - division - case number - para

Finding recent / unreported cases

Locate online

Recent judgments: BAILII www.bailii.org.uk

High Court judgments back to 1997 Can be published within hours

Westlaw UK For unreported cases look at Official Transcript

Lexis Library Unreported cases back to 1980

Old cases ‘Modern’ law reporting began in 1865 You will need to locate cases prior to this date, e.g.

Dalloway (1847) 2 Cox CC 273 Use ‘Cardiff Index’ Will be reprinted in English Reports, 1235 – 1865

175 volumes, KD270 E51 first floor Easier to use online at any of these:

– Westlaw UK– Justis– Hein Online– CommonLII Tip: online versions make pre-1865 cases easier to find and

use. Search by keywords or name.

Why not use Google?Much information is freely available but be aware: No quality standards or peer review Information can be moved, changed or removed without

warning, wrong, out of date and biased Law changes – being up to date is paramount. Know that you are looking at authoritative information,

e.g. official court or legislation websites e.g. BAILII, EUR-Lex

Won’t include information from law databases such as Lexis or Westlaw therefore not a complete picture.

Have a look at this Internet tutorial: http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/tutorial/law/

If rely only on Google searching, you will miss crucial information and could be using inaccurate information.

Electronic resources recap

Electronic Resources via Library website Use the subject guides When know the database that you need, use

the Library Catalogue search by database name

Law reports listed on E-Journals webpage – will specify which database to use for a series – search by series title

Use LSE username and password to access

Further reading Use if you are researching a new topic or jurisdiction. All will cover both hard copy and electronic methods of

research. Note: some titles are a few years old but the principles of legal research and hard copy materials remain valid although online information resources may change.

Bradney, A. Cownie, F. Masson, J. Neal, A. Newell,D How to study law. Sweet & Maxwell, 5th edition. 2005

Clinch, P. Using a law library OUP, 2nd edition. 2001 Finch, E., Fafinski, S. Legal Skills OUP, 2007 Holborn, G. Butterworths’ Legal Research Guide.

Butterworths. 2nd edition, 2001 Knowles, J., Thomas, P Effective Legal Research. Sweet &

Maxwell, 1st edition 2006

Guidance and help Legal research books/guides: use when

covering new jurisdictions/subjects Law Library guide Internet for law tutorial