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Unofficial:
Includes additional editorial content
Official:
Must be cited for court documents
The TEXT of the cases in both versions are identical.
So are indexes and TOCs!Indexes translate a question into a citation. TOC allows you to browse if you have a general topic in mind.
1. Some states designate these as their official reporter.
2. If it has a region in the reporter name it is a state reporter not a federal one.
Headnotes in West publications
Appear at the beginning of each opinion
Help identify the issue(s)
Include Key Numbers
West Key Numbers represent specific legal concepts.
Topic
Number - representing specific legal concepts.
Lexis
Uses similar organization under the Browse Topics function.
Mandatory / Persuasive Authority Chart at http://lawguides.rwu.edu/usresearch.
Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law
all have certification programs.
So does the library!
For more information, check out our Prepare for Practice program at http://lawguides.rwu.edu/prepareforpractice
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