CASE LAW AND CITATORS

Legal Research and WritingFall 2011

Why Court Opinions?

PRIMARY SOURCES

• Cases• Courts

• Statutes• Legislatures

• Regulations• Executive Agencies

Court Hierarchy

Court HierarchyFrom the Bottom Up• Trial Court

• Court of original jurisdiction• Court of general jurisdiction• Court of limited jurisdiction

• Family court, traffic court, juvenile court

• Proper name varies from state to state

• Intermediate Appellate Review• Name & Number of levels

vary

•Court of Last Resort• Supreme Court of

[State]• Supreme Court of

the United States

See The Bluebook, Table T.1 for a breakdown of courts for each state

Cases: Print Publication Sequence

Slip Opinions Distributed by the court; official

Increasingly distributed online, official status must be determined by the court rules

Put on electronic databases Advance Sheets

Preliminary version of a case in a reporter Contain same editorial notes and pagination

as bound volume Judge can make changes

Reporter Permanent version of decision

Reporters

Compilation of court decisions Generally chronological arrangement Can include decisions of:

a single court single level of a court system a single state a region of the country (a number of states) a specific legal subject (topical reporters)

These are increasingly rare in print

? What makes it into the Reporters?

National Reporter SystemWest Publishing (since 1880s)

Publishes “reported” federal and state cases Court rules are increasingly allowing the use of

unreported cases—the line is bluring. Provides uniform editorial treatment

Synopsis Headnotes Cross referencing material

Are NOT part of the case!! No substitute for reading the case!

Some are unofficial, although some have

been designated as a state’s official reporter

Maps!

Case headnotes

Headnote – a summary of a legal issue discussed in the case

Each headnote is assigned at least one specific topic West reporters integrate headnotes and their

specific topics with the West digest system (more later!)

Headnote – note summar

y of specific point of

case

How to find cases

Reporters tend to be a collection of unrelated cases, so we have to have a finding aid such as: Digests Secondary sources American Law Reports (ALR) Annotated codes Citators – Shepards & Keycite Electronic Databases

Digest

A subject arrangement of case summaries

Includes an outline or classification of the law or specific area of law

Case summaries are organized in the outline, under the specific issue raised in the case

West’s Digest System

Most comprehensive print case finding tool

An index to all reported court decisions and some “unreported” decisions

Only case finding tool for many older state cases not on electronic databases

Structure of Digest

Arrangement – topic/key number system Outline of the field of law Divided law into major subjects Each subject divided into topics (400 total)

and sub-topics Each sub-topic assigned a key number

Cases assigned to specific topic/key number based on the case headnotes

Using the Print Digest

1. Choose digest set Louisiana digest, regional digests*(not all

regional reporters have digests), federal digests

2. Dig In! Use case headnote Subject and topical analyses Search Descriptive Word Index Words and Phrases

(defines words, but is often limited)

Using the Print Digest“Terms” from case, client meeting, etc.

Descriptive Word Index

Topic & Key Number

Go to Volume containing topic and look up Key #

Read Topic Outline

Read case descriptions and pull and read relevant cases

(Gives you)

Read a case (headnote) or secondary source

Updating Print Digests

Be sure to check: 1. Main digest volume

2. Pocket part Some pocket parts are so large, the publisher

creates a separate bound volume

3. Cumulative supplements for the digest set Small paperback supplements following the last

volume in the set (some sets may not have this)

Hypothetical-Louisiana Case Law Digest 2nd

Your divorcing client seeks alimony from her husband. She currently resides with her 5 year old daughter from

the marriage as well as her stepdaughter who is six years old. Other than taking care of her two minor

children and her household, she has no training for any kind of a job and is unemployed. Is she entitled to

alimony under Louisiana law?

Terms: Alimony; Support; Allowance; Divorce; Nullification of Marriage

A) Louisiana Case Digest Second-Descriptive Word Index –look under “A” for Alimony

B) You find that it is under Marrriage Key #62

C) Go to Louisiana Case Digest volume which contains “Marriage”-it’s volume 38-on the spine “Lis Pendens to Master”

D) Read case entries, find case on point and update

If you have a case:

Select headnote dealing with your legal issue Use the corresponding topic and key number

In print, go right to the appropriate volume

In Electronic…

Westlaw allows you to directly access online digest from case headnote…from there you can create a custom digest…

Westlaw allows you to directly access online digest from case headnote

Click here

Choose what jurisdiction you want to find cases in

Add additional search terms

List of cases and materials on topic for jurisdiction you selected

Type in search terms to have Westlaw help you find right topic/key number

Click here for current page

Select best topic/key number from results list

Lexis

“Search by Topic or Headnote” Broad areas of law Drill down to more specific issues

If you have a case Lexis headnotes

not the same as West headnotes! “More like this”

Core terms

Select subject area and drill down

Subjects break down into specific sub-topics.

Select your sub-topic.

Select jurisdiction, sources, and further refine your search

“More like this” uses core terms

Lexis HeadnotesClick Here

“More like this” allows you to search other cases with similar core terms.

Can add your own terms.

Citators

List subsequent cases, law review articles, statutes, and other secondary sources that refer to an earlier case.

Way of tracking how a case has been used subsequently by courts, legislatures or commentators

So What?

Uses for Citators

Subsequent appellate history of your specific case

Subsequent validity of your case (upheld or followed, overruled in full or in part,

distinguished)

Discussion of your case in subsequent cases

Discussion of your case in secondary sources

Shepard’s lays out the subsequent history of the case, providing links to each decision

Westlaw also provides a graphical view of the history of your case

Using Online Citators

Lexis – Shepard’s

Westlaw – KeyCite

Current, no need for updating with additional steps

Links to case citations and secondary sources

*LSU Law Library no longer has an updating method in print!

Using Online Citators

Results can be sorted and narrowed very easily Sort by negative/positive treatment

Depth of treatment

Jurisdiction

Add additional search terms to narrow retrieved cases

How to Shepardize

2 ways to Shepardize

Directly from a case

From Shepard’s tab on opening Lexis screen with case citation

Shepardize directly from your case.

Shepardize directly from Shepard’s tab

Select Shepard’s for Research for more hits – all citing decisions. You can switch between these on results page by clicking between KWIC and FULL.

Either way, you will come to this page showing the citation history for your case. Note the breakdown of treatment.

Shepard’s lists prior and subsequent appellate history and then lists citing decisions. Under citing decisions, highest level of court is listed first, and federal before state courts.

Quick ways to limit Shepard’s display. Top line allows you to go to negative, positive and focus results. Shepard’s summary permits you to go immediately to specific types of treatment.

Focus – very powerful tool to limit Shepard’s display

Many options for limiting display. Types of analysis, focus terms, jurisdictions. Scroll down for more.

How to KeyCite

2 ways to KeyCite: Directly from a case

From KeyCite search box on opening Westlaw screen using case citation

“Full history” results give direct history of case, but not many citing references

“Citing references” results do not give direct history of case, but includes references to all citing cases.

*you will often end up looking at both!

Option 1: KeyCite directly from your case. Note you can select “full history” or “citing references”.

Option 2: KeyCite box located on main Westlaw screen on side tab

KeyCite screen comes up. Note that you are brought to “full history” results. This gives you direct case history. To see all citing cases, you must select “citing references” option.

Many more cases referenced, but note that direct history of this case is no longer displayed.

KeyCite Limits

Limit results by: Jurisdiction Depth of treatment Search terms Date Headnote (Topic and Key Number)

Must be in “citing references” display to use KeyCite limits

Limiting KeyCite display. Must be in “Citing References”.

Ways to limit are located on left hand vertical bar.

Locate lets you add additional search terms

KeyCite lets you even look at some foreign jurisdictions