Download - Judicial Branch Publications
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Judicial Branch Publications
Peggy Roebuck Jarrett, guest lecturer
http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/judbranch.html
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Sources of Primary Law
Statutes passed by legislative bodies Regulations promulgated by
administrative agencies Case law created by judges Constitutions
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Case Law: Why
U.S. is a common law country An evolving body of doctrine
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Case Law: What
Primary law Created by judges in the course of
resolving disputes The written resolution of the issues The words “case,” “opinion,” and
“decision” are often used interchangeably
Not a jury verdict
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Publication of Opinions
Only opinions of precedential value are published in reporters Precedent allows similarly situated
people to be treated the same Published v. unpublished matters, not
official v. unofficial Some courts allow citations to
unpublished opinions in briefs
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Publication of Opinions
United States Reports only major reporter in Federal Depository Library Program
Lower federal court and state appellate opinions are commercially published
Some states have official reporters Opinions in commercial reporters are
primary law
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Opinions and the Court System
A generic court system consists of trial courts intermediate appellate courts the appellate court of last resort
Specialized courts Courts of limited jurisdiction
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Opinions and the Court System
Where do reported cases come from? State: appellate courts Federal: appellate plus some trial courts
In a jury trial, there is nothing to “report” except a verdict
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Court Systems
Washington State Courts Federal Courts
Home Federal Court Locator U.S. Court Locator
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Washington State Courts
Supreme Court Court of Appeals
3 divisions Superior Courts
by county Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
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The Federal Court System
U.S. Supreme Court U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals
Washington State is in the 9th Circuit U.S. District Courts
Western and Eastern District of Washington
Bankruptcy handled by special district courts
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Specialized Federal Courts
U.S. Court of Federal Claims handles claims against the federal government
Court of International Trade deals with international trade and customs
U.S. Tax Court U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed F
orces U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Cl
aims
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How to Find Case Law
Use Internet Legal Resources to find free sites
Use a commercial database, such as LexisNexis Academic (UW restricted)
Use an annotated code Use secondary sources
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How to Find Case Law
Update, update, update Reversed or overruled opinions are not
deleted from reporters or databases Use Keycite or Shepard’s
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Best Free Sites for Case Finding
Washington State Courts LegalWa.org
U.S. Supreme Court Official site Cornell Legal Information Institute FindLaw GPO just has bulk data from 1937-1975
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Other Places to Look for Cases
U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals and States other than Washington Federal and State court websites FindLaw Public Library of Law Google Scholar
U.S. District Courts Google Scholar
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Google Scholar
Start with Advanced Scholar Search Limit by jurisdiction Limit by date
Includes West reporter citations Disadvantage: “how cited” is not a
case verification tool Advantage: free text, includes
Federal District Court opinions!
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LexisNexis Academic
Federal: all published appellate and district court cases
State: all available appellate court cases
Shepard’s Citations Finding tools: secondary sources and
annotated codes UW Restricted
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Court Briefs & Oral Arguments
Briefs are written arguments submitted to an appellate court
Larger law libraries may have paper or microfiche
Patrons may need to obtain them directly from the court clerk
Some briefs & oral arguments are online
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Court Briefs & Oral Arguments
Audio of U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments at Oyez
Audio (and some video) of Washington State Supreme Court at TVW
Gallagher Law Library, Briefs & Oral Arguments
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PACER
Public Access to Court Electronic Records
Case and docket information from Federal courts
Fee-based PACER Service Center Issues:
Not in FDLP Privacy
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Judicial Branch Business
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Federal Judicial Center Judicial Conference of the U.S. Courts Reports, studies, monographs,
newsletters, and statistics
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US Sentencing Commission
Develops guidelines for sentencing in Federal courts
In 2005 US Supreme Court made guidelines advisory, not mandatory
USSC Home
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Administrative Agency Decisions
Most administrative agencies have a quasi-judicial function
Decide (adjudicate) individual cases arising from the application of their rules and regulations
Few agency decisions are distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program
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Administrative Agency Decisions
Administrative Decisions & Other Actions (UVA)
Washington State Administrative Decisions (Gallagher)
LLMC Digital (UW Restricted) HeinOnline (UW Restricted) Use web and law library print
resources
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Gallagher Law Library
We are located on L1 and L2 (lower level) of William H. Gates Hall. We are open to the public!
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