LPAB ‘All in One’ Legal Research Class – May 2013

Session Aims

• Interpret all types of citations from your reading lists

• Find cases, legislation and journal articles

• Locate additional resources for legal research

Material Type Use

Cases Primary source: authoritative record of the law – decisions of the courts.

Legislation Primary source: authoritative record of the law – law made by Parliament. Eg. Acts & Regulations

Books, Reports Secondary sources. Can provide background, introductory or sometimes, comprehensive coverage of an area of the law. Textbooks can also explain the significance of some cases.

Journal Articles, conference papers

Secondary sources. Discussion of legal issues or background information - often in relation to specific cases.

Legal Dictionaries & Encyclopaedias

Secondary sources. Provide legal definitions and basic overviews of specific terms or areas of the law.

Types of Material

Supplementary Materials

• via LEC Web Campus site or Law Library’s ‘LPAB Students’ link

• If source is available via a free web site you will be linked directly to that site

• If source is available via a subscription database you will need to enter your Unikey

• Select ‘Documents and Markups’ setting to maintain highlighting of extracts.

Interpreting a case citation

• Two main types of case citation- Law report citation- Medium neutral citation (court)

Swain v Waverley Municipal Council

(2005) 220 CLR 517 – law report

[2005] HCA 4 – medium neutral

Steps for Finding cases:

• What is the abbreviation?? (see Law Library – Free Web Law – Legal Abbreviations)

• Australian or UK or other??

• Law report or medium neutral citation

Steps for Finding cases (cont):

• Law Report: Law Databases – Cases – Law Reports A to Z

• Medium Neutral Citation

Law Databases – Cases - AustLII

• UK case - Law Databases – J -Justis

CaseBase and FirstPoint

• To obtain extra information about a case

• To find cases by subject

Basic Boolean connectors:

AND – combining concepts Eg. murder and defences

OR – for similar concepts and synonymsEg. murder OR manslaughter

NOT (sometimes AND NOT) – leaving out conceptsEg. Murder NOT provocation

Legislation

• Bills

•Statutes

•Delegated Legislation

•Related Parliamentary materials

Bills

Bills are a draft of a proposed

statute.

Example:

• Civil Liability Bill 2002 (NSW) cl 16.

Acts / Statutes

Terms are interchangeable – refer

to enactments of Parliament

Example:

• Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) s 5L(1)

Types of ActsTwo main types:

Principal Act:

An Act that deals comprehensively

with a given area of law.

Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW)

Amending Act

An Act that alters the operation of

an earlier Act by:

- substituting or inserting words

- omitting or repealing provisions

Civil Liability Amendment Act

2006 (NSW)

Delegated LegislationExamples include:

regulations, rules, ordinances, by-laws

Laws made by a person or body to

whom Parliament has delegated

law-making authority.

Civil Liability Regulation 2009 (NSW)

Finding Acts and Delegated Legislation

Commonwealth Legislation

• AustLII

• ComLaw

NSW Legislation

• AustLII

• NSW Parliamentary Counsel’s Office

Books

Different legal citation guides use different

modes of citation….

• Aitken & Orr (eds.), The Australian Constitution, 3rd ed. Australian Government Solicitor, 2002

• Patrick Parkinson, Tradition and Change in Australian Law, (4th ed, 2005)

Books: Dewey for Law

An example:

340 Law (generally)340.072 Legal research

340.072094 Legal research in Australia

Finding a book on the shelf

• Remember to deal with each part of the number separately then move on to the next

3421

342.011

342.012

342.021

342.11

342.1091

342.121

Journal articles

Different legal citation guides use different

modes of citation….

• P. W. Young, Dismissal of Judges (1993) 67 ALJ 83.

• Anita Stuhmcke, ‘Privatisation and cooperation : what now for the Commonwealth Ombudsman?’ (2004) 11(2) Australian Journal of Administrative Law 101.

Finding Journal Articles

• When you already have a citation

- ‘Journal’ search on library catalogue. Search title of journal NOT title of article

• Searching for journal articles by subject

-Law Databases – Journal databases and news Services – eg. AGIS Plus Text (Australia) and LegalTrac (international)

Basic Boolean connectors:

AND – combining concepts Eg. murder and defences

OR – for similar concepts and synonymsEg. murder OR manslaughter

NOT (sometimes AND NOT) – leaving out conceptsEg. Murder NOT provocation

Legal Encyclopaedias

• Go to:

Law Databases – Comprehensive Legal Research

• Two major legal encyclopaedias

-Halsbury’s Laws of Australia-Laws of Australia

Interpreting a case citation

• Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760

• Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61

• R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682

• Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: the parties

• Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760

• Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61

• R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682

• Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: year of the judgment

• Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760

• Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61

• R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682

• Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: year of publication - for law report citations with square brackets

• Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760

• Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61

• R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682

• Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: report details

• Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760

• Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61

• R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682

• Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Square and round brackets

• Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760

• R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681

All ER[1969]

2

All ER[1970]

1

All ER[1970]

2

All ER[1971]

1

All ER [1971]

2

All ER[1972]

1

NSWLR

44

NSWLR

45

NSWLR

46

NSWLR

47

NSWLR

48

NSWLR

49

Case citations: pinpoint citations

• Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760

• Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61

• R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682

• Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Case citations: medium neutral citations

• Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760

• Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61

• R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682

• Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6

Medium Neutral Citation

Ugle v The Queen [2002] HCA 25 at [53]

Parties Year Court Decision No.

More law report citations

Waterhouse v Hickie

(1995) Aust Torts Reports ¶ 81-347

Criminal Cases

R v Milat (1996) 87 A Crim R 446

OR:

Milat (1996) 87 A Crim R 446

Popular Names

Commonwealth v Tasmania

(The Tasmanian Dam Case)

(1983) 158 CLR 1