Transcript Document

What You Always
Wanted to Know
About Legal Research *
*But Were Afraid to Ask
Overarching Themes
•Update
•Take
advantage of
the work of
others
•Use help
services
Acronyms & Words
•Bieber’s
•Bluebook
•Black’s &
general
dictionaries
•Words &
Phrases
Leave It to Bieber’s
•Dictionary of
Legal
Abbreviations
•Dictionary of
Legal Citations
The Bluebook
• Blue pages
• Tables &
abbreviations
• Jurisdictionspecific
• Courts,
documents,
states,
periodicals,
services
Words and Phrases
• Judicially defined
• Nationwide
• Annual pocket
parts
• Westlaw: search
cases or statutes,
field WP (term)
Unfamiliar Topic
• Find a research
guide
• Consult a
treatise
• Check ALR or
Causes of Action
• Read a law
review article
Treat-ises
Scholarly
Comprehensive
Authoritative
• Corbin on
Contracts
• Nimmer on
Copyright
Washington
• Wash. Practice
• Wash. Lawyers
Practice Manual
• WSBA deskbooks
(Loislaw)
• Wash. Legal
Researcher’s
Deskbook 3d
Fact Pattern
•American
Law Reports
•Causes of
Action (tortbased)
Law Reviews
• Index vs fulltext
• Hein Online for
“historic” articles
• Shepard’s &
Keycite
• Annotated
codes
Forms
•Formbook
collections
•LexisNexis &
Westlaw
databases
•Office
boilerplate
Facts
•Public
libraries
–Seattle
Public
–Internet
Public
Library
•Almanacs
Constitutions
•Initial
volumes of
statutory
codes
•Annotated
codes cite to
law review
articles &
cases
Statutes
•Easier to read
in print
•Easier to
update online
•Popular
names
•Tables
Effective Dates
Washington
• 90 days after
adjournment
• Laws of Wash.
• RCWA tables &
pocket parts
United States
• Presidential
signature OR as
stated in the act
• Statutes at Large
• USC, USCA &
USCS
Legislative History
Shortcuts
• USCCAN
• LexisNexis
Congressional
• LexisNexis &
Westlaw
• Bibliographies
50 State Surveys
• M-H Law Digest
• National Survey
of State Laws
• Subject
Compilations of
State Laws
• Uniform Laws
Annotated
Caselaw
•One good
case
•Secondary
sources
•Update
online
Missile - any
•
•
•
•
Admin. decisions
Court rules
Ethics opinions
Judicial
biographies
• Jury instructions
• Jury verdicts
Bag ‘O Tricks
•How to use a
new source
•Smaller,
targeted
databases
•System as a
citator
Paper Trail
•CALR
searches
•Internet
finds
•Citator
checks
•Dead ends
Stop When . . .
• You have found
the answer
• The cost exceeds
the benefit
• Multiple sources
cite the same
authorities
Kindness of Strangers