Transcript SHEPARDS CITATIONS

Shepard’s Citations and
Other Citators
Is the
Authority
Still Good Law?
What are Citators?
A citator is a tool to discover whether the
authority in which you wish to rely has been
cited elsewhere, and if so, how it has been
treated by other authorities.
Validation -- a tool to check the status of the
authority: “Is case or statute still good law?”
Has the case’s status changed since it was
published? Reversed on appeal or overruled?
Has the statute or regulation been amended,
repealed, or found unconstitutional?
Citator Functions
Functions as a case finding tool to expand
your research.
Find cases on similar issues.
Trace references to specific headnotes.
Find references to secondary resources.
Law Reviews/Journals and A.L.R. Annotations.
Shepard’s Citations . . .
Shepard’s is the most frequently used print
citator used by the legal profession.
Shepard’s lists every instance in which a
legal authority has been cited by another
legal authority.
To access Shepard’s, you must have a
CITATION to a legal authority.
Learning to Shepardize is a rite of passage.
Formats
Shepard’s Citations are available
in a variety of formats:
Print
Exclusively on LEXIS online database.
WESTLAW citator service is called
KEYCITE.
Electronically on CD-ROM
Online v. Print
Advantages online:
Includes unpublished decisions.
Includes all law reviews/journals in the
Lexis.com system.
Statutory annotations are linked directly
to cases.
More comprehensive scope of citing
references.
Where are the print Shepard’s
citators located at FCSL?
Shepard’s Citations in print are located in
the Reference Room on aisles 106 - 108.
Be sure to pick the correct Shepard’s.
They ALL look alike!
Available
Shepard’s Citations . . .
Over 200 different units of Shepard’s Citations are
published in print.
Examples include:
Shepard’s United States Citations for United States
Supreme Court decisions.
Shepard’s Federal Citations for U.S. District Court and
Court of Appeals opinions.
State cases may be Shepardized in state and/or
regional citators.
 The exact coverage in each citator type is
different.
Types of Shepard’s
Jurisdictional Shepard’s -- state, regional,
or federal. Coverage varies. Consult
appropriate divisions.
State Reporters – shows citations of the
official state reporter, selected leading law
reviews, annotations, and federal court cases
for that particular state.
Regional Reporters – cites to all state cases
in that component of the NRS.
There are no citations to law reviews or statutes.
More types of Shepard’s
Topical
Covers specific areas of law or type of
tool. Examples include:
Law reviews, C.F.R., and Restatements.
Or by subject area -- administrative law,
bankruptcy, labor, tax, intellectual property
(copyrights, patents and trademarks).
What makes Shepard’s
SO Special?
The print version uses a unique citation
style. Definitely NOT in Bluebook format!
833 F. Supp. 1028 = 833FS1028
 Editorial citations and treatment letters
appear in a “secret code” to the uninitiated!
Abbreviations and symbols signal how an
authority has been treated or interpreted by
other authorities.
So what does Shepards look
like??
Next slide is an example from Print
Shepards for the Pacific Reporter 2d
series.
The Slide following that is an example
form Print Shepards for Michigan Statutes.
So what is the objective of
this “secret code?”
To convey as much
information as possible in
the least amount of space!
Now, the fun part!
Using Shepard’s
in print . . .
STEP ONE:
Select the CORRECT citator.
Federal citators -- Shepard’s Federal Citations
and Shepard’s United States Citations.
Jurisdictional citators -- State and regional
citators. Regional citators do not include statute
and other non-case legal authorities as cited
references.
Specialized citators -- Specialized Federal
Practice Citators (labor, bankruptcy), Shepard’s
Uniform Commercial Code Citations, among
many others.
STEP TWO:
Check for the most current
and complete edition.
Check the most RECENTLY issued
supplement and consult the information
on the cover:
“What Your Library Should Contain.”
Each Shepards volume covers a specific
period of time and they are NOT cumulative
You MUST check all applicable bound
volumes, softbound supplements, and
updates listed under this section!!
Step Two (continued)
To completely Shepardize a case you may
have to look in several or all of these:
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maroon bound volumes
maroon bound supplements
red paperback cumulative supplements
gold annual or semi-annual supplements
white advance sheets
blue express issues.
STEP THREE:
Understand the Citator.
Learn about its scope of coverage and unique
features.
Read the preface – it describes important
features of that particular citator.
Notice the “Case Analysis - Abbreviations”
How To Use . . . Work through the example.
Illustrative example. Practice, practice, practice!
STEP FOUR: Find the citation
in the citator
1. THE RIGHT DIVISION -- look for your
reporter
2. VOLUME NUMBER -- located on the
top of the page and in easy-to-find boxes.
3. CASE PAGE NUMBER scan for page
number in bold, between dashes.
4. REPEAT STEPS A - C in each
publication listed in “What Your Library
Should Contain” section.
Be METHODICAL!!
STEP FIVE
Interpreting the entries.
See “Case Analysis – abbreviations”
History of the cited case and citations to other authorities
citing the case.
Editorial analysis in letter-form abbreviations.
Be especially alert for negative treatment codes
• “o” for overruled
• “r” for reversed.
Often located in the inside covers.
Note Headnotes -- raised superscripts preceding the
citing case’s page number.
 Citing references are organized by jurisdiction and
court.
REMEMBER . . .
All abbreviations are
defined in the
introductory material!!
You do not have to
memorize them, just
know where to look!!
Shepard’s for case law
Summary
Fairly mechanical process, not that difficult,
once you have practice it, but EXTREMELY
important.
Tool used to validate your research and find
precedential authorities.
Part of the ethical obligation to provide
competent representation.
Remember, learning to Shepardize in print is
a rite of passage for all law practitioners!
Shepard’s for statutes.
The process is the same!
STEP ONE: select the right citator.
STEP TWO: check the “What your Library
Should Contain” in the current update.
STEP THREE: Shepardize cite in all volumes.
STEP FOUR: while consulting Table of
Abbrevations, the preface, and “Statute
Analysis - Abbreviations”
STEP FIVE: interpret information found.
Shepard’s for statutes . . .
Read the introductory material!!
And note the treatment and history
signals are different than cases
Consult the “Statute Analysis - Abbreviations”
More help is available for
Using Shepard’s
Check out the Shepard’s tutorial on LexisNexis.
You do not need a Lexis password to do the
tutorial! Pick the one on Updating.
Review the illustrative examples located in the
print versions.
ASK A LIBRARIAN for help!