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Chapter 15

Chapter 15. Finding the Law. Steps to Legal Research. Identify search terms These are terms you’ll use to find the topic in the indexes Go to secondary authority Contains information about the law Don’t cite secondary authorities Go to primary authority

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Chapter 15

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  1. Chapter 15 Finding the Law

  2. Steps to Legal Research • Identify search terms • These are terms you’ll use to find the topic in the indexes • Go to secondary authority • Contains information about the law • Don’t cite secondary authorities • Go to primary authority • The law itself – statutes, court opinions • Update research • Decide when to stop researching

  3. Spot the Issues – Search Terms • Fact Pattern: An old man who is very ill and near death makes an oral contract with his nephew. The terms of the contract are that the uncle will immediately give his nephew all of his life savings - $100,000 - in return for the nephew's promise to provide food and shelter for the old man until the man dies. The nephew takes the money and supports the old man at a cost of $10,000 a year. The old man lives longer than expected and is still alive after fifteen years, at which point the nephew cuts the old man off without further support. • What are some search terms you would use to research this issue?

  4. Spot the Issues – Search Terms • Fact Pattern: Just as the sun is setting one night, Carl sees that the door to Vince's house is ajar. Carl knows that Vince has a home office in which there is expensive computer equipment. Carl pushes the unlocked door open, walks into the house and steals Vince's computer equipment that is valued at well over $5000.

  5. Secondary Authority • Encyclopedias • Summarizes the law • American Jurisprudence (Am. Jur. 2d) • Corpus JurisSecundum (C.J.S.) • California Jurisprudence (Cal. Jur. 2d) • Broken down into topics • Treatise • Summarizes, interprets and evaluates the law • Periodicals and Newspapers • Law reviews, journals • American Law Reports (A.L.R.) • Provides jurisdictional information on specific topics

  6. Primary Authority • Statutes • Federal Statutues: United States Code • Use annotated codes published by West or Lexis • West’s Annotated Codes • Deerings Annotated Codes • Start with the index using search terms • Annotated codes will give additional information • References to secondary authority • Cases that interpret statutes • Finding up-to-date information

  7. Primary Authority • Court Opinions • Published in “Reports” and “Reporters” by Lexis and West • West Headnotes & Key Number System • Finding cases • Citation • Digests • Collection of court decision summaries arranged by subject matter

  8. Updating Research • Check Pocket Parts or Pocket Supplements • Shepard’s Citations • Use to find subsequent history for cases or statutes or other authority • West - KeyCite

  9. Online Research • Lexis • Westlaw • Loislaw • How to search using electronic databases

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