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Anatomy of a Case and Basic Case Citation Orientation Fall 2017

Learn the basic structure of an American legal opinion and how to cite it properly. Understand the importance of a case citation and how to find the rule of law and predict future outcomes.

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Anatomy of a Case and Basic Case Citation Orientation Fall 2017

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  1. Anatomy of a Case and Basic Case Citation Orientation Fall 2017 An Introduction to What You Will Read and How You Will Cite It

  2. Today’s Objectives • Basic Structure of an American Legal Opinion • Basic Citation Forms- Beating the Blue Book

  3. A Case– what is it?

  4. A Case Is a Legal Opinion • Written for someone other than you • Presumes knowledge of the law • Focused on resolution of a particular circumstance • Becomes part of the “law”

  5. Our Task …. • Understand case structure • Save time • Work smart • Use the case • Find the rule of law • Understand the court’s thinking to predict future outcomes • Tool for additional research

  6. Sidebar--- What gets published?

  7. Let’s take a tour through our orientation case… • How did the case arise? • Need for resolution • What is backdrop of our case at hand? • Let’s see!

  8. The Backstory…

  9. Caption

  10. 88 F. Supp. 2d 116

  11. 88 F. Supp. 2d 116, 118

  12. U.S. District Court for S.D.N.Y. -- 13 appellate courts (U.S. Court of Appeals) sit below the U.S. Supreme Court-- 94 federal judicial district courts.

  13. Why do we care what court issued the decision? • Stare Decisis • “Lat. To stand by decided cases; to uphold precedents; to maintain former adjudications.” Black's Law Dictionary citing 1 Kent, Comm. 477. • Mandatory Authority • Cite must tell us what weight the reader should give it. • Insert the Blackboard and Maureen’s Bad Drawing…

  14. Nos. 96 Civ. 5320(KMW), 96 Civ. 9069(KMW).

  15. What is this?

  16. Headnotes-- Substance • Summarize • Who writes them? • Lexis v. Westlaw • Can you cite them?

  17. Headnotes-- Components

  18. OR…

  19. Why are they useful?

  20. Page 7 of case---

  21. Pinpoint &Structure--Page 3…

  22. Page 6…

  23. Page 15…

  24. Yet?

  25. Read, Understand, Digest, Rest

  26. Using the case to find more cases… • Common law v. civil law • Precedent • Rule synthesis • Use case to find a case

  27. How do you do it? (Page 1)

  28. Use the Key Numbers (West) or Headnotes (Lexis)

  29. Courts cite cases too… (Page 14)

  30. Much to discover without even reading the case… Now onto….

  31. Yet?

  32. Creation of the Case Citation

  33. Creating a Case Citation • Most students and case citation….

  34. What is Legal Citation? • Method which lawyers refer to sources that they rely upon when writing. • Identifies the location of a particular source

  35. Resources for Citation • THE BLUEBOOK: A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF • CITATION (Columbia Law Review Ass'n et al. eds., 20th ed. (2015) ("BLUEBOOK").

  36. Other Sources • ALWD • Online resources • http://www.bu.edu/av/lawlibrary/9781467906265.pdf • BU Library Guide to Legal Citation– note 19th edition.

  37. Basic Case Citation • Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). • Case names • Last name of each party as first name on both sides of the “v.” • Notice- no “State of” (economy of words) • Other elements

  38. Our Favorite Case …. • Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., 88 F. Supp. 2d 116 (S.D.N.Y. 1999). • What info does this give us? • Note- spacing

  39. Short Citation Forms

  40. Enacted Law--- Citing to Statues • Generally includes: • Title, chapter or subject area • Statutory complication in which section is found • Section number itself • Year of the code • Entire statute- • Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. §§ 77a-77aa (2006). • Single statutory provision • 28 U.S.C. § 1367 (2006). • State Statutes • Vary widely by state. Must check Blue Book T1.

  41. When in doubt– cite.A non-conforming cite is better than no cite at all.

  42. Bottom line…. • Do what you can • Use your resources!

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