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Principles of Legal Research Fall 2008 Week 3: September 22-26

This course covers the fundamentals of legal research, including the study of jurisprudence, how case law is published, the anatomy of a case, and various methods for finding cases. Topics also include an introduction to the Canadian Abridgment and exercises to reinforce the learning.

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Principles of Legal Research Fall 2008 Week 3: September 22-26

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  1. Principles of Legal ResearchFall 2008Week 3: September 22-26 Cecilia Tellis, Law Librarian Brian Dickson Law Library

  2. Outline • Jurisprudence • how case law is published • Anatomy of a case • Exercise • Case law reporters • How to find cases • Various methods • Introduction to the Canadian Abridgment • Exercise

  3. Jurisprudence • Definition: the body of case law on a topic • Judicial decision rendered by a judicial or administrative court is always documented but not necessarily published • Reported = published in a case law reporter • Unreported = will not appear in a printed format in a reporter

  4. Unreported decisions • Often available in online legal research services like Quicklaw and WestlaweCarswell • Can sometimes be obtained from the specific court

  5. How are cases selected for publication? • Criteria can vary from publisher to publisher • E.g. the Ontario Reports cases are selected based on whether the case: • Makes new law by dealing with a novel situation or by extending the application of existing principles • Includes a modern judicial restatement of established principles • Clarifies conflicting decisions of lower courts, etc.

  6. Case law reporters • extensive duplication between report series (i.e. the same case may be reported in several law report series) • Parallel citations R. v. Sparrow, 46 B.C.L.R. (2d) 1, [1990] 4 W.W.R. 410, 56 C.C.C. (3d) 263, 70 D.L.R. (4th) 385, [1990] 1 S.C.R. 1075, 111 N.R. 241, [1990] 3 C.N.L.R. 160 7 citations to the same case

  7. Case law reporters Two main categories: • General law reports: • Decisions from a specific court • Several courts w/in a specific jurisdiction • Several courts w/in several jurisdictions • Specialized law reports • Include decisions discussing specific subjects of law independent of court or jurisdiction

  8. Anatomy of a case Typically a published case consists of the following sections: • Style of Cause: e.g. R. v. Casarello – names of the parties to the legal dispute • Preliminary information: court name, judge(s) who heard the case, date of the decision's release • Catchlines/Catchwords: phrases and key words separated by dashes that describe the legal issues and the facts of the case

  9. Anatomy of a case (cont’d) • Headnote: summary of the facts, issues and reasons for the decision • Authorities referred to: cases, statutes and secondary sources consulted or referred to • History of the case: if this is not the first hearing of the case, prior history will be given • Decision(s): decisions or written reasons of the judges who heard the case appear following all of the above preliminary information.

  10. Exercise – Anatomy of a case • Work in groups of 2 or 3

  11. How do I find cases? • Consult secondary sources • Textbooks • Table of cases • Encyclopedias • e.g. Canadian Encyclopedic Digest • Annotated codes • e.g. Modern First Nations legislation annotated

  12. How do I find cases? (cont’d) • Using the Canadian Abridgment and similar research tools that list cases by style of cause or subject • Read summaries or digests of cases

  13. What about ? • Sometimes works • for very famous cases • to verify a citation • But… • depends on the jurisdiction • depends on year of decision • usually too many hits • Better to try a legal database • Canadian Legal Information Institute: Canlii.org • Other Legal Information Institutes • Quicklaw or WestlaweCarswell or relevant DB for your jurisdiction

  14. Digests • A digest is a short concise summary of the court decision made soon after its release. • Commonly used digest services: • All Canada Weekly Summaries • Weekly Criminal Bulletin • Lawyers' Weekly case digests • Canadian Case Summaries • Canadian Abridgment case digests

  15. Case digests • Read the 'digest' or summary of the case then note the citation to the full-text

  16. Introduction to the Canadian Abridgment • Published by Thomson Carswell, the Canadian Abridgment is a comprehensive multi-volume research tool for Canadian Law • includes all reported decisions, as well as some unreported ones • Does not include decisions on Quebec Civil Law

  17. What can I find by using the Abridgment? • Case Digests • To find case law by legal issues / topics • Consolidated Table of Cases • Case law by the case name

  18. What can I find by using the Abridgment?(cont’d) • Canadian Case Citations • contain the citations, history, and judicial treatment of cases by Canadian courts and tribunals • Canadian Statute Citations • judicial considerations of statutes and rules of practice • Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts and Tribunals • judicial interpretation of words and phrases from all areas of law

  19. What can I find by using the Abridgment?(cont’d) • Canadian Current Law • To find the legislative history of statutes, regulations and bills • Index to Canadian Legal Literature • books, articles, case comments

  20. The General Indexlists the key legal concepts arising out of the digests The Key & Research Guide is the Abridgment’s Table of Contents To find your legal issue in the Digests

  21. Classification Scheme: example • Torts • XX. Trespass • 2. Trespass to land • C. Particular situations of trespass • i. Landlord and tenant Volume 115 (3rd edition)

  22. How is theGeneral Index organized? • This is organized alphabetically by keyword, with citations to the corresponding key numbers in the main work. 

  23. Excerpt from the General Index Certified cheque – see Cheques, accepted or certified cheques Certiorari in civil matters discretion of court to refuse availability of other remedy, ADM 1.3470-3501 Cross-reference Main topic Sub-topic Subdivision of sub-topic Further subdivision with locators key number

  24. Case Law: by case name • Consolidated Table of Cases - • main volumes • Consolidated Table of Cases – • supplement volumes • Canadian Current Law: Case digests • monthly issues

  25. 1 212 Case Law: by legal issue / topic • Case Digest Search 1. Main Case Digest volumes 2. Case Digest supplement volumes 3. Canadian Current Law: Case Digests monthly issues (not shown) 3rd edition 2nd edition

  26. Summary • Cases – reported or unreported • General & specialized reporters • Canadian Abridgment • comprehensive research tool • complex, but worth understanding

  27. Canadian Abridgment Exercise • Work in groups of 3 • Work with one part of the Abridgment for 5-10 minutes • Swap volumes with another group to finish up the other questions • Will continue exercise the following week

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