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Understanding Case Law and the Judicial System

Learn about the sources of law, case law creation by judges, publication of opinions, finding case law, and judicial branch business. Explore alternative resources like court briefs and administrative agency decisions.

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Understanding Case Law and the Judicial System

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  1. Judicial Branch Publications Peggy Roebuck Jarrett, guest lecturer http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/judbranch.html

  2. Sources of Law • Statutes passed by legislative bodies • Regulations promulgated by administrative agencies • Case law created by judges • Constitutions

  3. Case Law • Created by judges in the course of resolving disputes • The written resolution of the issues • The words “case,” “opinion,” and “decision” are often used interchangeably • Not a jury verdict

  4. Opinions and the Court System • A generic court system consists of • trial courts • intermediate appellate courts • the appellate court of last resort • Specialized courts • Courts of limited jurisdiction

  5. The Federal Court System • U.S. Supreme Court • U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals • U.S. District Courts • Bankruptcy Courts • Courts of Special Jurisdiction • Federal Claims, Int’l Trade, Tax, Veterans Claims, Armed Forces

  6. Publication of Opinions • Only opinions of precedential value are published in reporters • Precedent allows similarly situated people to be treated the same • Published v. unpublished • Some courts allow citations to unpublished opinions in briefs

  7. Publication of Opinions • United States Reports only major reporter in Federal Depository Library Program • Lower federal court and state appellate opinions are commercially published • Some states have official reporters • Opinions in commercial reporters are primary law

  8. How to Find Case Law • Use Free Law Online to find free sites • Use a commercial database, such as LexisNexis Academic(UW restricted) • Use an annotated code • Use secondary sources

  9. Update, Update, Update • Reversed or overruled opinions are not deleted from reporters or databases • Use Keycite or Shepard’s

  10. Free Sites for Case Finding • Washington State Courts • LegalWa.org • U.S. Supreme Court • Official site • Cornell Legal Information Institute • FindLaw • GPO just has bulk data from 1937-1975

  11. Free Sites for Case Finding • U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals and States other than Washington • Federal and State court websites • FindLaw • Public Library of Law • Google Scholar • U.S. District Courts • Google Scholar

  12. LexisNexis Academic • Federal: all published appellate and district court cases • State: all available appellate court cases • Shepard’s Citations • Finding tools: secondary sources and annotated codes • UW Restricted

  13. Google Scholar • US Supreme Court cases, 1791-date • Federal district, appellate, tax, and bankruptcy cases, 1923-date • State cases, 1950-date • Cons: unknown source(s) • Pros: it’s Google

  14. GPO-AOUSC Pilot • US Court Opinions on FDsys • 2011 pilot – 28 courts • 2012 – approved for all courts • Implementation schedule TBA • Authenticated • 2004 – date

  15. PACER • Public Access to Court Electronic Records • Case and docket information from Federal courts • Fee-based • PACER Service Center

  16. PACER & the FDLP • First Pilot • Limited number of libraries • Free • Suspended early • Second Pilot • “Access and Education Program” • Libraries train public, for a credit • Public users still need account

  17. Alternatives to PACER • RECAP: Turning PACER Around • Firefox extension • PACER results go to the RECAP archive • Archive is not authenticated (but it’s free) • Bloomberg Law

  18. Court Briefs & Oral Arguments • Briefs are written arguments submitted to an appellate court • Larger law libraries may have paper or microfiche • Patrons may need to obtain them directly from the court clerk • Some briefs & oral arguments are online

  19. Court Briefs & Oral Arguments • Audio of U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments at Oyez • Audio (and some video) of Washington State Supreme Court at TVW • Gallagher Law Library, Briefs & Oral Arguments

  20. Judicial Branch Business • Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts • Federal Judicial Center • Judicial Conference of the U.S. Courts • Reports, studies, monographs, newsletters, and statistics

  21. US Sentencing Commission • Develops guidelines for sentencing in Federal courts • In 2005 US Supreme Court made guidelines advisory, not mandatory • USSC Home

  22. Administrative Agency Decisions • Most administrative agencies have a quasi-judicial function • Decide (adjudicate) individual cases arising from the application of their rules and regulations • Few agency decisions are distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program

  23. Administrative Agency Decisions • Administrative Decisions & Other Actions (UVA) • Washington State Administrative Decisions (Gallagher) • LLMC Digital(UW Restricted) • HeinOnline(UW Restricted) • Use web and law library print resources

  24. Gallagher Law Library • We are located on L1 and L2 (lower level) of William H. Gates Hall. We are open to the public! • Home • U.S. Government Publications • Free Law Online • Legal Research Guides • Judicial Branch Publications • Ask Us!

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