The judicial branch can only exercise judicial powers and only perform judicial work. However, the interpretation of what is "judicial work" may vary widely. In theory, the courts cannot be called upon to make laws and cannot be called upon to enforce and execute laws.
Federal judges are appointed for life [during good behavior]
but may be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors by the
legislative branch. To protect these judges from executive and
legislative branch interference or coercion, the compensation of
federal judges shall not be diminished during their
office
A legal authority may be primary or secondary. A case,
statute, or regulation that remains a precedent [supported by
governmental power] is a primary legal authority. A secondary
legal authority comments on the case, statute, or regulation with
some emphasis on its intent and legality, but is not supported by
governmental power. Law review articles or treatises are good
examples.
Case law is based on court decisions that interpret
statutory law, normally in state and federal appellate courts,
which establishes precedent and builds upon it. Case law is the
primary method of discovering the current status of statutes that
have been challenged in the courts. Because laws or statutes may
be vague in some aspect, implementation may lead to judicial
interpretation. The result will be case law or statutory law
after judicial interpretation. In some situations, parts of
statutes or whole statues will be found to be
unconstitutional.
An opinion is the rationale issued by a judge in
support of a decision.
As statutes and rules are interpreted (amended) by the courts, they become case law. Users may need statute, administrative and case law for a complete picture of the impact of legislation.
Case law is usually divided into criminal law and civil law
(rights and obligations between individuals as well as
organizations). Most legal research involves civil law.
Good law [applies to each type of law] is a case, statute,
regulation, or other legal authority that remains a precedent.
Bad law is a case, statute, regulation, or other legal authority
that is no longer a precedent.
Commonly Used Terms by the U.S. Courts provides good brief definitions.
Wex
is a collaborative legal dictionary and encyclopedia sponsored by the
Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. Good source for
translating legal/judicial terms and concepts.
Zimmerman's Research Guide is also an online encyclopedia for legal researchers.
Those wanting to keep an eye on case law information provision trends and issues
will bookmark and visit the LLRX
website. Also look at the LLRX
Guide.
Much broader in scope and much more retrospective, the Library of Congress Law Library is the largest legal library in the world. Especially useful for those interested in historical perspective.
Statutory law is original law enacted by an authorized body, here Congress. Laws become part of the code and remain in force until changed by the legislative body or challenged in the courts. When challenged in the Federal courts, they become case law when court decisions modify or change the statute.
Administrative law, sometimes called quasi-statutory law, consists of rules or regulations created and implemented by executive branch agencies as authorized by statutory law. Since statutory law is often vague on particulars, rules and regulations define the law. The have the force of law. If challenged in court, they become case law.
In Latin, "stare decisis" means "standing by the decision." This means that a a court must follow the decision of that earlier court if the issue addressed is substantially the same, even if many years have passed since the original decision. Prior decisions are rarely over-ruled because of the destabilizing effect, but this may happen with a substantial change in court membership. For example, the Supreme Court decision that segregated schools were unconstitutional over-ruled prior and well established decisions.
The Constitution briefly mentions the Supreme Court and such inferior courts as Congress my establish. Congress has considerable discretion in creating or changing the Federal judicial system.
The FindLaw
Constitutional Law Center provides an annotated Constitution,
commentary on notable topics, and historical background. There is
also a history of the Supreme Court. The Founder's
Constitution is another annotated version with line by line
comments and links.
These courts hear both criminal and civil cases, but are limited in the types of cases they will hear. They will hear cases where:
Congress may limit jurisdiction in some of these situations. For example, suits between citizens of different states may be heard in federal courts only if the amount involved is greater than $50,000.
The Federal courts are limited to the powers granted to the federal government by the Constitution. They cannot exercise executive or legislative powers although they are often accused of doing so. By interpreting statutes passed by Congress or rules implemented by the Executive branch, judicial decisions do change legislative and executive action. This is particularly true when the legislation or the regulation is poorly drafted and lacks specificity [often the case today].
Congress may alter Federal court decisions via legislation, but in a particular case the statute may be held unconstitutional by the court.
Federal judges are appointed by the President with the advice
and consent of the Senate. The majority party in the Senate may
withhold consent for nominations it dislikes or table nominations
until there is a change in the White House. The Republicans did
this during the Clinton Administration. The minority party may
also block nominations if it can filibuster.
In general, state courts have unlimited power subject only to the limitations of the U.S. constitution, their own state constitution, and state law. These courts hear most criminal and civil cases.
The structure has varied from time to time. With more and more legislation that "federalizes" criminal and some social behavior, the work load on Federal courts has increased substantially. Most courts lack the number of judges and support personnel to do what is needed. Because Senate approval of judges is so political, there is a substantial backlog in the appointment of judges.
Gretchen Feltes, New York University Law School, has prepared and revised an excellent Guide to the U.S. Federal Legal System Web-based Public Accessible Sources.
The best place to begin is the Official U.S. Courts website.
Good introductory and overview material plus links to the several
Federal Courts.
Fed Courts is a portal to U.S. federal courts. Easily used.
The Federal Judicial Center provides authoritative information on judges, and courts. The Biographical Database is especially useful.
A Journalist's Guide to the Federal Courts is an authoritative introduction from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
The serious student should read Understanding the Federal Courts which is an overview of the operation and administration of the Federal Courts. Includes coverage of the relationship between the courts and the other branches of government. Quite detailed and informative, but in the PDF format.
The serious student would then examine the History of the Federal
Judiciary produced by the Federal Judicial Center (FJC). Very
good information on judges (historical and current), legislative
histories of the various courts and circuits. There are even
annotated photographs of historic federal court houses. The
Federal Judicial Center also provides an excellent Federal Judges
Biographical Database for judges who have served on the
federal life-tenured courts since 1789. An excellent
resource.
LLRX's Web Guide to U.S. Supreme Court Research is first-rate. Thoughtful evaluation of relevant resources. LLRX also offers a an overview of Federal Court Records which can be most helpful.
The Emory Law
Library Federal Courts Finder. The Villanova Law School
provides a Federal Court locater which links geographic areas
to the Circuit Courts.
The annual print Judicial Staff Directory
lists all federal courts and state appellate courts plus circuit
and judicial district data on more than 14,000 counties and
cities. Content includes judges, clerks, administrators, marshals
and federal attorneys. Photographs and office responsibility and
appointment particulars add value. There is a fee-based online
edition.
Generally, the case is first heard in a District Court. That decision may be reviewed in a Court of Appeals where errors may be corrected. That decision may be reviewed by the Supreme Court if the case involves a matter of great national importance (the Supreme Court accepts only a few cases each term). The Supreme Court is likely to hear a case in which two or more Circuit courts have reached different results and a national standard is needed.
The losing party [but not the government if defendant found not guilty] may appeal a decision via a notice of appeal. The one who appeals is an appellant [petitioner if appealing from an administrative agency decision]. The burden is on the appealant to show that a substantial legal error was made in the previous decision. The court of appeals does not hear additional evidence or hear witnesses. Rather it examines the judicial record of the previous decision. Appeals are normally decided by three judge panels. Very few appeals are reviewed by the Supreme Court
Gail Partin has an excellent Web Guide to U.S. Supreme Court Research.
Curiae.law.yale.edu focuses on U.S. Supreme Court records and briefs. Includes a featured brief, a featured argument, most commonly cited cases and most frequently viewed cases.
Findlaw provides a comprehensive collection of decisions, docket information biographical information and much more.
The Legal Information Institute is especially useful for its collection of Court opinions. Good source for late-breaking Court decisions.
LexisONE [after free registration] provides access to full-text cases from 1790. Searchable by citation and keyword.
The Official Supreme Court Site includes much useful information, including the case docket that tracks all of the cases considered by the Court during the year. You will also find slip opinions of somewhat recent opinions, access to briefs for cases to be heard, a calendar, rules, press releases, biographical, historical, and general information.
The Oyez Project at Northwestern University has a wonderful Supreme Court website. Recordings of all oral arguments from 1995 are available. Some are now available as podcasts. Many other useful resources are available. The guided tour of the Supreme Court building requires QuickTime. The Current Justices provide biographical information on every Supreme Court Justice.
The PubSub service allows you to subscribe to receive current information/comment on any of the nine Supreme Court justices.
The Supreme Court Monitor monitors news, oral arguments, orders, and commentary on the Court.
The
supremecourthistory site is easy to use and provides good
biographical information. The Learning Center provides
information for teachers and students.
The CQ [digital] Supreme Court
Collection is a fee-based digital collection that includes
selected cases [all major decisions from 1793 with summaries and
box scores from 1969] as well as much value-added material.
Easily used with excellent searching. Especially useful for high
school and undergraduate students.
The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (Ref KF 8742 .A35O93 1992).
Facts About the Supreme Court of the United States by Lisa Paddock. 1996. A chronological look at the Court.
Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court by David Savage. This CQ volume is a standard introduction and overview with extensive coverage of major decisions. An alternative approach is found in CQ's The Supreme Court A-Z by Kenneth Jost which emphasizes broad themes. The U.S. Constitution A to Z is similar in scope and works well for less sophisticated audiences. CQ's Guide to the U.S. Constitution is less current, but remains useful. CQ also issues a Supreme Court Yearbook which is useful, but has a notable time lag. The several CQ hard copy judicial sources have been combined into the digital collection mentioned above. A History of the Supreme Court (Stx KF 8742 .S39 1993)
This is the only required or indispensable court and the final authority of law in the U.S. Other courts may be created and abolished by Congress. The nine justices are appointed for life. This is truly the court of last resort.
The Court meets on the 1st Monday of October through June. The Supreme Court is not required to hear any appeals. The Justices vote on which cases to hear or "grant certiorari." A vote of 4 in favor will qualify a case for hearing. The overwhelming majority of cases are denied certiorari. Denial has no precedential effect.
The Court considers about 5,000 cases each year. Most are eliminated with a brief decision that the case does not warrant review by the full court. Typically, about 100 cases of national interest are heard. About three quarters of these will eventually be announced in full published decisions. Cases are heard "en banc" or with all justices together in an open court. The Court building is located across the street from the Capitol Building.
The decision of the Court in a particular case, the opinions, are found in serial publications called case reports, reports, or reporters. Normally, reporters contain hundreds of volumes. Reporters are updated by the use of weekly update pamphlets or advance sheets. These are normally filed with the bound volumes. Before the advance sheets are issued, opinions are available only in slip format identified by docket number. Both slip opinions and advance sheets may not reflect the final outcome, especially if a case is appealed.
Normally, a Federal court opinion will contain these elements:
Finding Court Opinions on the Web is an excellent place to begin for those interested in decisions by a variety of courts.
FindLaw's Supreme Court Decision Database includes cases since 1893. Good indexing.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases is
designed to provide teachers with a "full range of resources and
activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases."
Includes opportunity for moot courts, role play, and political
cartoon analysis.
Supreme Court decisions may be found on several websites. The
Supreme Court has provided digital opinions since 1990. The
Legal Information Institute at
Cornell Law School is the best site for current opinions. You
will also find more than 600 noteworthy historical
cases.
The Oyez site at
Northwestern University is an unusually effective database of
selected Supreme Court cases. Well indexed. There is an
interested, well-done multimedia component. Profiles of all
Supreme Court justices.
Yale University's Curiae Project provides Supreme
Court records and briefs and other relevant material. Cases are
selected for their historical and constitutional value.
You will also find Supreme Court decisions from 1790 to date in LexisNexis Academic.
United States Law Week (U.S.L.W.) by BNA is a loose leaf service that reprints full text opinions with digest head notes. Contains an excellent cumulative index and a list of the status of cases before the Court. Also available via LEXIS (genfed/uslw) from July, 1982.
United States Supreme Court Reports (U.S.) are issued by the GPO and this is the official reporter. Decisions are first issued as "bench" opinions (like slip laws). With a summary of facts, syllabi, and index these then become "advance sheets" or preliminary prints. At the end of the October term, these are consolidated into the United States Reports. Also available via LEXIS (genfed/us) from 1790.
Supreme Court Reporter (S.Ct.) is an unofficial but comprehensive reporter issued by West. Includes head notes summarizing major legal conclusions.
Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer's Edition (L.Ed.) is an unofficial reporter issued by the Lawyer's Cooperative. Includes summaries of parties arguments. Not as widely used as the similar series by West.
The Villanova Federal Court Locater provides access to federal court websites, including the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, and the District Courts. Easily used.
Circuit Courts are the intermediate appeal courts with jurisdiction over cases from particular areas. They are called circuit courts because early judges visited courts in their region according to a circuit. There are twelve regional circuits plus one for the Federal Circuit, a special court for patent appeals, which has national jurisdiction. Tennessee is in the 6th Circuit with Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio.
A decision by one federal circuit court does not have to be followed by courts in another federal circuit because each circuit has equal decision-making authority. Fosters uniformity of law within each circuit, but national uniformity must await a decision by the Supreme Court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has appellate jurisdiction assigned by Congress in legislation concerning many departments of federal government. It was created in 1982 with the merger of the Court of Claims and the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. This Court hears appeals in cases from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, the International Trade Commission, the Board of Contract Appeals, the Patent and Trademark Office, and the Merit Systems Protection Board plus some decisions of the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce. The twelve judges handle about 1600 cases each year.
Circuit Courts are required to decide a case appealed. They may reverse the lower court opinion, remand it or send it back for reconsideration, or they may affirm it. Cases appealed from these courts will go to the Supreme Court. A typical Circuit Court handles about 45,000 - 50,000 cases per year.
With the exception noted above, each Court has six or more judges depending on case load. The judge who has served the longest and is under 65 is the chief judge and has some administrative responsibilities.
The Federal Reporter (F. or F.2d)(second series, 1960) contains opinions from the Federal circuit courts of appeal.
District Courts are federal courts of general trial jurisdiction or trial courts. They decide what the facts are and what the law is. The judge decides both the law and the fact issues.
There are 94 District Courts in the 50 states plus the territories. Districts may be divided into divisions with several locations where the court hears cases. There are about 650 district court judges who handled about 230,000 - 240,000 cases per year.District Courts include the Tax Court, the Court of Federal Claims, the Court of Veteran Appeals and the Court of International Trade. Cases appealed from these courts will go to the Courts of Appeal. Civil cases include civil rights, personal injury and damage to property and prisoner petitions [largest category]. Criminal cases include homicide, tax fraud, robbery, forgery and counterfeiting, and drug offenses--the largest category. Each district court has a bankruptcy unit that hears and decides petitions of individuals and businesses seeking relief from bankruptcy. Bankruptcy judges are appointed by the court of appeals for a term of 14 years. There are about 330 bankruptcy judges. Decisions of these courts are found in the Bankruptcy Reporter (B.R.).
Begun in 1980 to handle cases involving trade and customs duties, especially the classification and valuation of imported goods and unfair import practices. There are about 1000 cases per year submitted. There are nine judges. The Court sits in New York City.
These positions were appointed by judges of each district between 1968 and 1990 to handle the ancillary duties of the district judges so that those judges could handle more trials. Each judge serves a term of 8 years if full-time and 4 years if part-time.
Federal Supplement (F.Supp.) or Federal Rules Decisions (F.R.D.) contain opinions from the Federal district courts. Only those cases likely to be of considerable legal interest are published. Most district court decisions are not published.
The Territorial Courts are Located in Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. These function as district courts, but are sometimes called legislative courts. They also function as state and local courts. The judges are appointed for a term of 10 years.
http://www.armfor.uscourts.gov
The Court began in 1951 along with the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Jurisdiction is world-wide. The courts hears questions of law from trials by court-martial involving a severe sentence. There are about 1500 cases in a typical year. Five civilian judges are appointed for 15 year terms by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Begun in 1988, this Court has exclusive jurisdiction on cases involving veteran's benefits and survivors' benefits. There are about 1900 cases in a typical year heard by seven judges appointed by the President with Senate consent.
Opinions from 1997 from the Commerce Department
The Court has existed since 1855 under various names. It has jurisdiction over tax refunds, federal taking of private property for public use, constitutional and statutory rights of military personnel and their dependents, back-pay demands from civil servants claiming unjust dismissal, persons injured by childhood vaccines, and federal government contractors suing for breach of contract. It also handles appeals of decisions of the Indian Claims Commission. Most suits against the federal government with money damages greater than $10,000 must be tried here. There are usually less than a 1000 cases per year. Sixteen judges are appointed for 15 year terms by the President with Senate consent.
Begun in 1924, the Tax Court decides cases between taxpayers
and the IRS. There are about 44,000 cases per year heard by 19
judges appointed by the President for 15 year terms. Unlike the
other courts, the Tax Court hears cases in more than 80
cities.
Because the intellectual access for federal court decisions is
copyright protected, until recently federal court decisions were
"owned" by either Lexis or Westlaw. Courts rely on for-profit
firms to capture, issue, and preserve court opinions. With the
advent of the Internet, more federal court opinions are available
with cost on websites [typically from 1995 or so]. Still, it is
ironic that this most valuable legal information is owned by
private firms and is expensive to access.
Courts are presided over by judicial officers who are normally appointed by the President with Senate consent. In the last few years, this confirmation process has become controversial and notably political. Judges are called justices in the Supreme Court. The Chief Judge or Chief Justice has additional administrative duties related to the court and the entire federal court system. The Chief Judge selects who will write the opinion for the side on which the Chief Judge votes. In the Supreme Court, each justice is assigned to one of the appeals courts for emergency purposes.
Judges of 65 years and active experience of 15 years may elect senior status or semi-retirement. They may continue to hear cases, handle administrative matters, and serve on commissions and committees.
The Judicial Conference is a body of 27 Federal judges responsible for the administration and self government of the federal judicial system. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides. The Conference includes the Chief Judges of the 13 courts of appeal, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and 12 district judges chosen by the judges of their circuit to serve for 3 years.
This Office provides a variety of support functions for the Federal courts. It is directed and supervised by the Judicial Conference. Major responsibilities include:
The Center was established in 1967 to improve judicial administration. It conducts research and studies the operation of the federal courts.
Cohen, Morris L and Kent C. Olson, Legal Research in a Nutshell.
Jacobstein, J. Myron and Roy M. Mersky, Fundamentals of Legal Research
Price, Miles O. et al, Effective Legal
Research
Findlaw and Law.com are excellent sources for legal
current awareness. Findlaw provides more context. LexisONE is especially good for
finding current case law [free, but registration
required].
Hieros Gamos is a
comprehensive legal site designed to create understanding of the
law.
If you can only bookmark one legal website, it should be LLRX.com for its full and
easily used information, but a comprehensive source for most
legal matters. Very strong in legal research.
Online Courts for Kids provides links useful for teaching children about the creation and enforcement of laws. A state resource.
The purpose of legal research is to find primary authority that will answer a legal problem. Authorities include:
A secondary authority is the interpretation of the
above by a legal scholar.
A Treatise such as Robinson on Publishing Law (made up treatise title) is not binding, but helps to explain what the law is or should be according to an expert. Treatises may be useful for exploring the intent behind a law.
Law review articles, depending on the authority of the author, may also be useful. The top ten law reviews:
The first step is to understand the information need. Specifically, what does the user want/need? A thoughtful reference interview will often suggest a particular strategy or source type. In legal research, it is often necessary to validate the research by verifying that a particular law or rule is still in effect and/or is being contested.
Although most librarians will not have access to them, Westlaw and Lexis are your best sources after you become familiar with them. However, most of use will use the free sources or the more widely available fee-based databases found in larger library collections such as LexisNexis Academic or Congressional. Of the free sources, Findlaw is an excellent gateway.
As with any reference work, the key is finding the right terms
or descriptors to use in searching legal reference works. Attempt
to identify the key term as well as some alternatives. These
might include broader and narrower terms as well as synonyms.
These words will be used in indexes and tables of
contents.
A case is a "legal action litigated between two opposing
parties." The case title includes the names of the two parties,
i.e. Robinson v. Williams. A case may also refer to the opinion
written by a judge. In such an opinion, the judge applies the law
to the facts of the case. Thus, the judge's decision and
supporting opinion in Robinson v. Williams is now the case of
Robinson v. Williams.
If searching for a case related to a particular statute, check the listing after the statute text in the annotated version of the appropriate code. The United State Code is cumbersome with a notable time-lag and few legal researchers use it. The United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.) or United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.) are better. U.S.C.A. contains the codified law plus annotations to cases, law review articles and the like. Has extensive annotations. Published by West. U.S.C.S. has similar features except the annotations are selective. All of these titles are available in the Law Library.
Case reporter volumes include a table of statutes related to cases reported in that volume.
If you know the name associated with the case (Robinson v. Williams), consult the West Federal Practice Digest, Third Series which lists federal cases since 1975 by case name. Earlier series cover earlier Federal cases. You may need to search on both names. The United States Supreme Court Digest has a Table of Cases useful for finding the case citation if you know the names in a Supreme Court Case.
If you don't know the name, use the subject index in the case reporter.
Next, locate law review articles and books that provide background or context for your topical area.
Next, use legal encyclopedias to find relevant cases.
Next, identify appropriate jurisdictions, and then locate statutes (using law codes) in force that deal with your topic and cases related to these.
Next, Shepardize both case and legislation to find other cases. These should be Shepardized until you feel that you have located all relevant cases.
A citation is a validated reference to a legal authority that
shows where a decision has been reported or published. The
citation is the address for the decision and the supporting
opinion. Citations may be citing [from the decision] or cited [to
the decision by another].
Legal citations follow the form:
Thus, 428 US 295 (1976) refers to the Alamo Land & Cattle Co. Vs. Arizona, with text beginning on page 295 of volume 428 of United States Reports. Some other examples follow.
In district and circuit court opinions, the first name is always that of the plaintiff while in Supreme court decisions the first name is always the party who appealed.
Hamaya V. Mc Elroy, 797 F.Supp. 186 (E.D.N.Y. 1992)
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
Important. Hard copy law reference works are normally serials published in a multi-volume format. Besides the bound volumes, look for supplements that may appear as pamphlets or pocket parts (usually in the back of a particular volume). Failure to find these supplements, may lead to an inadequate search. The on-line reference materials are easier to use, are more current, and are replacing stacks full of hard bound sources.
Contain short summaries of individual points in a case arranged by subject or topic (like a conventional encyclopedia). They are used for finding relevant cases and for explanations. They should not be used as a substitute for the case itself. Typically, they contain detailed indexes and tables of contents. Entries treat the topic concisely, identify the key issues, and refer to cases and statutes. If more than one series, use the most recent one.
Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.) is an attempt to integrate the body of U.S. case law with citations to cases and references to the National Reporter System. Published by West. Updates are annual pocket parts in the back of each volume. Access is by topic or general index. The West key number system is an asset.
American Jurisprudence (Am.Jur.) is a similar product but with only the case references. Published by Lawyers Cooperative. More emphasis on Federal statutes. May be easier to use.
Law school reviews contain articles written by law students and faculty. Normally, they attempt to bring together all the information on a topic and look at it from an original perspective. Articles often emphasize intent, precedent, and effectiveness. Literature reviews are exhaustive, citing both primary and secondary sources.
Bar Association periodicals tend to be more practical while
specialized periodicals are often useful for more detailed
treatment of the several areas of law mentioned below.
Wilson's Index to Legal Periodicals &
Books Full Text indexes about 900 periodicals and 1,500
monographs each year with about 200 titles available in
full-text.
Because of the importance of currency in legal work, these have played a major role in legal reference work. Given problems with filing and the nature of the loose-leaf format, it is likely that they will soon be replaced by digital services (fee-based access to publisher web sites). Loose-leaf services are normally updated weekly or monthly. Often, they are devoted to particular law areas. The two major loose-leaf publishers are: Commerce Clearing House (CCH) and Bureau of National Affairs (BNA). Both issue topic specific services Bankruptcy Law Reporter or the Family Law Reporter), but BNA does issue United States Law Week which covers Supreme Court decisions.
A quick examination of the collection in a typical law library reveals that almost all of the collection consists of serial publications. However, monographs on specialized legal topics may play an important role. A monograph that attempts exhaustive coverage of a larger area of law is called a "treatise."
Decisions by appellate courts are printed in serials called reporters. Each set contains opinions from a court or a group of similar courts. When a set of reporters becomes unwieldy, a new series is begun (3d or 4th). There are many areas of law and some will have their own reporters and digests. From LEXIS, here are the major law areas:
West's Education Law Reporter contains opinions from the Federal courts as well as state appellate courts.
Media Law Reporter contains Supreme Court and notable cases from other Federal courts.
A digest contains brief summaries (head notes) of the points of law in a case arranged by topic. These are used for finding relevant cases and are NOT a substitute for the case itself.
West's Supreme Court Digest
Lawyer's Edition Supreme Court Digest
West's Federal Practice Digest for all Federal courts.
The West Publishing Company has a virtual monopoly on publishing cases from Federal and state courts. They also have considerable political power and following from conservative judges who favor the present system. While the court opinions are in the public domain, West claims that the citations are copyright protected and require royalties. Only the Supreme Court publishes its own official reporter. Most Federal court citations are based on the page and volume number of reporters issued by West. The American Bar Association has suggested a public domain citation system, but progress has been difficult.
West has created a classification scheme for the legal issues
raised in cases reported in their publications. Their West Digest
Key Number system has 414 key topics and many subtopics. In the
digest, head notes are arranged according to topic and sub topic.
Thus, once you discover the relevant key you can find other
relevant cases. Thus, the key leads easily to similar cases. The
Key system and Shepard's are the best ways to search when the
case is unknown.
"Shepardizing" is the use of the Shepard's citation
based reference series. Shepard's tells you if the case is still
valid (not reversed or overturned). It also identifies related
cases likely to deal with the same point of law. This is the
model for what became Science Citation
Index and others in that family. The key is the ability to
discover who has cited a particular item. Shepardizing clearly
validates the appropriateness of a precedent that might be used
in a legal proceeding.
Shepard's United States Citations for Cases is organized by case citation. Each entry lists case history and other cases that have cited it. Some decisions may have modified or substantially changed the earlier ruling. It is important to check the main volumes AND the supplements. This is an extremely important resource since it leads from one case to all the others related to it. This title does use its own citation system.
Citations will normally be made to more than one reporter so know which one you will be using. Use volumes containing citations for cases decided after the case you are interested in. Be certain that you understand the abbreviations used (a = affirmed, v = vacated)
Shepard's United States Citations for Statutes has three parts:
It contains a comprehensive listing, arranged as in the appropriate code, of each time a statute, rule, or constitutional provision is part of a court decision. You begin with the exact cite (Title 25 U.S.C. section 863) to the statute, rule, or constitutional provision. Be certain to check the supplements. Check only those volumes published after the statute was passed.
Shepard's United States Supreme Court Case Names Citator covers cases since 1900. Plaintiff and defendant names in one index.
Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Name provides
popular names, often found in mass media accounts.
Today, few use the paper sources for Sheparizing.
Both Westlaw and Lexis provide relatively easy citation
verification and linkages. With Lexis, use the Check a Citation
link on the main page and go from there. With Westlaw, use the
Keysite feature. Students interested in Shepardizing should go to
the nearest law library for help.
