Thurgood Marshall School of Law Research Professors

1. MODULE FIVE
Law Library
Intro to Legal Research presented by Professor Tara Long & Professor Itunu Sofidaya
Professor
Itunu Sofidaya
Professor
Tara Long

2. WHAT IS THE LAW?1
The law is the mandatory
(binding), primary authority
applicable to your facts.
THELAW
Legal resources
can help you find,
contextualize, and
understand the
law.
Use the law to
answer legal
questions and
support your
position.

3. WHAT IS LEGAL
RESEARCH?
2
The purpose of legal research
is to find the law applicable to a
given set of facts.
LEGALRESEARCH
Legal Research does not just include the
law, but also material about the law.

4. LEGAL RESEARCH
PROCESS
3
Four steps to the
Legal Research Process.LEGALRESEARCH
STEP ONE
FINDING
THE LAW
STEP TWO
READING
THE LAW
STEP THREE
UPDATING
THE LAW
STEP FOUR
CITING THE
SOURCE OF
THE LAW
FIND READ UPDATE CITE

5. WHAT IS LEGAL
RESEARCH?
3
All three branches of government
make the law in their own way.LEGALRESEARCH
JUDICIAL BRANCH
Makes law by
rendering published
court opinions about
legal issues in cases.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Legislatures create law by
passing bills (and having the
executive sign them or by
overriding a veto)
transforming the bill into
statute.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Makes law by promulgating
administrative rules & regulations
through executive agencies as
authorized by statute.
(Agencies also act in a judicial capacity
by handing down decisions)

6. 4
RESOURCES
Resources
PRIMARY & SECONDARY
PRIMARY
(Is the Law)
SECONDARY
(About the Law)
Originates directly from the Constitution or
from one of the three branches of
government:
 Judicial
• Case opinions and rules of
court.
 Executive
• Executive orders, agency
rules, regulations, and
agency decisions.
 Legislative
• Public laws, statutes, and
codes
V.
The division
between
primary &
secondary
resources is
absolute. A
thing is either
always one or
always the
other.
Secondary authority is never the Law, but it
tells you about the law.
 Never binding on any court.
 Can be adopted by a court, but
this does not make the
secondary primary ( binding).
Why?
Useful for:
 Gaining a better understanding
 A finding tool:
 Points to primary sources.
 Provides new search terms.

7. 5
RESOURCES
Resources
MANDATORY & PERSUASIVE
MANDATORY
(Court Must Follow)
PERSUASIVE
(Court Can Ignore)
• Only Primary Authority can be
Mandatory Authority.
• Mandatory Authority is always
determined in the context of the
situation – geographically (location) &
jurisdictionally (facts & court).
• Mandatory Authority can be complex
to determine.
• Mandatory Authority consists of
statutes, codes, rules, & regulations
governing the court & the case.
• For lower courts, Mandatory Authority
also includes court opinions from “up
the chain of appeal”.
V.
• A court is not required to follow
Persuasive Authority, but a court
might be persuaded to follow it if no
mandatory authority exists.
• Persuasive Authority cannot
contradict Mandatory Authority.
• Persuasive Authority can be either
primary or secondary authority:
a. Primary Authority from a
different jurisdiction is only ever
persuasive
b. Secondary Authority is always
only persuasive.
Whether an
authority is
mandatory
changes
depending on
geography and
what court is
involved.

8. U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Appeals Courts
U.S. District Courts
State Supreme Court(s)
State Appellate Courts
State Trial Courts
Knowing where your case might be appealed tells you
what court opinions are mandatory or persuasive
authority in your jurisdiction.
6
COURTAPPEALS
THE APPEAL CHAIN
Federal Court Structure State Court Structure

9. 7
COURT APPEALS
THE APPEAL CHAIN

10. 8
You have a case
in the District
Court of Harris
County, TX
(state trial court)
on state law
issues.
Q & A
1. Your opponent cites a Texas statute. Is it primary or
secondary? Is it mandatory or persuasive?
2. Your opponent cites a U.S. Court of Appeals case from
Texas. Is it primary or secondary? Is it mandatory or
persuasive?
1. What if you were in the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Texas?
3. Your opponent cites the Restatement (third) of
Property. Is it primary or secondary authority? Is it
mandatory or persuasive authority?
4. Your opponent cites New Mexico statutes. Are they
primary or secondary authority? Are they mandatory
or persuasive authority?
QUESTIONS & EXAMPLES
Why is it important in legal research to understand
where a case fits in the court structure?