2. Why is it important to know how
to research the law?
Criminal justice professionals are expected to
know the law and when it changes
There are many resources you can use to stay
current with the law
Researching the law enables you to find
answers to legal questions and to understand
the judicial system
Keeping current with the law makes you a
more credible professional
3. Popular Literature
Information about the law is written for the
layperson in popular literature
It does not go in depth that professional or
scholarly literature does
Time, Newsweek, Readers Digest
Most of these sources are sociological and do
not report the actual law
4. Professional Literature
Written for the practitioner in a given field
For Criminal Justice, would include:
The Police Chief
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
Corrections Today
UCLA Law Review
The Journal of Municipal Government and
NCJA Justice Bulletin
5. Professional Literature
These periodicals are to keep readers current
on the ever changing constitutional law
Contain articles on newly enacted laws and
their effect on the CJ System
6. Scholarly Journals
Written for people interested in theory,
research and statistical analysis
Justice Quarterly-the official publication of the
Academy of Criminal Justice
All of these sources are considered secondary
sources
Actual cases and the opinions handed down are
primary sources
7. Primary Sources
Presents the raw data or the original
information
Include the U.S. Constitution
Constitutions of the 50 states
Statutes of the U.S. Congress
Statutes of the 50 state legislatures
Appellate court decisions of the federal and state
courts
8. Secondary Sources
Involves selecting, evaluating, analyzing
and synthesizing data or information
It is usually easier to understand than
primary information
Legal periodicals- record and critique the activities
of legislators and judges and discuss current case
law
Law
school publications, bar associations publications
and special subject and interest publications
9. Secondary Sources
Treatises/Texts- is a comprehensive document
on a legal subject. Go into specific subject depth
Legal Encyclopedias- narratives arranged
alphabetically by subject with supporting
footnotes
General
law, local or state law, and special subject
Co rp us Juris Se c o nd um
A e ric a n Juris p rud e nc e
m
G uid e to A e ric a n La w
m
Legal Dictionaries- define words in their legal
sense
Ba lle
ntine ’s La w Dic tio na ry , Bla c k’s La w Dic tio na ry
10. Reading Legal Citations
A legal citation is a standardized way of
referring to a specific element in the law
There are three basic parts
A volume number
An abbreviation for the title
A page or section number
Usually followed by the date
11. Reading Legal Citations
U.S. Supreme Court case: Horton v California,
496 U.S. 128 (1990)
Volume 496 of the United States Reports, page
128, decided in 1990
Miranda v Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
Volume 384 of the United States Reports, page
436, decided in 1966
12. Reading Legal Citations
Case citation is important because it shows
the student exactly where to find an important
point
Lets the reader know if the case is relevant to
the problem they are researching
The citation will also point out if it is an
appellate case
Sometimes there are additional citations that
show where a case may be found in
commercial reporting services
String cites
13. Case Law
Court decisions are recorded as opinions
Describe what the dispute was about
States what the court decided and why
The opinion may be written by one member of the court
or many
Concurring opinions – an opinion written by a Justice
who agrees with the holding, gives additional or
different reasons for voting with the majority
Dissenting opinions – written by a Justice who
disagrees with the holding and voted against the
majority
Some landmark cases have eight or nine opinions
National Reporter System - Publishes regional sets of
cases as well as sets for specific states
14. Reading Case Law
A legal opinion usually contains
A description of the facts
A statement of the legal issues presented
The relevant rules of law
The holding
The policies and reasons that support the holdin
15. Reading Case Law
Caption- title of the case (U. S. v Sm ith), (La nd
v Sm ith)
Holding- the rule of law applied to the
particular facts of the case and the actual
decision
Affirm- Agree with a lower court’s decision
Reverse- Overturn the decision of the lower
court
Remand- return the case to the lower court for
further action
16. How to read Case Law
Must be able to think in reverse
1.
Opinion provides the end result of the deliberations, isolate
what the dispute involved, what the trial court decided, how
it proceeded and what happened on appeal
Untangle the interplay of the basic
components of a judicial decision
1.
Each affects the others in a process that goes back
and forth and around in what may appear to be
circles
Drawing inferences - Not all elements of the
judicial opinion may be included
1.
Infer them from the decisions made
17. Briefing a Case
To outline the case in a summary (brief)
Contain:
Case name and citation
Summary of key facts
Legal issues involved
Court’s decision
Reason for that decision and
Any separate opinions or dissents
18. Briefing a Case
Opinions also provide judges with an
opportunity to express thoughts on issues that
are not essential to the court’s decision
Dicta
Statements by a court that do not deal with the
main issue of the case
Additional discussion
Not binding on future courts
19. Shepardizing
Shepardizing a case involves using She p a rd ’ s
Cita tio ns
reference that tracks cases so legal researchers
can easily determine whether the original holding
has been changed through any appeals
Criminal justice practitioners will not have to do
this
21. Computerized Legal Research
Thanks to the Internet, researching the law is
accessible to everyone
Findlaw, LexisNexis, American Bar Association,
U.S. Supreme Court, etc.
Information Literacy
The ability to effectively identify an issue, narrow
that issue, access appropriate online sites,
separate fact from fiction and present the findings
professionally
To evaluate the reliability of information on the
Internet, consider the credibility of the source and
the currency of the information
22. What’s Next?
The online discussion group is a new
development
There are electronic bulletin boards and virtual
discussion groups covering law and criminal
justice issues
Blogs are a way to get a variety of
perspectives on an issue
23. Researching a Law of Interest
Step 1 – Identify the issue you want to research
Step 2 – Identify some research terms or phrases
that might be used to reference your topic
Step 3 – Choose the resources to conduct the
research
Step 4 – Decide how to access the resources
Step 5 – Access your sources and search using the
terms you have identified
Step 6 – Interpret the results
Step 7 – See how other courts are interpreting the
law
