The Key Number Digests contain the headnotes (digest paragraphs) and their corresponding topic and key numbers from every case in the National Reporter System.
KeyCite is a tool for checking the status of cases, statutes, and other legal authorities. It allows users to see if an authority is still good law, find other cases or materials that have cited the authority, and monitor authorities for future changes. KeyCite provides comprehensive histories and citing references for cases and statutes. It uses symbols and graphical displays to quickly convey the legal status and precedential value of authorities. KeyCite Alert monitors selected authorities and notifies users of any changes that may impact the authority's validity.
This document provides an overview of the legal research process and outlines key steps to take when conducting legal research using print and online resources. It begins with an introduction noting that legal research requires creativity and judgment. The document then covers translating facts into legal issues, identifying relevant statutes and case law, and expanding one's research. It emphasizes that legal research is iterative and may involve exploring different resources and paths. The document uses a hypothetical example involving an employee assault to illustrate the legal research process.
The document provides an overview of secondary legal sources including the American Law Reports (ALR), legal encyclopedias such as American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum, restatements of the law, legal periodicals, texts, law dictionaries, and uniform laws. It explains that secondary sources explain and interpret primary law but are never binding. It also discusses how to use and update sources such as ALR articles.
The document provides an overview of statutory research, outlining the legislative process, anatomy of statutes, and methods for conducting print and online statutory research. It discusses how bills become laws and are incorporated into statutory codes, the structure and features of annotated statutes, and techniques for updating and expanding statutory research using tools like KeyCite and legislative history. The document is intended as an instructional aid for understanding and navigating the complex world of statutory law.
1. The document provides an overview of West's Topic and Key Number System which is used to organize case law into topics and assign key numbers to points of law discussed in cases.
2. Key numbers allow attorneys to find all other cases that discuss the same point of law by searching digests which compile headnotes from cases by topic and key number.
3. The Topic and Key Number System divides the law into over 400 topics that are further divided into over 100,000 specific key numbers to provide an extensive outline of and index to U.S. case law.
This tutorial provides an overview of how to perform legal research on WestlawNext, including:
- Case law searching to find relevant cases through natural language searches or by citation
- Statutory searching to find statutes using citations or browsing a table of contents
- Using the West Key Number System to locate applicable key numbers that summarize legal topics and issues
- Checking whether cases or statutes remain good law using KeyCite on WestlawNext
- American Law Reports (ALR) to find in-depth analyses of specific legal issues and related case law from all jurisdictions
Case law is created by judgments in courts and establishes legal precedent. Only some cases are reported in law reports, which are organized hierarchically. Case citations identify judgments, while citators update whether judgments remain good law. Key methods to find case law include searching by party name or subject in print sources like the Digest or online databases, then checking citators to determine a judgment's current authority.
The document provides guidance on conducting legal research. It begins with an introduction that emphasizes legal research is both an art and a skill requiring judgment, creativity, and mastery of tools. It then walks through translating a sample fact pattern into legal issues. Specifically, it discusses identifying the relevant terms of art and "black letter law" from secondary sources to understand the general principles and parameters of the issue. The fact pattern provided involves a company driver shoving a customer during an argument, and the discussion centers on determining if the driver's actions fell within the scope of his employment, for which the company could face vicarious liability.
KeyCite is a tool for checking the status of cases, statutes, and other legal authorities. It allows users to see if an authority is still good law, find other cases or materials that have cited the authority, and monitor authorities for future changes. KeyCite provides comprehensive histories and citing references for cases and statutes. It uses symbols and graphical displays to quickly convey the legal status and precedential value of authorities. KeyCite Alert monitors selected authorities and notifies users of any changes that may impact the authority's validity.
This document provides an overview of the legal research process and outlines key steps to take when conducting legal research using print and online resources. It begins with an introduction noting that legal research requires creativity and judgment. The document then covers translating facts into legal issues, identifying relevant statutes and case law, and expanding one's research. It emphasizes that legal research is iterative and may involve exploring different resources and paths. The document uses a hypothetical example involving an employee assault to illustrate the legal research process.
The document provides an overview of secondary legal sources including the American Law Reports (ALR), legal encyclopedias such as American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum, restatements of the law, legal periodicals, texts, law dictionaries, and uniform laws. It explains that secondary sources explain and interpret primary law but are never binding. It also discusses how to use and update sources such as ALR articles.
The document provides an overview of statutory research, outlining the legislative process, anatomy of statutes, and methods for conducting print and online statutory research. It discusses how bills become laws and are incorporated into statutory codes, the structure and features of annotated statutes, and techniques for updating and expanding statutory research using tools like KeyCite and legislative history. The document is intended as an instructional aid for understanding and navigating the complex world of statutory law.
1. The document provides an overview of West's Topic and Key Number System which is used to organize case law into topics and assign key numbers to points of law discussed in cases.
2. Key numbers allow attorneys to find all other cases that discuss the same point of law by searching digests which compile headnotes from cases by topic and key number.
3. The Topic and Key Number System divides the law into over 400 topics that are further divided into over 100,000 specific key numbers to provide an extensive outline of and index to U.S. case law.
This tutorial provides an overview of how to perform legal research on WestlawNext, including:
- Case law searching to find relevant cases through natural language searches or by citation
- Statutory searching to find statutes using citations or browsing a table of contents
- Using the West Key Number System to locate applicable key numbers that summarize legal topics and issues
- Checking whether cases or statutes remain good law using KeyCite on WestlawNext
- American Law Reports (ALR) to find in-depth analyses of specific legal issues and related case law from all jurisdictions
Case law is created by judgments in courts and establishes legal precedent. Only some cases are reported in law reports, which are organized hierarchically. Case citations identify judgments, while citators update whether judgments remain good law. Key methods to find case law include searching by party name or subject in print sources like the Digest or online databases, then checking citators to determine a judgment's current authority.
The document provides guidance on conducting legal research. It begins with an introduction that emphasizes legal research is both an art and a skill requiring judgment, creativity, and mastery of tools. It then walks through translating a sample fact pattern into legal issues. Specifically, it discusses identifying the relevant terms of art and "black letter law" from secondary sources to understand the general principles and parameters of the issue. The fact pattern provided involves a company driver shoving a customer during an argument, and the discussion centers on determining if the driver's actions fell within the scope of his employment, for which the company could face vicarious liability.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the US and its decisions are binding on all other courts. It has the power of judicial review to determine the constitutionality of laws. The Court hears appeals from lower federal and state courts on issues involving federal law or constitutional interpretation. It is composed of 9 justices nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate who have lifetime appointments. The Court's rulings impact many areas of American law and policy.
This presentation was given to the Masters class for Intellectual Property Law in order to familiarise themselves with the UCT Law Library, its staff, procedures and policies and its resources. It gives an overview of the different resources, with short how-tos included on their use.
This document provides an overview of statutory research, including the sources and processes for federal and state statutes. It discusses the hierarchy of statutes and their relationship to case law. The key federal statutory sources are bills, the Congressional Record, Statutes at Large, the United States Code, and annotated codes. Legislative history materials like committee reports and floor debates can help interpret statutes. Maintaining currency requires checking pocket parts and advance sheets for new cases and laws.
This document discusses the importance of researching the law for criminal justice professionals. It outlines several types of legal sources, including popular literature, professional literature, scholarly journals, primary sources like statutes and constitutions, and secondary sources like legal encyclopedias and treatises. Key legal research tools like legal citations, case briefing, Shepardizing cases, and computerized legal research are also summarized.
This training is presented to first year law students to familiarise them with legal resources available at UCT. The training covers how to access the different resources and conduct basic searches.
The document summarizes the American court system. It describes a three-tiered federal court system consisting of district courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. It also outlines state court systems, which generally have trial courts, appellate courts, and a state supreme court. The document provides details on criminal case courts and their functions at different levels. It also discusses pretrial activities like bail, grand juries, preliminary hearings, and arraignment and pleas.
The document provides an overview of legal research presented by Professors Tara Long and Itunu Sofidaya. It discusses what law and legal research are, the legal research process, types of legal resources including primary and secondary and mandatory and persuasive, and the court structure and appeal chain. Key topics covered include the four steps of the legal research process, how different branches of government make law, and determining whether sources are mandatory or persuasive depending on jurisdiction and court.
Federal administrative law research (manual)Dittakavi Rao
Federal administrative law governs regulations created by federal agencies. Congress establishes agencies and gives them power to create rules with the force of law. Regulations are published in the Federal Register and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations. The Administrative Procedure Act established procedures for rulemaking and judicial review. Regulations must be researched along with statutes. Loose-leaf services provide up-to-date agency rules, decisions, and secondary sources to fully understand administrative law.
This document provides an overview of researching U.S. legal sources. It outlines the U.S. court system and discusses secondary sources like American Jurisprudence 2d and American Law Reports. It also explains how to find and understand U.S. case citations and search for case law on Westlaw, Lexis, and free sources. Additionally, the document reviews searching for U.S. federal and state legislation on annotated codes and free sources like Cornell's LII.
Research Refresher: Statutes & Legislative Historydukelawreference
This document provides an overview of how to research federal statutes and locate related legislative history materials. It begins with an explanation of the legislative process and how bills become laws. It then discusses how statutes are published in various sources like slip laws, session laws, and codes. The document provides guidance on searching and navigating legal databases to find statutes and related cases. It also offers methods for locating legislative history documents through compiled sources, tables of contents, and indexes. Tips are included for researching state legislative materials as well.
The document provides guidance on writing legal briefs that summarize case law. It outlines the typical components of a brief, including the case citation, facts, procedure, issues, holding, and reasoning. For example, the facts section should outline only the key factual details necessary to understand how the law applies to the case. The issues section should pose questions that can be answered yes or no. The holding then answers the issues, and the reasoning explains the court's analysis.
This guide provides an overview of the steps and resources for non-lawyers to research a legal problem themselves. It recommends beginning by clearly stating the legal question, determining the relevant jurisdiction, and understanding common legal citations. Key resources include self-help books, legal encyclopedias, codes, court rules and cases. The order of resources presented generally moves from broader overview sources to more specific primary legal authorities that may directly address the problem. Public and law libraries provide access to both print and online versions of these materials.
This document provides an overview and schedule for a training on locating legal information online. It begins with introducing the goals of familiarizing participants with the US legal system and online legal resources. The schedule outlines discussing the legal system, common legal reference questions, identifying citations, and exploring legal portals and websites. It then provides a detailed overview of the US legal system, including the three branches of government and the types of primary legal authorities like constitutions, statutes, court rules, and cases. It describes the federal and Minnesota court structures and where to find legal authorities and cases online.
The document provides an overview of free and low-cost alternatives to Lexis and Westlaw for legal research. It discusses databases like Loislaw, Versuslaw, Casemaker, and FastCase that provide case law and other primary legal sources at a lower cost than Lexis and Westlaw. It also outlines many free sources for cases, statutes, regulations, court documents, and other materials available on government and legal information websites. The document emphasizes evaluating sources for authority and currency when deciding between free and paid options for legal research needs.
This document provides instructions for how to brief a legal case. It explains that a case brief is a condensed summary of a court opinion that includes the facts, issue, holding, and application of the law to the facts. It provides examples of basic and more detailed case brief formats. The document concludes by summarizing a sample case brief for Mapp v. Ohio to demonstrate what a finished brief looks like.
The document discusses using case digests for legal research. It explains that case digests organize case headnotes by topic and key number. When researching, lawyers can use descriptive word indexes to identify relevant topics and key numbers, then look up those key numbers in digests to find other similar cases. The document provides examples to illustrate how topics, key numbers, and digests are structured and can be used in the legal research process.
This document provides an overview of searching case law, statutes, and secondary sources on WestlawNext. It discusses how to search using natural language or Boolean operators, filter search results, analyze whether cases are still good law, and utilize the West Key Number System to efficiently research topics. The document also demonstrates how to browse statutes, find related cases that have cited or applied a key case, and determine the negative treatment of cases to assess if they remain valid law.
The document provides an overview of West's Topic and Key Number System, which organizes case law into topics and key numbers to facilitate legal research. It describes how headnotes are assigned key numbers in the system and how key number digests collect headnotes by topic and key number. It also offers guidance on finding relevant key numbers and using them to locate additional case law.
AIA - What are you doing now - Post Grant and Inter Partes ReviewCraig Buschmann
The document discusses three types of post-grant patent challenges available under the America Invents Act (AIA): ex parte reexamination, post-grant review, and inter partes review. Ex parte reexamination allows any party to challenge a patent based on prior art, while post-grant review and inter partes review require the petitioner to participate and have higher standards for review. Both post-grant review and inter partes review provide discovery and estoppel against future challenges if final decisions are not appealed. The document provides details on procedures, timelines, costs, and strategic considerations for each type of challenge.
The document outlines the roles and jurisdiction of various courts in the US judicial system. It discusses that courts use the law to settle civil disputes and decide criminal cases. It also describes that district courts have original jurisdiction and conduct trials, while courts of appeals have appellate jurisdiction and review cases from district courts. The Supreme Court has ultimate appellate jurisdiction and can choose to hear cases that have national importance.
The document summarizes key aspects of the U.S. legal system including:
1) The primary sources of law are common law, constitutional law, statutory law, and administrative law.
2) The court system is divided into state and federal levels, with trial courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court at the federal level.
3) Legal resources include primary sources like constitutions, statutes, and court rulings, as well as secondary sources like law reviews and journals that examine and discuss the law.
The document summarizes key aspects of the U.S. legal system including:
1) The primary sources of law are common law, constitutional law, statutory law, and administrative law.
2) The court system is divided into state and federal levels, with trial courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court at the federal level.
3) Legal resources include primary sources like constitutions, statutes, and court rulings, as well as secondary sources like law reviews and journals that examine and discuss the law.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the US and its decisions are binding on all other courts. It has the power of judicial review to determine the constitutionality of laws. The Court hears appeals from lower federal and state courts on issues involving federal law or constitutional interpretation. It is composed of 9 justices nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate who have lifetime appointments. The Court's rulings impact many areas of American law and policy.
This presentation was given to the Masters class for Intellectual Property Law in order to familiarise themselves with the UCT Law Library, its staff, procedures and policies and its resources. It gives an overview of the different resources, with short how-tos included on their use.
This document provides an overview of statutory research, including the sources and processes for federal and state statutes. It discusses the hierarchy of statutes and their relationship to case law. The key federal statutory sources are bills, the Congressional Record, Statutes at Large, the United States Code, and annotated codes. Legislative history materials like committee reports and floor debates can help interpret statutes. Maintaining currency requires checking pocket parts and advance sheets for new cases and laws.
This document discusses the importance of researching the law for criminal justice professionals. It outlines several types of legal sources, including popular literature, professional literature, scholarly journals, primary sources like statutes and constitutions, and secondary sources like legal encyclopedias and treatises. Key legal research tools like legal citations, case briefing, Shepardizing cases, and computerized legal research are also summarized.
This training is presented to first year law students to familiarise them with legal resources available at UCT. The training covers how to access the different resources and conduct basic searches.
The document summarizes the American court system. It describes a three-tiered federal court system consisting of district courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. It also outlines state court systems, which generally have trial courts, appellate courts, and a state supreme court. The document provides details on criminal case courts and their functions at different levels. It also discusses pretrial activities like bail, grand juries, preliminary hearings, and arraignment and pleas.
The document provides an overview of legal research presented by Professors Tara Long and Itunu Sofidaya. It discusses what law and legal research are, the legal research process, types of legal resources including primary and secondary and mandatory and persuasive, and the court structure and appeal chain. Key topics covered include the four steps of the legal research process, how different branches of government make law, and determining whether sources are mandatory or persuasive depending on jurisdiction and court.
Federal administrative law research (manual)Dittakavi Rao
Federal administrative law governs regulations created by federal agencies. Congress establishes agencies and gives them power to create rules with the force of law. Regulations are published in the Federal Register and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations. The Administrative Procedure Act established procedures for rulemaking and judicial review. Regulations must be researched along with statutes. Loose-leaf services provide up-to-date agency rules, decisions, and secondary sources to fully understand administrative law.
This document provides an overview of researching U.S. legal sources. It outlines the U.S. court system and discusses secondary sources like American Jurisprudence 2d and American Law Reports. It also explains how to find and understand U.S. case citations and search for case law on Westlaw, Lexis, and free sources. Additionally, the document reviews searching for U.S. federal and state legislation on annotated codes and free sources like Cornell's LII.
Research Refresher: Statutes & Legislative Historydukelawreference
This document provides an overview of how to research federal statutes and locate related legislative history materials. It begins with an explanation of the legislative process and how bills become laws. It then discusses how statutes are published in various sources like slip laws, session laws, and codes. The document provides guidance on searching and navigating legal databases to find statutes and related cases. It also offers methods for locating legislative history documents through compiled sources, tables of contents, and indexes. Tips are included for researching state legislative materials as well.
The document provides guidance on writing legal briefs that summarize case law. It outlines the typical components of a brief, including the case citation, facts, procedure, issues, holding, and reasoning. For example, the facts section should outline only the key factual details necessary to understand how the law applies to the case. The issues section should pose questions that can be answered yes or no. The holding then answers the issues, and the reasoning explains the court's analysis.
This guide provides an overview of the steps and resources for non-lawyers to research a legal problem themselves. It recommends beginning by clearly stating the legal question, determining the relevant jurisdiction, and understanding common legal citations. Key resources include self-help books, legal encyclopedias, codes, court rules and cases. The order of resources presented generally moves from broader overview sources to more specific primary legal authorities that may directly address the problem. Public and law libraries provide access to both print and online versions of these materials.
This document provides an overview and schedule for a training on locating legal information online. It begins with introducing the goals of familiarizing participants with the US legal system and online legal resources. The schedule outlines discussing the legal system, common legal reference questions, identifying citations, and exploring legal portals and websites. It then provides a detailed overview of the US legal system, including the three branches of government and the types of primary legal authorities like constitutions, statutes, court rules, and cases. It describes the federal and Minnesota court structures and where to find legal authorities and cases online.
The document provides an overview of free and low-cost alternatives to Lexis and Westlaw for legal research. It discusses databases like Loislaw, Versuslaw, Casemaker, and FastCase that provide case law and other primary legal sources at a lower cost than Lexis and Westlaw. It also outlines many free sources for cases, statutes, regulations, court documents, and other materials available on government and legal information websites. The document emphasizes evaluating sources for authority and currency when deciding between free and paid options for legal research needs.
This document provides instructions for how to brief a legal case. It explains that a case brief is a condensed summary of a court opinion that includes the facts, issue, holding, and application of the law to the facts. It provides examples of basic and more detailed case brief formats. The document concludes by summarizing a sample case brief for Mapp v. Ohio to demonstrate what a finished brief looks like.
The document discusses using case digests for legal research. It explains that case digests organize case headnotes by topic and key number. When researching, lawyers can use descriptive word indexes to identify relevant topics and key numbers, then look up those key numbers in digests to find other similar cases. The document provides examples to illustrate how topics, key numbers, and digests are structured and can be used in the legal research process.
This document provides an overview of searching case law, statutes, and secondary sources on WestlawNext. It discusses how to search using natural language or Boolean operators, filter search results, analyze whether cases are still good law, and utilize the West Key Number System to efficiently research topics. The document also demonstrates how to browse statutes, find related cases that have cited or applied a key case, and determine the negative treatment of cases to assess if they remain valid law.
The document provides an overview of West's Topic and Key Number System, which organizes case law into topics and key numbers to facilitate legal research. It describes how headnotes are assigned key numbers in the system and how key number digests collect headnotes by topic and key number. It also offers guidance on finding relevant key numbers and using them to locate additional case law.
AIA - What are you doing now - Post Grant and Inter Partes ReviewCraig Buschmann
The document discusses three types of post-grant patent challenges available under the America Invents Act (AIA): ex parte reexamination, post-grant review, and inter partes review. Ex parte reexamination allows any party to challenge a patent based on prior art, while post-grant review and inter partes review require the petitioner to participate and have higher standards for review. Both post-grant review and inter partes review provide discovery and estoppel against future challenges if final decisions are not appealed. The document provides details on procedures, timelines, costs, and strategic considerations for each type of challenge.
The document outlines the roles and jurisdiction of various courts in the US judicial system. It discusses that courts use the law to settle civil disputes and decide criminal cases. It also describes that district courts have original jurisdiction and conduct trials, while courts of appeals have appellate jurisdiction and review cases from district courts. The Supreme Court has ultimate appellate jurisdiction and can choose to hear cases that have national importance.
The document summarizes key aspects of the U.S. legal system including:
1) The primary sources of law are common law, constitutional law, statutory law, and administrative law.
2) The court system is divided into state and federal levels, with trial courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court at the federal level.
3) Legal resources include primary sources like constitutions, statutes, and court rulings, as well as secondary sources like law reviews and journals that examine and discuss the law.
The document summarizes key aspects of the U.S. legal system including:
1) The primary sources of law are common law, constitutional law, statutory law, and administrative law.
2) The court system is divided into state and federal levels, with trial courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court at the federal level.
3) Legal resources include primary sources like constitutions, statutes, and court rulings, as well as secondary sources like law reviews and journals that examine and discuss the law.
The document summarizes key aspects of the US court system, including:
1) It describes problems that arose during the Articles of Confederation period when there were no national courts and state court decisions could be ignored by other states.
2) It outlines how the Constitution established the Supreme Court and authorized Congress to create lower federal courts.
3) It provides an overview of the types of federal courts that have been established, including district courts, courts of appeals, and specialized courts like the Court of International Trade.
The federal court system has two levels: federal courts and state courts. Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases involving federal laws and the Constitution, while state courts have jurisdiction over cases involving state laws. There are two types of jurisdiction in federal courts - original jurisdiction in district courts for trials and appellate jurisdiction in courts of appeal for hearing appeals. The federal court system is hierarchical, with the Supreme Court at the top, followed by circuit courts of appeals and district courts.
Nathan Rosen SLA presentation Case law statutes and regulations for the non l...Nathan Rosen
Special Libraries Association conference presentation on Case Law, Statutes and Regulations for the Non Legal Information Professional for October 2020. PowerPoint slides by Nathan Aaron Rosen on Case law
Here are brief summaries of some landmark Supreme Court cases related to students' rights in schools:
- Tinker v. DesMoines (1969): Students have a First Amendment right to freedom of expression unless it causes a substantial disruption to school activities. Wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War was protected speech.
- NJ v. TLO (1985): Schools can search students if there is reasonable suspicion the search will find evidence of a violation of law or school rules. A search of a student's purse for cigarettes was justified.
- Hazlewood v. Kuhlmeier (1988): Schools have authority over school-sponsored activities like student newspapers and can censor content for educational reasons.
The document summarizes key aspects of the US federal judiciary system, including its historical roots, structure, and processes. It describes how the system was established by the Constitution and Judiciary Act of 1789, with a three-tiered structure of district, appellate, and Supreme Courts. It also discusses important cases like Marbury v. Madison that established judicial review, and how federal judges are nominated and confirmed. The Supreme Court's role in deciding which cases to hear and how it reaches and issues rulings is also outlined.
This document provides an overview of elements of law. It discusses the definition of law, the three branches of government, sources of law including enacted law and case law, the structure of the federal and New York court systems, how cases proceed through the civil and criminal litigation processes, and key concepts like precedent, stare decisis, and the hierarchy of enacted law. The goal is to provide context for what students will learn in law school and level the playing field of knowledge.
Trial courts decide facts in disputed cases based on evidence and witness testimony. Judges and juries are essential parts of the legal system, with judges overseeing trials and juries selected from registered voters to serve if requested. Appeals courts review trial court decisions for legal errors based on written arguments, setting precedents that can be overturned by higher courts. The document then provides details on jury selection and duties, as well as an overview of the Mississippi and federal court systems.
Courts at both the federal and state level serve to interpret laws, clarify legal precedents, and ensure due process. There are typically four levels of courts - district/trial courts, appellate courts, supreme courts, and specialized courts. Federal courts hear cases involving federal law or where parties are from different U.S. states, while state court systems are organized differently in each state but generally have limited jurisdiction courts, courts of general jurisdiction, intermediate appellate courts, and a state supreme court. Key participants in the legal system include judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys.
This document provides an overview and schedule for a training on locating legal information online. It will include a one hour overview of the US legal system, discussing common legal information requests at public libraries and when to refer questions to attorneys, learning how to identify legal citations and retrieve documents, and touring some legal websites and exercises. The training will familiarize participants with the legal system, online legal resources, and the appropriate level of assistance public librarians can provide to patrons seeking legal help or information.
The American legal system draws from several sources of law - constitutional law based on the U.S. and state constitutions, statutory law from legislatures, and administrative law from government agencies. Criminal law involves offenses against society, while civil law involves offenses against individuals. The court system is hierarchical, with the U.S. Supreme Court at the top and able to take cases through a writ of certiorari. Lower courts examine jurisdiction, geography, and subject matter in hearings.
The document summarizes the two court systems in the United States - federal courts and state courts. Federal courts handle issues that arise under federal law while state courts handle most legal matters that arise within a state's borders, such as family law, criminal cases, and property disputes. The document also describes the structure of trial courts and appellate courts, the burden of proof in civil and criminal cases, and differences between civil and criminal law.
Learn about publicly available online resources for the U.S. Supreme Court. Presentation intended for library school students but offers enough information for someone who is curious about the topic.
The document summarizes the purpose and structure of the US judiciary system. It describes how the federal court system is organized into three levels - district courts, courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court. It also outlines the types of cases each level handles, the qualifications and selection of judges, and the role of the Supreme Court in interpreting the constitution and setting precedents that lower courts must follow.
The criminal justice system in the U.S. has three main components: law enforcement (police), courts, and corrections. Police are responsible for enforcing laws and maintaining peace. They fall under federal, state, or local jurisdictions. Courts determine guilt or innocence and impose appropriate sentences. The U.S. and each state have court systems with different levels like supreme courts and trial courts. Corrections oversees prisons, jails, parole and probation to punish and rehabilitate criminals. It also has federal, state and local divisions.
United States Federal Government Structure for International StudentsMolly Nichelson
I'm currently a graduate student in USC's Price School of Public Affairs, International Public Policy and Management program (IPPAM). The majority of my classmates are foreign nationals and they asked me to give a presentation on the US Federal Government structure. It's a basic overview but they were keenly interested in lobbying and PACs.
The document provides an overview of the criminal justice systems in Britain and the United States. It discusses the court structures and legal traditions of England/Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. It also compares the police, courts, and corrections branches of the U.S. system. Finally, it analyzes similarities and differences between the roles of lawyers, legal education, and sources of legal authority in the two countries.
This chapter provides an overview of the US legal system, including its key structures and players. It begins with an explanation of the adversarial system used in the US compared to the inquisitorial system used in other countries. It then discusses concepts of distributive and procedural justice. The chapter outlines the different levels of courts in the US legal system from local trial courts up to the Supreme Court. It also describes alternative dispute resolution methods and the roles of judges, lawyers, and expert witnesses in the legal process.
The document describes several levels of courts in the U.S. federal and state systems:
- U.S. District Courts are the lowest federal courts and have original jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases. They have lifetime appointed judges and hear cases with juries.
- U.S. Courts of Appeals have appellate jurisdiction and review district court cases through panels of judges without juries.
- The U.S. Supreme Court has both appellate and limited original jurisdiction and hears a small number of significant cases through lifetime appointed justices.
It also outlines state trial, appellate, and supreme courts that handle criminal cases and civil appeals through judges and juries.
Similar to National reporter system_complete_show3 (20)
The document provides instructions on how to operate an iPad, including how to turn it on and off using the power button, how to return to the home screen using the home button, and how to access common apps like Safari, the App Store, Notification Center, and Control Panel using gestures. It also provides care instructions to clean the screen with a soft cloth and not to use liquids, and it notes that iPads purchased through Brown Mackie come with AppleCare+ warranty coverage including accidental damage insurance.
Sign into your Student Portal at My.BrownMackie.edu and click on Microsoft Office 365 to access your student email account. From there, you can add your student email to your iPad for mobile access to your email and Office 365 apps.
This document provides an overview of copyright law and fair use guidelines for educational institutions, specifically for-profit colleges. It discusses key aspects of copyright like public domain, fair use, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The document also examines how these laws apply to different educational content sources, such as videos from YouTube, Netflix, library databases, and personally owned content. Factors like purpose of use, amount of content used, and commercial nature are addressed.
This document provides guidance for instructors on how to effectively manage difficult situations with students. It outlines several challenging student scenarios such as students having technology issues, being disruptive talkers, lacking motivation, trying to leave class early, being overly friendly, complaining, falling asleep, becoming upset or aggressive. For each situation, it suggests potential instructor responses ranging from addressing the issue directly with the student, engaging other students, following up later, or getting assistance from other staff if needed. The overall aim is for instructors to encourage positive behavior, demonstrate professionalism, hold students accountable, and ensure all students can learn.
This document discusses strategies for promoting critical thinking in the classroom. It recommends that teachers transition from simply supplying answers to asking open-ended questions that have no right or wrong answers and encourage exploration. Questions should require students to synthesize information and understand how different concepts fit together. The document also identifies barriers to critical thinking like too much memorization and not enough conceptual learning. It provides strategies for critical thinking like assessing students' prior knowledge, setting learning purposes, and using questioning techniques that encourage elaboration, disagreement, summarization, and examining assumptions.
Microsoft 365 provides students with five downloads of Office for PC, Mac, or mobile devices, one terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage, Outlook email, and access to Office Online. Students can access Microsoft 365 through the Student Portal at http://My.BrownMackie.edu or the Microsoft portal at http://Portal.office.com. Faculty have access to Microsoft and Adobe software at substantial discounts by verifying their eligibility at http://edmc.onthehub.com.
- Brown Mackie College students access their eTextbooks through VitalSource licenses. Student books have a temporary 15-day license that allows for class drops/adds, then switch to a long-term license on the 16th day. Faculty books are accessed with an eText code from campus iPad support.
- To access eTextbooks on an iPad or computer, students login to their student portal, click "eText", then the textbook title. The book will be available for 5 years once loaded.
- A series of steps are outlined for downloading the VitalSource app and accessing/downloading available eTextbooks on the iPad.
To enable eCollege access on an iPad, open the Settings app, go to the Safari section, and change the "Block Cookies" setting from its default to "Never" which allows cookies and allows users to access eCollege.
This document provides instructions for students at Brown Mackie College to access the student WiFi network and AirEDU connection on their iPads:
1. Go to Settings > WiFi and select the STUDENT_WIFI network, then enter your email username and password.
2. To access AirEDU, go to Safari and enter the LibraryGuides URL. Tap "Download AirEdu Configuration File" and follow the prompts to install and create a passcode.
3. Go to Settings > AirEDU and tap "Accept" to connect. You can then add a bookmark to the iPad modules website for easy access.
The document provides an overview of the basic features and care instructions for an iPad. It describes the home screen, power button, home button, volume buttons, cameras, ports, and speakers. It also recommends using a soft cloth to clean the screen and not using liquid cleaners. It advises never leaving the iPad unattended and how to use iCloud to find a missing iPad.
This document provides instructions for using various features and functions of the iPad, including how to access the internet browser Safari, settings, app store, notification center, control panel, spotlight search, app switching, selecting apps, closing apps, and returning to the home screen. It outlines gestures like swiping in different directions from various parts of the screen to activate these features.
This document provides tips for student success on tests. It begins by emphasizing the importance of asking for help if a concept is not understood. It then lists the top 10 test-taking tips, which include having a positive attitude, making a study plan, getting enough sleep the night before, eating breakfast, managing time during the test, and reviewing answers before finishing. Additional tips are provided for multiple choice tests, overcoming anxiety, and effective studying strategies like spacing out study times and focusing on key concepts. The overall message is that being prepared and using effective test-taking strategies can help students succeed.
Westlaw for the_practitioner_complete_show2jzahrndt
The document provides an overview of the various types of databases available on Westlaw that can assist paralegals in their work. It describes databases containing legal forms, practice guides, litigation materials, news sources, and public records. It provides examples of specific databases in each category and how they can be searched or tools used to locate relevant information within the databases. The document is intended to familiarize paralegal students with the resources on Westlaw that will be useful to them as practicing paralegals.
This document provides an overview of terms and connectors searching on Westlaw. It begins with an introduction to Boolean logic and terms and connectors searches. It then discusses constructing effective search queries using key terms, alternatives, and connectors. The document explains commonly used connectors like /p, /s, and &. It also covers other search techniques like phrase searching with quotation marks and field searching. The conclusion emphasizes that terms and connectors searching is based on simple logical rules rather than mathematics.
This document provides tips for conducting cost-effective online legal research on Westlaw. It discusses choosing the most appropriate pricing option (hourly vs. transactional), formulating efficient search strategies, selecting the smallest relevant database, and optimal printing methods. The document advises utilizing services like Westlaw reference attorneys, print directories, and Find by Citation to save money on research.
This document provides an overview of advanced natural language and terms and connectors searching techniques in Westlaw. It discusses how to manipulate natural language searches by adding alternative terms, excluding terms, and conducting field searches. It also covers best practices for using terms, expanders, connectors and fields to refine terms and connectors searches, including how different connectors are processed. The document aims to help users get the most out of natural language and terms and connectors searching in Westlaw.
The document provides an overview of key sources of administrative law, including the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and federal agency decisions. It discusses how federal agencies promulgate regulations, the rulemaking process, and how final regulations are published in the Federal Register and codified in the CFR. It also describes independent regulatory agencies and their role in creating regulations with the force of law.
1) All Brown Mackie eTextbooks are provided through VitalSource licenses which initially have a 15 day temporary license for drops/adds, after which they must be switched to a long-term 5-year license.
2) To access eTextbooks, students must login to their student portal, click on "eText", then the title of their assigned eTextbook.
3) If a student forgets their VitalSource login credentials, they can find them by tapping the Brown Mackie logo, then "My Account" and "My Account" again from the menu to view their email address and set a new password.
This document provides instructions for students at Brown Mackie College to download and install a shared calendar file on their iPads. It directs users to tap the iPad Module icon, then tap "Shared Calendars" and download the shared calendar file by tapping the arrow and selecting "Install" and "Install Now." Once installed, users can access the shared calendar by opening the Calendar app from their home screen.
2. CONTENTS
• Introduction: Case Law, the Courts and the
Doctrine of Precedent
• The National Reporter System
• Case Enhancements
• The Topic and Key Number System
• The Key Number Digests
• Topic and Key Number Research
3. INTRODUCTION: CASE LAW AND THE
COURTS
• Trial courts are the entry to the court system. Trial
courts are where:
– attorneys present evidence and make arguments &
– a judge or a judge and jury make determinations of law and
fact.
• Appellate courts hear appeals of trial court decisions to
determine whether there were errors of law in the trial
court decision, such as in the admission of evidence or
in jury instructions.
(There may be more than one level of appellate court. A higherlevel appellate court, such as a supreme court, hears appeals
from an intermediate appellate court decision.)
4. INTRODUCTION: CASE LAW AND THE
COURTS
• There is a federal system of trial and appellate courts.
– District courts are the federal trial level courts.
– Circuit courts and United States Supreme Court are the
federal appellate courts.
• Each state has a system of trial and appellate courts.
The number of appellate levels varies from state to
state but each state has a trial level court and at least
one appellate court level.
5. INTRODUCTION: CASE LAW AND THE
COURTS
Federal Court System
State Court Systems
District courts (trial-level)
(Southern District of N.Y.,
District of Minn)
State trial-level courts
Courts of appeals for
the 13 federal circuits
Most states have at least one
level of intermediate court(s) of
appeal(s)
State supreme court
United States Supreme Court
6. INTRODUCTION: CASE LAW AND THE
COURTS
• Appellate courts have jurisdiction over trial courts in a
specific geographic area.
• Appeals from the Federal District Court of Minnesota
are heard in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Decisions of the circuit courts can be appealed only to
the United States Supreme Court.
7. INTRODUCTION: THE DOCTRINE OF
PRECEDENT (STARE DECISIS)
• The doctrine of precedent, also known as “stare
decisis” (pronounced „stahr-ee di-si-sis‟), is founded
on a sense of fairness and the belief that decisions
should be consistent and not arbitrary. This ensures
that the legal consequences of conduct can be
predicted to a reasonable degree.
• The doctrine of precedent dictates that decisions
reached in previous cases in the same jurisdiction
dealing with the same or similar issues should be
followed unless there is a good reason to deviate.
8. INTRODUCTION: THE DOCTRINE OF
PRECEDENT (STARE DECISIS)
• The decision of a court is binding authority on that
court and on the lower courts in the same jurisdiction
when deciding factually similar issues.
• Cases decided in another jurisdiction, although not
binding as precedent, may be a valuable source of
legal reasoning for an issue not previously addressed
in the jurisdiction. This is referred to as persuasive
authority.
• The doctrine of precedent explains why attorneys
need access to prior cases as they will likely dictate
the outcome of their case.
9. QUESTION
• The doctrine of precedent dictates that:
1.
Cases from outside jurisdictions have no
influence on a case in the jurisdiction
2.
Case law in a jurisdiction should not deviate
from precedents
3.
Precedents in the jurisdiction should be followed
unless there is a good reason to deviate
4.
All of the above
10. CONTENTS
• Introduction: Case Law, the Courts and the
Doctrine of Precedent
• The National Reporter System
• Case Enhancements
• The Topic and Key Number System
• The Key Number Digests
• Topic and Key Number Research
11. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM
• Without a coherent, uniform means of accessing
cases from all state and federal jurisdictions, finding
cases discussing similar points of law would be
immensely difficult.
• The National Reporter System organizes both federal
and state case law into a cohesive body of law that
can be researched within and across jurisdictions.
12. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM
• In 1879, West started the National Reporter System,
which compiles cases from state and federal courts
and organized them into various reporter sets.
• Volumes in a set are numbered consecutively. A new
series starting with volume 1 is begun when one
series becomes too unwieldy
– For example, 999 F.Supp. is followed by 1 F.Supp.2d.
13. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
FEDERAL CASES
• Federal district (trial) court decisions are published in
the Federal Supplement®.
• Only a selection of district court cases is reported.
• Citation format:
– 75 F.Supp. 225
– 13 F.Supp.2d 881
• These cases are on Westlaw in the DCT and DCT-OLD
databases.
14. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
FEDERAL CASES
• U.S. district court cases can be appealed to the
Federal Circuit court that hears appeals from that
district. There are 13 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.
• The decisions of the circuit courts are published in the
Federal Reporter®.
• Citation format:
– 333 F.2d 120
– 37 F.3d 300
15. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
FEDERAL CASES
• The Thirteen Federal Judicial Circuits
• The Federal Reporter cases are on Westlaw in the
CTA and CTA-OLD databases.
16. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
FEDERAL CASES
• Cases can be appealed from the Circuit Courts of
Appeals to the United States Supreme Court.
• Decisions of the United States Supreme Court are
published in the Supreme Court Reporter®.
• Citation format: 99 S.Ct. 331
• These cases are on Westlaw in the SCT and SCTOLD databases.
17. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
FEDERAL CASES
• There are also federal topical reporters that are part of
West‟s National Reporter System:
– Bankruptcy Reporter®
– Federal Rules Decisions®
– Military Justice Reporter®
– Federal Claims Reporter™
18. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
STATE CASES
• Cases from all 50 states are published in one of seven
regional reporters: Atlantic Reporter®, Southern
Reporter®, South Eastern Reporter®, South Western
Reporter®, North Eastern Reporter®, North Western
Reporter®, and Pacific Reporter®.
• There are also state reporters, which publish one
state‟s cases.
19. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
STATE CASES
• Below is a map of the seven regional reporters that
cover state cases.
20. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
STATE CASES
• This is the first page
from a volume in the
Pacific Reporter. It
lists the states that
have cases
published in the
Pacific Reporter.
21. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
FEDERAL & STATE CASES ON WESTLAW
• All cases from all state, regional, and federal reporters
are in the ALLCASES database.
• All cases from every federal reporter is in the
ALLFEDS database.
• All cases from all state and regional reporters are in
the ALLSTATES database.
• All cases from each regional reporter are in separate
databases: (NW, SW, SO, ATL, NE, PAC and SE).
• Each state has a Westlaw case law database. The
identifiers are XX-CS, where XX is the state‟s twoletter postal abbreviation. Examples – NY-CS, FL-CS.
22. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
ADDING CASES TO REPORTERS
• The court sends a copy of its decision to Thomson
Reuters, Legal (West) shortly after the cases are
decided.
• A slip-copy version of the case is added to Westlaw
within hours once received by West.
23. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
UPDATING REPORTERS
• This is a slip-copy opinion as decided and filed with
the court. It is on Westlaw but has not yet been
editorially enhanced by West attorney-editors.
24. THE NATIONAL REPORTER SYSTEM:
UPDATING REPORTERS
• Attorneys have access to all but the most recent
cases through the advance sheets (which update the
hardbound reporters).
• After a thorough editorial process, a case generally
appears in the appropriate reporter advance sheet
within six to eight weeks of receipt of the case.
25. Question
• Which of the following statements is false?
– The National Reporter System was created in the mid-1950s
to organize the greatly expanding number of court cases.
– Most appellate court cases and some federal trial-level cases
appear in at least one reporter set.
– There are jurisdictional reporters and there are subject-matter
reporters.
– Cases from all 50 states are published in the seven regional
reporters.
(Click your mouse to see correct answer)
26. CONTENTS
• Introduction: Case Law, the Courts and the
Doctrine of Precedent
• The National Reporter System
• Case Enhancements
• The Topic and Key Number System
• The Key Number Digests
• Topic and Key Number Research
27. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: EDITORIAL
• This slip opinion appears just as written by the judge
and processed and filed with the court.
• West attorney-editors take the language of the court,
correct errors, and add features that are essential
tools for the careful researcher.
28. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: EDITORIAL
SCRUTINY
• When West receives a slip opinion
– the manuscript is scrutinized for accuracy
– parallel citations are added
– textual information is updated
– the court is contacted if clarification or corrections are needed
• More than 1.5 million case citations are checked,
500,000 parallel citations are added, and 80,000
errors in opinions are corrected each year.
29. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: EDITORIALLY
CREATED FINDING TOOLS
• Both the advance sheets and the bound volumes of
the reporters include:
– a Table of Cases arranged by state
– a Table of Statutes interpreted by cases covered
– a list of Words and Phrases defined by the cases covered
– Tables of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal
Rules of Evidence that are interpreted by the cases covered
in the advance sheet or reporter.
30. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: CREATED BY
ATTORNEY EDITORS
• Synopsis: A summary of the procedural history, the
facts, the main points of law, and the holding of the
case.
• Headnotes: Summaries of the points of law discussed
in the body of the opinion.
• Key Numbers: Headnotes are assigned a topic and
key number in the West Key Number System.
31. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: CREATED BY
ATTORNEY EDITORS
• Headnotes and synopses are prepared by West
attorney-editors using:
– consistent and current legal terminology instead of
ambiguous, regional, or outdated words
– descriptive terms instead of proper names
• Examples:
– Tenant is used instead of Mr. Blake or plaintiff
– Aspirin is used instead of Bufferin or Tylenol
– Intoxicated is used instead of tipsy or inebriated
• These headnotes can help you retrieve many cases
online that you might otherwise miss.
32. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: SYNOPSIS &
HEADNOTES
• The synopsis is the first
paragraph of a National
Reporter System case.
• Headnotes follow the synopsis
in a National Reporter System
case.
• Headnotes appear in the order
the points of law are discussed
in the case.
Synopsis
Headnotes
33. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: EDITORIAL
ENHANCEMENTS & FIELDS
• Each online National Reporter System case is divided
into segments called fields.
• A digest (includes headnotes) field search and/or
synopsis field search is an efficient way to search the
online case law databases.
sy,di(wrongful! /3 terminat! discharg!)
• A digest field search allows you to retrieve a great
number of relevant cases while at the same time limit
retrieved cases to ones in which the point of law you
are researching is central to the holding of the case.
34. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: DIGEST FIELDS
• Synopsis Field
– Procedural History
– Central Points of Law
– Holding of Case
• Digest Field includes:
– Topic/Key Numbers
– Headnotes
35. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: FIELD SEARCHES
ON WESTLAW
• Synopsis field search in Westlaw case law database
– sy(malpractice /p “foreign object”)
• Digest field search in a Westlaw case law database:
– di( bystander /p “emotional distress”)
• A combined synopsis and digest field search in a
Westlaw case law database:
– sy,di(landlord /p “common area”)
36. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: ADDITIONAL
FIELDS
• Citation
– volume number, the reporter, and the first page number of
the case
• Title or Caption
– names of parties
• Docket Number
– the number assigned to the case when it is filed with the
court; this number follows the case through its litigation
history
• Attorneys of Record, Judge(s) and Opinion
37. CASE ENHANCEMENTS: ADDITIONAL
FIELDS
• You can access
a list of Fields
from the Search
page.
• This is a partial
list of the fields in
a case law
database
38. QUESTION
• Which of the following statements is false?
1.
Attorney-editors spot and summarize up to five points of law
discussed in the case.
2.
Attorney-editors prepare a synopsis and headnotes, using
universally recognized legal terminology.
3.
Attorney-editors contact the court before making corrections
to the decision.
4.
Searching in the synopsis and digest fields on Westlaw
allows you to retrieve more on-point documents and ensures
that you retrieve only cases in which your issue is a central
point of law in the decision.
39. CONTENTS
• Introduction: Case Law, the Courts and the
Doctrine of Precedent
• The National Reporter System
• Case Enhancements
• The Topic and Key Number System
• The Key Number Digests
• Topic and Key Number Research
40. THE TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER SYSTEM:
ASSIGNMENT OF KEY NUMBERS
• When West receives a slip opinion, a West attorneyeditor reads it and identifies the points of law
discussed in the case.
• Each point of law is summarized in a headnote.
• After a careful analysis of the point of law the
headnote discusses, the headnote is assigned to at
least one key number in the West Topic and Key
Number System.
41. THE TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER SYSTEM:
HEADNOTES
Key Numbers
Headnote
This headnote summarizes a point of law discussed in
this case. The headnote is assigned to key number
205Hk30 under Topic 205H (Implied & Constructive
Contracts).
42. THE TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER SYSTEM
• The Topic and Key Number System is:
– the index to the entire National Reporter System
– a comprehensive and detailed outline of the entire body of
case law in this country
– a classification system with a at least one topic and key
number attached to each point of law (headnote)
• The Topic and Key Number System allows you to
locate cases with the same or similar legal issues in
any jurisdiction in the United States.
43. THE TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER SYSTEM:
AN EXAMPLE
• Each topic is broken down into subheadings.
• This process continues until further breakdown of a point
of law is unproductive and a specific key number is
assigned. See, 92k90.1(1.2) below.
• There are over 100,000 specific key numbers.
92 Constitutional Law (Topic)
92V Personal, Civil and Political Rights (Sub-Heading)
92k90 Freedom of Speech and of the Press
92k90.1 Particular Expressions and Limitations
92k90.1(1.2) k. Election Regulations
44. QUESTION
• The Topic and Key Number System is:
1.
An index to National Reporter System cases
2.
An outline of American law
3.
A classification system
4.
All of the above
45. CONTENTS
• Introduction: Case Law, the Courts and the
Doctrine of Precedent
• The National Reporter System
• Case Enhancements
• The Topic and Key Number System
• The Key Number Digests
• Topic and Key Number Research
46. KEY NUMBER DIGEST
• West‟s Key Number Digests are the
research link between key numbers and
the National Reporter System cases.
• The digests contain the headnotes
(digest paragraphs) and their
corresponding topic and key numbers
from every case in the National Reporter
System.
• The headnotes are organized
alphabetically by topic and then
numerically by key number.
47. KEY NUMBER DIGEST
• Digest sets include:
–
–
–
–
State digests
Regional digests
Federal Practice Digest
Specialty subjects, such as Bankruptcy, Military
Justice, Federal Claims, and Education Law
digests
– Decennial digests, which contain all headnotes
from cases for each 10-year period beginning
with 1897
– The Century Digest, which contains headnotes
from cases from 1658 to 1896
48. KEY NUMBER DIGEST
Each digest set spans many volumes and is organized first
alphabetically by the more than 400 topics in the Key
Number System, then numerically by key number.
49. KEY NUMBER DIGEST ON WESTLAW
• The identifiers of the
headnote databases
include the suffix HN,
e.g., CA-HN,
ALLFEDS-HN.
50. QUESTION
• The Key Number Digests contain:
1. The synopsis from each case in the National
Reporter System
2. Headnotes from cases in the National
Reporter System, organized by date of case
3. Citations to the full case
4. None of the above
51. CONTENTS
• Introduction: Case Law, the Courts and the
Doctrine of Precedent
• The National Reporter System
• Case Enhancements
• The Topic and Key Number System
• The Key Number Digests
• Topic and Key Number Research
52. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING PRINT DIGESTS
• Using a key number found in a case
– You have found a case with a relevant
headnote and key number
– Go to a print digest set covering the appropriate jurisdiction and
find the volume covering that topic, then find the specific key
number
– All headnotes (digest paragraphs) from all cases discussing the
point of law assigned to that key number are listed along with
their citations
53. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING PRINT DIGESTS
• Topic Analysis
– Browse the topic list at
the beginning of any
Key Number digest
volume to select a
relevant topic.
54. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING PRINT DIGESTS
• Descriptive Word Index
– Each digest set includes a Descriptive Word Index.
– Specific words and phrases lead to relevant key numbers.
55. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING PRINT DIGESTS
• Most descriptive words fall into one of five
categories of elements common to every case:
– Parties or facts
– Places and things
– Issues or basis of action
– Defenses
– Relief sought
56. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING WESTLAW.COM
• Using a key number found in a case
• After conducting a word search on Westlaw, you find a
relevant case with an on-point headnote.
• You can use the key number assigned to this
headnote to retrieve other cases discussing the same
point of law.
• This is the most common way of finding relevant key
numbers on Westlaw.
57. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING WESTLAW.COM
Using a key number to create a Custom Digest and retrieve all
headnotes assigned to that key number, creating a Custom Digest.
157k448
By clicking a relevant key
number or the Most Cited
Cases link, you can run a
key number search
through a database
58. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING WESTLAW.COM
• A Custom Digest contains
the headnotes assigned to
that key number in the
selected jurisdiction.
• Each headnote links to its
corresponding case.
• You have created a Custom
Digest of all headnotes
assigned to 157k448 in the
Minnesota.
59. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING WESTLAW.COM
• Using the topic list to create a
Custom Digest
• Click the Key Numbers link at
the top of the page
• Click the plus symbols to
expand the topics and see
subheadings. Expand
subheadings if necessary OR
• When you find a relevant key
number, type it into text box or
check the box beside it and
click GO or Search Selected
60. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING WESTLAW.COM
• Using the topic list to
create a Custom Digest
• You can run a key
number search in the
headnote database of
your choice.
Databases
• You can restrict by
date or add terms for a
customized result.
Add Terms
Date
61. TOPIC AND KEY NUMBER RESEARCH:
USING WESTLAW.COM
• If you know a key number and want to find additional
cases that have that particular number, you can
accomplish it with a terms and connectors search
• When you have a topic and key number, simply
enter it as your query:
– For example – 92k90.1(1.2)
• The “k” makes this a unique term. You will retrieve
only documents containing the key number term.
62. QUESTION
•
Which of the following statement(s) is true?
–
The most common method for using a key number to
find cases is to work from a key number in a relevant
case.
–
The Descriptive Word Index is a Westlaw dictionary
service.
–
There are no similarities between the print digests and
the Westlaw headnote databases.
–
Both 1 and 3.
63. CONCLUSION
• The National Reporter System, the West
editorial enhancements, the West Key Number
System, and West‟s Key Number Digests are an
integrated research system that guides you to
prior cases in any state or federal jurisdiction
that discussed similar facts or points of law.