Term
| Secondary Authority - Definition of |
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Definition
| consists of legal research that summarize, compile, explain, comments on, interpret, or in some other way addresses the law. Is NOT the law, is persuasive authority that is not binding on the courts but the courts may rely on it and follow it. |
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Term
| Secondary Authority - Uses for |
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Definition
| to get a background or overall understanding of a specific area of law when unfamiliar with that area, locate primary authority on a question being researched, to be relied on by the court when reaching a decision |
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Term
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Definition
| provide a broad overview of all areas of law, they provide a summary of the law. They provide more emphasis on case law and LESS emphasis on statutes and statutory law |
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Term
| Legal Encyclopedias - What do they NOT do |
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Definition
| they do not criticize or analyze the law |
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Term
| 2 types of legal encyclopedias |
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Definition
| National and Local/State Encyclopedias |
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Term
| 2 types of National Encyclopedias |
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Definition
| American Jurisprudence second (Am. Jur. 2d) and Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) |
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Term
| Similarities between the 2 types of National Encyclopedias (Am. Jur. 2d and CJS) |
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Definition
| topics are alphabetical, comprehensive general index, summary of what is covered at the beginning of each topic, contain pocket parts |
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Term
| Differences between 2 types of National Encyclopedias (Am. Jur. 2d and CJS) |
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Definition
CJS: larger, less emphasis on statutory law
Am. Jur. 2d: emphasizes more on statutory law, includes a New Topic Service binder that introduces new topics, includes a desk book |
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Term
| Purpose(s) for using a legal encyclopedia |
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Definition
| primarily to obtain an overview of a specific area of law and to locate case law in that area |
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Term
| What research source would you refer to when researching Am. Jur. 2d and CJS |
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Definition
| Westlaw. Am. Jur 2d is also found on LexisNexis |
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Term
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Definition
| published for individual states, most states do NOT have one. |
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Term
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Definition
| texts that provide a comprehensive analysis of a single area of law. Provides an in depth discussion of the law and will explain, analyze and criticize the law. |
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Term
| Treatise - when would one be used |
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Definition
| when you are seeking more than the general summary of the law provided by a legal encyclopedia |
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Term
| Types of Computer Aided Research |
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Definition
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Term
| American Law Reports (ALR) |
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Definition
| publishes the text of leading state and federal court opinions addressing specific issues. |
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Term
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Definition
| also referred to as the analysis of the legal issues raised in the opinion. comes after the opinion. they will provide references to other research sources. can provide most if not all of your research in one place: comprehensive analysis of the issue, references to and summaries of the case law on point and references to other research sources. |
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Term
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Definition
| NOT secondary authority meaning it is not a source that a court will rely on to interpret the law. It is a set of books that organize the law by topic and divided again into subtopics. provides the citation to and a brief summary of all the court opinions that have addressed the subtopics. it is helpful for locating cases on specific questions being researched. |
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Term
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Definition
| a number assigned to each subtopic in West's system. reference tool to find a subtopic. |
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Term
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Definition
| the most comprehensive and inclusive digest. presents summaries of all of the reported state and federal court decisions. |
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Term
| State digests usually include what 2 courts decisions |
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Definition
| the reported state court decisions and federal court decisions arising in the state. |
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Term
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Definition
| to locate case law that addresses points of law. Used when you know the name of a case that addresses the point of law being researched and are looking for other cases that address the same point and when you do not know any cases that address the point of law being researched. |
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Term
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Definition
| tool for ensuring authority is good law. |
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Term
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Definition
| Lexis Shepard's Citations and Westlaw's KeyCite. |
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Term
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Definition
| the process of consulting a Shepard's source to determine if authority is still good law. |
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Term
| Shepard's United States Citations |
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Definition
| used for updating US Supreme Court cases |
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Term
| features of case law citators |
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Definition
| abbreviations/analysis and introductory material, case location, parallel citations, history of the case and later case treatment. |
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Term
| Shepard's signal - red stop sign |
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Definition
| warns that there is significant negative history or treatment like reversal of the case on at least one point of law. |
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Term
| Shepard's signal - yellow triangle |
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Definition
| warns of some negative history or treatment, when it is being distinguished from another case |
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Term
| Shepard's signal - green plus |
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Definition
| reveals a positive history, when it has been followed by other cases. |
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Term
| Shepard's signal - letter "Q" in an orange square |
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Definition
| warns that the validity of the case has been questioned by another jurisdiction |
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Term
| Shepard's signal - letter "A" in a blue circle |
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Definition
| tells you that the case has been analyzed by another case in a neutral manner |
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Term
| Shepard's signal - red exclamation point |
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Definition
| warns that there is a case that negatively interprets a statute. |
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Term
| Keycite Signal - red flag |
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Definition
| warns that a statute has been amended, repealed or held unconstitutional. |
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Term
| Keycite Signal - yellow flag |
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Definition
| warns that there is some negative history like when there is case law that limits the application of the statute or pending legislation. |
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Term
| Keycite signal - green "C" |
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Definition
| indicates that other sources have cited your statute. |
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