Legal Research in a Nutshell

by Cohen, Morris L.; Olson, Kent C.

• ISBN13: 9780314264084
• ISBN10: 0314264086
• Edition: 10th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-28
• Publisher: West Academic

Summary

Finding and using legal resources effectively is an essential skill for lawyers. This comprehensive but succinct guide covers major Internet resources as well as online databases and library materials, with almost a hundred illustrations of print and online sources. Several hundred websites are discussed and placed in context for effective and productive use in research. Discussion includes coverage of legislative history, administrative law, specialized and interdisciplinary resources, and research in international and comparative law. Appendices list state research guides and treatises and services by subject.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. V
Acknowledgments	p. IX
The Research Process	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
The Sources of the Law	p. 3
The Forms of Legal Information	p. 6
Current and Historical Information	p. 6
Primary and Secondary Sources	p. 8
Print and Electronic Resources	p. 9
Legal Language	p. 13
Legal Citations	p. 14
Online Research Basics	p. 17
Westlaw	p. 18
Lexis	p. 27
Other Databases	p. 31
Handling a Research Project	p. 32
First Steps	p. 32
In-Depth Research	p. 34
Providing Current Information	p. 35
Completing a Project	p. 36
Background and Analysis	p. 43
Introduction	p. 43
Overviews	p. 45
Legal Encyclopedias	p. 46
American Jurisprudence 2d and Corpus Juris Secundum	p. 47
Jurisdictional Encyclopedias	p. 50
Texts and Treatises	p. 52
Restatements of the Law	p. 59
Law Reviews	p. 61
Westlaw and Lexis	p. 63
HeinOnline	p. 65
Periodical Indexes	p. 66
Other Sources	p. 68
Case Law	p. 76
Introduction	p. 77
Electronic Research	p. 84
Westlaw	p. 85
Lexis	p. 89
Other Resources	p. 91
West Digests	p. 93
Finding Cases in Digests	p. 94
Jurisdictional and Regional Digests	p. 97
Decennial and General Digests	p. 99
Words and Phrases	p. 101
American Law Reports Annotations	p. 102
Format and Content	p. 103
Finding Annotations	p. 106
Citators	p. 108
KeyCite	p. 110
Shepard's Citations Online	p. 113
Shepard's Citations in Print	p. 115
Sources for Federal Court Cases	p. 118
Supreme Court of the United States	p. 118
Lower Federal Courts	p. 125
Sources for State Court Cases	p. 131
Official Reports	p. 133
National Reporter System	p. 135
Other Sources	p. 137
Statutes and Constitutions	p. 159
Introduction	p. 159
Publication of Statutes	p. 161
Statutory Research	p. 165
Online Code Databases	p. 165
KeyCite and Shepard's	p. 168
Indexes and Tables	p. 171
Sources for Federal Statutes	p. 174
Slip Laws and Session Laws	p. 175
The United States Code	p. 177
Annotated Codes	p. 181
Sources for State Statutes	p. 183
Slip Laws and Session Laws	p. 183
Codes	p. 185
Multistate Research Sources	p. 187
Uniform Laws	p. 190
Interstate Compacts	p. 192
The U. S. Constitution	p. 192
State Constitutions	p. 196
Legislative information	p. 216
Introduction	p. 216
Federal Legislative History Sources	p. 218
Bills	p. 220
Committee Reports	p. 222
Federal Legislative History Sources- Continued
Debates	p. 224
Hearings	p. 228
Other Congressional Publications	p. 229
Congressional Research Resources	p. 232
Compiled Legislative Histories	p. 234
THOMAS and Other Congressional Websites	p. 235
LexisNexis Congressional and CIS	p. 236
USCCAN and Westlaw	p. 239
CQ and Other News Sources	p. 241
Printed Status Tables	p. 243
Directories	p. 245
State Legislative Information	p. 246
Administrative Law	p. 261
Introduction	p. 261
Background Reference Sources	p. 263
Agency Websites	p. 263
Guides and Directories	p. 265
Federal Regulations	p. 267
Federal Register	p. 268
Code of Federal Regulations	p. 272
Finding and Updating Regulations	p. 275
Guidance Documents	p. 279
Administrative Decisions and Rulings	p. 282
Presidential Lawmaking	p. 286
Executive Orders and Proclamations	p. 286
Other Presidential Documents	p. 288
State Administrative Law	p. 291
Websites and Directories	p. 291
State Administrative Law-Continued
Regulations and Executive Orders	p. 292
Decisions, Rulings, and Other Documents	p. 293
Local Law	p. 295
Court Rules and Practice	p. 307
Introduction	p. 307
Court Rules	p. 308
Federal Rules	p. 308
State Rules	p. 313
Legal Ethics	p. 314
Briefs and Other Court Documents	p. 317
Directories of Courts and Judges	p. 325
Formbooks and Jury Instructions	p. 327
Specialized and Nonlegal Sources	p. 334
Introduction	p. 334
Looseleaf and Electronic Services	p. 335
Current Awareness	p. 340
Legal Newspapers and Newsletters	p. 341
Current Scholarship	p. 344
Blogs and Other Online Resources	p. 345
General News and Business Information	p. 346
Statistics	p. 349
Interdisciplinary Research	p. 352
Legal History Resources	p. 356
Directories	p. 360
Specialized Research Guides	p. 363
International Law	p. 373
Introduction	p. 373
Preliminary Research	p. 375
U. S. Practice in International Law	p. 378
Treaties	p. 378
Foreign Relations Documents	p. 385
General Treaty Research	p. 386
Cases and Arbitrations	p. 390
International Court of Justice	p. 391
Other Courts	p. 392
Arbitrations	p. 397
International Organizations	p. 398
United Nations and Related Agencies	p. 398
World Trade Organization	p. 400
European Union and Other Regional Organizations	p. 402
Sources for Further Information	p. 404
The Law of Other Countries	p. 412
Introduction	p. 412
Legal Systems of the World	p. 413
Reference Sources in Foreign and Comparative Law	p. 415
Encyclopedias and Legal System Guides	p. 415
Research Guides and Indexes	p. 418
Summaries and Translations of Laws	p. 420
Dictionaries	p. 423
Original Sources	p. 425
Links to Country Websites	p. 425
Common Law Jurisdictions	p. 426
Civil Law Jurisdictions	p. 433
State Legal Research Guides	p. 438
Major Treatises and Services By Subject	p. 454
Resource Index	p. 471
Subject Index	p. 489
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