Basic Legal Research : Tools and Strategies

by Sloan, Amy E.

• ISBN13: 9780735511989
• ISBN10: 0735511985
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: Wolters Kluwer

Summary

This exciting new text offers an accessible, shorter book for teaching legal research with an effective 'building block' approach-- breaking down the material into discrete parts and building on previous material to create a smooth, logical flow To The book. The book's brief and basic coverage makes it appropriate for shorter courses, while self-contained chapters lend incredible teaching flexibility. Special Features: Self-contained chapters lend incredible teaching flexibility Graphics, including sample pages and other examples of research sources, enhance the presentation and make the book extremely accessible Excellent pedagogy includes end of chapter checklists, lists and charts summarizing material within chapters, and clear examples.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Introduction to Legal Research	p. 1
Sources of law	p. 2
Types of authority	p. 4
Introduction to the process of legal research	p. 6
Overview of print and electronic sources of legal authority	p. 9
Introduction to legal citation	p. 10
Overview of this text	p. 16
Generating Search Terms	p. 19
Generating search terms based on categories of information	p. 19
Expanding the initial search	p. 21
Secondary Source Research	p. 25
What are secondary sources and why use them?	p. 25
How to use secondary sources	p. 27
Electronic research of secondary sources	p. 48
Citing secondary sources	p. 49
Sample pages for secondary source research	p. 55
Checklist for secondary source research	p. 70
Case Research	p. 73
Court opinions	p. 73
Locating cases using a digest	p. 80
Additional features of digests	p. 92
Electronic case research	p. 95
Citing cases	p. 101
Sample pages for researching cases using a print digest	p. 104
Checklist for case research	p. 121
Research with Shepard's Citations and Other Citators	p. 123
The purpose of a citator	p. 123
Using Shepard's Citations in print for case research	p. 124
When to use a citator in case research	p. 132
Shepard's for additional types of authority	p. 135
Checking citations electronically	p. 136
Sample pages for Shepardizing a case in print	p. 141
Checklist for case research with Shepard's Citations and other citators	p. 148
Statutory Research	p. 151
The publication of statutory law	p. 151
Researching federal statutory provisions in United States Code Annotated	p. 156
Additional statutory research tools	p. 164
Electronic statutory research	p. 171
Citing statutes	p. 176
Sample pages for statutory research	p. 178
Checklist for statutory research	p. 191
Federal Legislative History Research	p. 193
The process of enacting a law	p. 193
Sources of federal legislative history	p. 196
Researching federal legislative history in print	p. 199
Researching federal legislative history electronically	p. 210
Citing federal legislative history	p. 215
Sample pages for federal legislative history research	p. 219
Checklist for federal legislative history research	p. 227
Federal Administrative Law Research	p. 233
Administrative agencies and regulations	p. 233
Researching federal regulations in print	p. 234
Shepard's for the Code of Federal Regulations	p. 246
Electronic research of federal regulations	p. 247
Citing federal regulations	p. 248
Sample pages for federal administrative law research	p. 250
Checklist for federal administrative law research	p. 265
Subject-Matter Service Research	p. 267
Overview of subject-matter services	p. 268
Locating subject-matter services	p. 269
Conducting subject-matter research using print, CD-ROM, and Internet resources	p. 269
Subject-matter research in LexisNexis and Westlaw	p. 278
Citing subject-matter services	p. 279
Sample pages for subject-matter service research	p. 280
Checklist for subject-matter service research	p. 292
Electronic Legal Research	p. 293
Introduction to electronic legal research	p. 294
Selecting an electronic legal research service	p. 300
Constructing, executing, and reviewing an electronic word search	p. 301
Researching effectively in Westlaw and LexisNexis	p. 312
Citing electronic legal research services	p. 317
Sample pages for electronic legal research	p. 320
Checklist for electronic legal research	p. 324
Developing a Research Plan	p. 327
Why create a research plan?	p. 327
Creating a research plan	p. 327
Finding help	p. 340
Sample research plans	p. 342
Research checklists	p. 347
Selected Internet Research Resources	p. 355
Index	p. 361
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