PRL 101 class slides, August 27

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Transcript

1. Legal research
2. Research sources • Primary –constitutions –codes/statutes –cases • Secondary –Hornbooks/treatises –Formbooks –Restatements –Dictionaries/encyclopedias
3. Electronic research • Fastcase.com • UserID signup sheet
4. Primary law database Case law Federal & state back to 1950 Statutes U.S. Code & official state statutes for D.C. plus 44 states Other regs. Links to state and federal administrative regulations and codes (some are searchable) Court rules Links to state and federal courts rules (some are searchable) Constitutions Links to state and federal constitutions (a few are searchable)
5. Databases
6. Search types • Most powerful, precise and flexible way to search • Allows use of Boolean operators to narrow results from the start Keyword (Boolean) • Best for non-legal professionals or brand-new to online legal research • Less precise than Keyword search Natural language • Pull up cases by reporter citation • Search for multiple cases at once Citation lookup
7. Keyword search Operator Description And, & Results must contain both words specified Or Results must contain either of the words specified Not Results must not contain the word excluded w/3, /3 Results must contain the words specified within a certain distance of one another " " Results must contain the precise phrase entered ( ) Use parentheses to define the order of operations when using multiple operators
8. And Capital Punishment
9. Or Capital Punishment
10. Not Capital Punishment
11. within: jury /3 trial . . . jury trial . . . . . . trial by jury. . . . . . jury for the trial . . . . . . jury. Moreover, trial . . . . . . jury question, the trial . . .
12. Bad faith failure to pay • Bad faith failure to pay • "Bad faith failure to pay" • "Bad faith" /6 "failure to pay"
13. Wildcards • * : any number of letters/numbers: delib* – deliberate – deliberation – deliberator – deliberately • ? : one letter or number: pokem?n – pokemon – pokeman
14. Quotation marks • Miranda warning – Miranda and warning anywhere in case • "Miranda Warning" – Only phrase Miranda Warning
15. Citation lookup
16. statutes
17. Research question • Does Alabama recognize common-law marriages? • Statutes? • What are the elements of a common-law marriage? • Case?
18. Brief assignment • Research question? • What are the elements of a common law marriage? • Case?
19. Case? • Watkins v Watkins, (Ala. Civ. App. 2015)
20. Brief format • Memo form • To: • From: • Date: • RE: [case citation]
21. Brief outline • Facts: (what happened?) • Issue: (what question did the court address?) • Holding: (what was the answer?) • Rationale: (why?)