Category Archives: Internet

Legal Research Finally Demystified.

26 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by in Case Law, Court Rules, Federal Law, Internet, Law Journals, Law Reviews, Legal Encyclopedia, Legislative History, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Regulations, Research, Secondary Resources, State Law, Statutes

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Legal Research Demystified, by Eric Voight, Professor of Legal Research and Writing, Faulkner University

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3354594 (table of contents and a sample chapter)

I have a new favorite legal research textbook and reference guide for law and paralegal students — Legal Research Demystified.  In my opinion, it offers a fresh approach to finding and understanding the law. It guides a student in a logical process to research common law and statutory issues. It minimizes the chances that students will miss an important step or forget a necessary tool, such as the digest system or a citator.    

I like the way this book uses hypotheticals and visual aids, including screen captures from online databases, checklists, and charts. It does what a book on legal research should do – it shows and tells you how to do legal research rather than discussing finding research tools in a vacuum.

Everyone learns in a different way, but I think the opportunity to practice what you have learned is one of the strongest ways to teach. I was impressed to see that both students and professors have access to online exercises for each chapter using Core Knowledge for Lawyers (https://coreknowledgeforlawyers.com).

Each self-guided exercise walks students through the steps identified in the textbook and teaches them to research on Westlaw and Lexis Advance, again using visual aids, tips, and hypotheticals. As students electronically answer each question, Core Knowledge instantly provides feedback and an explanation of the right anwer.  It is my understanding that additional exercises should be available May 2020. -CCE

 

 

New Brain Candy from Sabrina I. Pacifici. Yum!

26 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Internet, Legal Directory, References, Research

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Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide, by Sabrina I. Pacifici, LLRX.com

http://www.llrx.com/features/ciguide.htm

Ms. Pacifici regularly updates her Selective Resource.  Here is her latest offering, published December 18, 2015. -CCE

A Way To Find Free Research Sources On The Internet.

19 Saturday Dec 2015

Posted by in Internet, Research, SSRN

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How to Conduct Legal Academic Research When Relying on Internet Sources? By Gijs Van Dijck, Tilburg University – Faculty of Law, Social Science Research Network (SSRN)(with hat tip to William P. Statsky!)

If you do any kind of research, legal or otherwise, you must read this paper. I admit that I am cheap – I do not like to pay for legal research resources. Although there are many really good legal research sources that are fee-based, there is a wealth of information out there – and it’s all free. -CCE

perma.cc/YBK7-DMHY

Abstract:  Many legal researchers in this world lack access to books and to subscription-based journals. With more and more information disclosed online and with open-access policies becoming increasingly popular and more common, information is becoming more accessible. The potential impact of this development is enormous in areas or jurisdictions where offline information is scarce and where access to subscription-based journals or books is limited or non-existing. This paper discusses how to identify and select relevant publications when relying on Internet sources. The strategies, databases, and selection tools reported in this paper help researchers, particularly novices, who rely on the Internet to find relevant sources in an effective way when producing legal academic information.

How To Research Opposing Counsel, Judges, and Juries.

21 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by in Internet, Law Journals, Legal Databases, Legal Directories, Legal Directory, LexisNexis, References, Research, TLO for Legal Professionals

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Internet Tools for Researching Opposing Counsel, Judges, and Juries, by Anna Massoglia, Lawyerist Blog

https://lawyerist.com/92442/internet-tools-for-researching-opposing-counsel-judges-and-juries/

Knowing the ins and outs of how other courtroom players think is a key ingredient in successful litigation. Here’s how to do it. . . .

Continue reading →

Research Honey Pot at Chickasaw Nation Law Library.

03 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by in Case Law, Court Rules, Federal Law, Internet, Law Libraries, Legal Databases, Legal Directory, References, Research

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Practice Resources: Getting Started, Chickasaw Nation Law Library, Oklahoma City School of Law

http://libguides.okcu.edu/c.php?g=225279

Research Guides, Forms, State Law, Federal Law, Court Rules, State and Federal Jury Instructions, Oklahoma Court Rules, State and Federal Jury Verdicts, Computer Assisted Legal Research – well, I think you get the idea. This is only a taste of the goodies at this website. -CCE

More Journalism Research Sources On The Internet.

01 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Internet, Research

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 Journalism Resources on the Internet, by Marcus P. Zilman, LLRX.com

http://www.llrx.com/features/journalismresources2015.htm

Legal research sometimes requires thinking outside the box. For example, your client is interested in a trial held in another jurisdiction, but does not want to incur the expense of paying for the entire trial transcript.

News articles about the trial may help your attorney decide whose testimony can be useful in your client’s case. Research could identify the specific witnesses and days of testimony needed to prepare your client’s case.

Another resource, also posted here, is JournalistExpress®,  http://www.journalistexpress.com, a dashboard research resource for journalists. -CCE

Journalism Resources on the Internet is a selective, comprehensive bibliography of reliable, subject specific and actionable sources of journalism resources and sites for researchers in all sectors. These resources will help you to discover the many pathways available through the Internet to find the latest journalism resources and sites. . . .

Continue reading →

GetHuman™ — Talk To A Real Person, Not A Machine.

17 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by in Internet, References, Research

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GetHuman™

http://gethuman.com/

Every so often, you need information from a company or business. Your boss wants it yesterday, and all you have is a telephone number you found on the Internet. Each time you call, you end up in a never-ending voice machine loop.

If you haven’t heard of GetHuman™, take a minute to check it out. This is what I like about it. I can use its database to find a direct number to the company. It gives me instructions to bypass the voice machine, and talk to an actual person. Better yet, it is the person who has the answer to my question.

The last time I used it, it gave me an 800 number to call and then told me to press the star button four times when asked for an account number. A voice machine asked one easy question and, after a few minutes’ wait, someone from the legal department asked how he could help. I could ask all my questions, and get the answers I needed. From there, it was a short step to finish the assignment.

If you are unsuccessful, tell GetHuman™ what happened. How long did you have to wait? What was the problem? Did it have the company you needed? GetHuman™ takes that information, and uses it to fix improve its database.

It may not always be perfect, but it has helped me more often than not. Give it a try. -CCE

 

Free Legal Research With Google Scholar – Part II.

12 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by in Google Scholar, Internet, Research

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How To Conduct Free Legal Research Using Google Scholar In 2015 (Part 2), by Nicole L. Black, LLRX.com

http://www.bespacific.com/new-on-llrx-how-to-conduct-free-legal-research-using-google-scholar-in-2015-part-2/

Legal research is something lawyers do nearly every day. That’s why convenient, affordable access to legal research materials is so important. The advent of computer-based legal research was the first step toward leveling the playing field and providing solos and small firms with access to the incredible depth of materials once only available in academic or government law libraries or in the law libraries of large law firms. But it was web-based legal research that truly gave solos and small firms the tools they needed to compete-and at a price they could afford. Google Scholar is a prime example of this-it provides free access to a wide range of legal materials, all of which are accessible and searchable via a user-friendly interface. The trick is to set aside time to learn the ins and outs of conducting legal research on Google Scholar. . . .

Continue reading →

Beginner’s Research Guide to Lemon Laws and Consumer Protection Law.

10 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by in Case Law, Consumer Law, Federal Law, Internet, Legal Directories, Lemon Laws, Library of Congress, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Research, State Law, Statutes, Westlaw

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Lemon Laws: A Beginner’s Guide, Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/04/lemon-laws-a-beginners-guide/?loclr=eaiclb

You are really getting two for one (and more) with this post. Please note the hyperlink to consumer protection law in the first sentence. Both posts provide guides on how to research both subjects. Click on “Legal Research” to the left once you are at the website, and you will find the link to all posts at this website on how to research other laws. -CCE

In response to our last post on consumer protection law, we determined there was additional interest in ‘lemon laws.’  Lemon laws are defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as statutes ‘designed to protect a consumer who buys a substandard automobile, usu[ally] by requiring the manufacturer or dealer either to replace the vehicle or to refund the full purchase price.’ So, if you find that the new car of your dreams is actually a waking nightmare, you can use this guide to determine what recourse you might have. Lemon laws vary by state, but this guide should help get you started with your research. . . .

Continue reading →

Compilation of Environmental Law Guides and Resources.

25 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by in Environment Law, Internet, Law Libraries, Legal Directories, Legal Directory, References, Research

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Environmental Law Research Guides, PACE Law Library

Environment Law — Environmental and Natural Resources Law, HG.org Legal Resources

ResearchWire – Environmental Law on the Web, by Diana Botluk, LLRX.com

Thingful® — Powerful Search Engine for the Internet of Things.

16 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by in Internet, References, Research

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Search Engine for the Internet of Things, by Sabrina I. Pacifici, BeSpacific Blog

http://www.bespacific.com/search-engine-internet-things/

‘Thingful® is a search engine for the Internet of Things, providing a unique geographical index of connected objects around the world, including energy, radiation, weather, and air quality devices as well as seismographs, iBeacons, ships, aircraft and even animal trackers. Thingful’s powerful search capabilities enable people to find devices, datasets and realtime data sources by geolocation across many popular Internet of Things networks, and presents them using a proprietary patent-pending geospatial device data search ranking methodology, ThingRank®. If you are concerned about asthma, find out about any air quality monitors in your neighbourhood; somebody working with a Raspberry Pi can find others round the corner using the same computing platform; if you notice a ship moored nearby, discover more about it by tracking it on Thingful, or get notified of its movements; a citizen concerned about flooding in a new neighbourhood can look up nearby flood monitors or find others that have been measuring radiation. You might even watch the weekly movements of a shark as it explores the oceans. The possibilities are unbounded! Thingful also enables people and companies to claim and verify ownership of their things using a provenance mechanism, thereby giving them a single web page that aggregates information from all their connected devices no matter what network they’re on, in categories that include health, environment, home, transport, energy and flora & fauna. Users can also add objects to a Watchlist in order to keep track of them, monitor their realtime status and get notifications when they change.’

Law Guru – Free Internet Legal Research.

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Case Law, Federal Law, Internet, Law Libraries, Legal Dictionaries, Legal Directories, Legal Directory, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, References, Research, State Law, Statutes

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Law Guru

http://www.lawguru.com/research.html

Another free Internet legal research tool. Law Guru have over 535 search engines. You can search state and federal case law, statutes and codes, and more.

It has some other nice features, too. It has a database of over 500,000 legal questions and answers. I know that sounds tempting and it may point you in the right direction. But if you are not an experienced legal researcher, please do not rely on these answers as you sole source of legal information. These questions and answers are generic – the facts of your situation may mean that the answer you get here is not the right one for your problem.

Law Guru also has a legal dictionary, links to legal articles, the Internet Law Library, and legal forms (there is a charge for these forms). -CCE

The Public Library of Law.

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Case Law, Constitutions, Court Rules, FastCase, Internet, Law Libraries, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, References, Regulations, Research, State Law, Statutes

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The Public Library of Law

http://www.plol.org/Pages/Search.aspx

The Public Library of Law is free. Actually, it’s one of the largest free law libraries on the Internet. It gives you access to case law from the U.S. Supreme Court, all U.S. Circuit Courts, case law for all states (from 1997 to date), the United States Federal Code (federal statutes), states for all 50 states, regulations, court rules, state and federal constitution, and more.

One of the more interesting things about PLoL is that it provides free links to paid content on Fastcase®. If you are not familiar with Fastcase®, check it out at http://www.fastcase.com. If you need help learning how to use it, you will find free tutorials at http://www.fastcase.com/support/. -CCE

Legal Analysis & Writing Links.

05 Monday May 2014

Posted by in Acronyms, ALWD, Bad Legal Writing, Citations, Internet, Legal Analysis, Legal Directory, Legal Writing, Legalese, Quotations, References, Research, The Bluebook

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Legal Analysis and Writing, Grammar & Writing Resources, Lewis & Clark Law School

http://bit.ly/1kFtlHk

A nice assortment of writing resources.  -CCE

Google Mistrials – A Continuing Problem.

02 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by in Internet, Juror Impeachment, Jury Instructions, Mistrials, Research, Rule 606, Trial Tips and Techniques, Verdict

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Stealing the Verdict: Eastern District of North Carolina Allows Jury Impeachment Regarding Internet Research, by Colin Miller, EvidenceProg Blog

http://tinyurl.com/mkk48a8

“Google mistrials” have been a problem for some time. Here are two examples – one in 2014 and another in 2011 — in which a juror used Internet legal research during the trial and discussed it with fellow jurors, causing a mistrial. -CCE

An emerging problem in the American justice system is jurors conducting internet research about a case, leading to the Google mistrial. And, when such research is not discovered until after trial, as in United States v. LaRoque, 2014 WL 683729 (E.D.N.C. 2012), it leads to jury impeachment.

 Mistrial by Internet A Growing Concern, By Bob Kalinowski (Staff Writer), citizensvoice.com

 http://tinyurl.com/mge3nqk

Legal experts have coined them ‘Google mistrials.’

Curious jurors seeking to conduct their own research surf the Internet about facts presented in court, bringing a halt to important court cases and tainting the outcome.

Sometimes it’s done unwittingly. Other times it’s done against a judge’s specific directions.