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~ Articles and Research for Legal Professionals

The Researching Paralegal

Tag Archives: Legal Research

Power Online Legal Research Tools

26 Friday Nov 2021

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bloomberg Law, FastCase, LexisNexis, Research, Westlaw

≈ Comments Off on Power Online Legal Research Tools

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Legal Research, Terms and Connectors

Basic Legal Research – Terms and Connectors Searching, by Northern Illinois University College of Law, David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library

https://libguides.niu.edu/basic-legal-research

When you do online legal research, do you have the luxury of time to poke around or do you have to get in, find what you need, and get out as fast as you can? I often feel as if I have limited time to dig as deep as I want. Usually, basic connectors – within the same sentence or paragraph and with parentheses – quickly help me find whatever I want, but not always. I am always looking for tips and tools that get the best results as quickly as I can, which is what drew me to this link. I hope it helps you too.

If you have a tip or tool that helps make you a master researcher, please share. -CCE

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Legal Research Finally Demystified.

26 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP 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

≈ Comments Off on Legal Research Finally Demystified.

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Eric Voight, Legal Analysis, Legal Research

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

 

 

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Excellent Beginner’s Guide to Federal Legislative Intent.

14 Sunday Jul 2019

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Law, Legislative History, Research, Statutes

≈ Comments Off on Excellent Beginner’s Guide to Federal Legislative Intent.

Tags

In Custodia Legis Blog, Legal Research, Legislative Intent, Statutes at Large

Research Guides in Focus – Compiling a Federal Legislative History: A Beginner’s Guide, by Barbara Bavis, In Custodia Legis Blog

https://guides.loc.gov/legislative-history/introduction?loclr=bloglaw

You may remember the Schoolhouse Rock song, “I’m Just a Bill.” Both state and federal laws – statutes – start out as just a bill. Once the bill is passed by a state or federal legislature and signed by a governor or the President, it becomes law. If you want to be proficient in legal research, it is important to understand this process. This post is an excellent introduction to federal legislative intent and how to use it to research and interpret federal statutes, also called codes.

If you are researching a new statute, you need to know where to look. Once a statute becomes law, it is not immediately categorized into the federal code.  Instead, it is published chronologically in the Statutes at Large. (See https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/.)  Statutes are “codified,” meaning categorized and published in the United States Code, anywhere from 6 weeks to a year after it became law.  The United States Code, just like state statutes, are organized alphabetically into titles and numbered consecutively, such as Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. (See http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml.)

There will be situations in which you will need to research why a statute or federal code was written and passed into law. When the legal argument hinges on a particular law, we normally look to case law to see how our jurisdiction’s court, or those that would be persuasive to our court, interpreted this statute. But, if your statute is recent and no case law has yet addressed it, you must research the legislative intent to support your argument. In other words, why was the bill written, what was its purpose, and what were the reasons given when the bill was debated to pass it?

Courts apply the law to the facts of each case to decide that case’s outcome, while relying on precedent and doctrine of stare decisis. But, when no case law interpreting a law exists in your jurisdiction – a case of “first impression” – you must look elsewhere for legal authority to support your argument.  Persuasive authority, cases decided by courts from other jurisdictions, can be just that – persuasive – but they are not cases your court must follow. The legislative intent is a stronger argument on which your court can rely to make its decision.

Because the Library of Congress and other online sources have digitalized the Statutes at Large and other online resources, it is much easier to research federal legislative intent. I encourage you to look to the Library of Congress and the law librarians at In Custodia Legis Blog to help you on that journey. -CCE

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The Common Flaw With Legal Database Providers.

29 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Bloomberg Law, Casemaker, FastCase, Google Scholar, LexisNexis, Research, Westlaw

≈ Comments Off on The Common Flaw With Legal Database Providers.

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Algorithms, Headnotes, Joe Hodnicki, Law Librarian Blog, Legal Research, Lexis, Westlaw

The Algorithm as a Human Artifact: Implications for Legal {Re}Search, by Joe Hodnicki, Law Librarian Blog

https://bit.ly/2GVxQzz

Susan Nevelow Mart is a law professor at the University of Colorado’s Law School. Her article has earned significant attention and recognition, and for good reason.

Most lawyers and paralegals learn legal research using Westlaw and Lexis, with an emphasis on using headnotes to research relevant law. Because humans write the headnotes and the search algorithms, there is a considerable variation in the results in our legal research.

[W]hen comparing the top ten results for the same search entered into the same jurisdictional case database in Casetext, Fastcase, Google Scholar, Lexis Advance, Ravel, and Westlaw, the results are a remarkable testament to the variability of human problem solving. There is hardly any overlap in the cases that appear in the top ten results returned by each database.

Hardly any overlap? Imagine how this affects cases argued by the parties and decided by the courts. But, there’s more. The percentage of relevant sources differs for all providers.

One of the most surprising results was the clustering among the databases in terms of the percentage of relevant results. The oldest database providers, Westlaw and Lexis, had the highest percentages of relevant results, at 67% and 57%, respectively. The newer legal database providers, Fastcase, Google Scholar, Casetext, and Ravel, were also clustered together at a lower relevance rate, returning approximately 40% relevant results.

Professor Mart reminds us that thorough legal research has always involved redundancy. We already know that different search terms give us new results to investigate. She recommends using multiple resources with multiple searches, and calls for more accountability by legal database providers.

We cannot change what the legal database providers have already done. We do have control over the thoroughness of our research and our search strategies. -CCE

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Federal Research Honey Pot.

14 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Federal Law, Legal Analysis, Legal Writing, Research, SSRN, Statutory Interpretation

≈ Comments Off on Federal Research Honey Pot.

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Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl, Federal Courts, Joe Hodnicki, Law Librarian Blog, Legal Research, Statutory Interpretation

Comparing Methods of Statutory Interpretation Used By The Lower Federal Courts and The Supreme Court, by Joe Hodnicki, Law Librarian Blog

http://bit.ly/2pd4k2t

Joe Hodnicki calls this article “recommended,” which means we just found a honey pot for those who research federal case law and statutory interpretation. -CCE

“Here’s the abstract for Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl’s very interesting Statutory Interpretation and the Rest of the Iceberg: Divergences between the Lower Federal Courts and the Supreme Court, Duke Law Journal, Forthcoming:

‘This Article examines the methods of statutory interpretation used by the lower federal courts, especially the federal district courts, and compares those methods to the practices of the U.S. Supreme Court. This novel research reveals both similarities across courts and some striking differences. The research shows that some interpretive tools are highly overrepresented in the Supreme Court’s decisions while other tools are much more prevalent in the lower courts. Another finding, based on a study of forty years of cases, is that all federal courts have shifted toward more textualist tools in recent decades but that the shift was less pronounced as one moves down the judicial hierarchy.

The divergence between the interpretive practices of different federal courts has implications for both descriptive and normative accounts of statutory interpretation.’ . . .” Continue reading →

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South Carolina Legal Blogs – The Cream of the Crop.

13 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Appellate Law, Criminal Law, Elder Law, Family Law, Litigation, Personal Injury, Probate and Trusts, Research, South Carolina Supreme Court, State Law, Tax Law

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Justia, Legal Research, South Carolina Legal Blawgs

Most Popular South Carolina Blawgs, Blawg Search, Justia

https://blawgsearch.justia.com/blogs/countries/united-states/south-carolina

For my paralegal friends in South Carolina, here’s the top legal blogs in South Carolina sorted by popularity. There’s a little bit of everything here, and several caught my eye. It will take a while to digest it all. I recommend bookmarking this site, and visiting it often. -CCE

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Updated Research Guide from Sabrina Pacifici.

18 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Research

≈ Comments Off on Updated Research Guide from Sabrina Pacifici.

Tags

Legal Research, LLRX.com, Sabrina I. Pacifici, Search Engines

Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide – Updated June 2017, by Sabrina I. Pacifici, LLRX.com

https://www.llrx.com/archives/subject/competitive-intelligence-resource-guide/

Sabrina Pacifici is, and has been, a prolific and reliable legal research resource for as long as I can remember. The quality of her work is without question. Here, she has given us a gift of a large compilation of excellent research sources, updated this month, and a “must bookmark.” I highly recommend her. -CCE

 

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Casemaker and Fastcase – Why Can’t We All Get Along?

29 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Casemaker, FastCase, Research

≈ Comments Off on Casemaker and Fastcase – Why Can’t We All Get Along?

Tags

Casemaker, Fastcase, Law Sites Blog, Legal Research, Robert Ambrogi

Casemaker Says It Won’t Fight Fastcase Lawsuit Over Georgia Law, by Robert Ambrogi, Law Sites Blog

http://bit.ly/1SvAAF3

Legal publisher Casemaker will not fight the lawsuit filed against it by Fastcase over copyright in Georgia law, its CEO David Harriman told me today. The company agrees that state law should not be subject to copyright and will not file an answer to Fastcase’s complaint, he said. That means that the court could enter a default judgment in Fastcase’s favor. . . .

Continue reading →

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Beginner’s Guides on Researching Federal Legislative Intent.

13 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Federal Law, Legislative History, Library of Congress, Research, U.S. Government

≈ Comments Off on Beginner’s Guides on Researching Federal Legislative Intent.

Tags

Barbara Bavis, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, Legal Research, Legislative Intent, Research Guide, Robert Brammer

Presidential Communications: A Beginner’s Guide, co-authored by Robert Brammer and Barbara Bavis, Research Guide, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/category/research-guide-2/

Please keep going after clicking on this link. The following posts are beginner’s guides to locating: (1) congressional documents; (2) a congressional committee print, (3) compiled federal legislative history; and (4) unpublished congressional hearing. Keep going – there is more. If you are interested in honing your research skills, learn how to research legislative intent at the state and federal level. -CCE

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OSCN Adds Nine More Oklahoma Counties.

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Oklahoma Civil Appellate Procedure, Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Oklahoma Supreme Court

≈ Comments Off on OSCN Adds Nine More Oklahoma Counties.

Tags

Legal Research, ODCR, Oklahoma Appellate Courts, Oklahoma District Courts, OSCN

OSCN Kicks off the New Year with Nine more District Courts added to its Case Search, OSCN (Oklahoma Supreme Court Network)

http://bit.ly/1n0FZJP

OSCN has been around a while. Oklahoma actually has two websites and, between the two, you can access every county in the state. The second website, ODCR, is useful, but not as sophisticated as OSCN. Both websites allow you to look up cases by county, name, or case number. OSCN allows free access to the hyperlinks that give you access to filed documents. ODCR charges a monthly fee for that access.

The larger counties are found on OSCN. With some exceptions, you can access everything that has been filed in the case in a relatively short time after it was filed. ODCR can be a bit slower to post filed documents.

Happily nine more county district courts have moved to OSCN, which is discussed more fully in this post. OSCN provides more than a method to access a court case’s docket and the documents filed in the case. It is also a great resource for Oklahoma case law, statutes, Attorney General opinions, and more. A very handy tool. -CCE

On January 7, 2016, the Oklahoma Supreme Court added nine additional district courts to its online case search. With this addition, visitors to the OSCN website now have the capability to search public records in 34 district courts and in the Appellate Court. This free service provides the public a convenient way to search for court records by case number, name, date of birth, and other identifiers. Search results are fast, and case information is available almost immediately after being processed by the court clerk’s office. In addition to online case information, site visitors may view court-related documents online; however, documents availability will vary by district court. . . .

Continue reading →

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A Way To Find Free Research Sources On The Internet.

19 Saturday Dec 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Internet, Research, SSRN

≈ Comments Off on A Way To Find Free Research Sources On The Internet.

Tags

Gijs Van Dijck, Internet, Legal Research, SSRN, Tilburg University

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.

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Zimmerman’s Research Guide Will Soon Be No More.

13 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Research

≈ Comments Off on Zimmerman’s Research Guide Will Soon Be No More.

Tags

Legal Research, Zimmerman's Research Guide

RIP Zimmerman’s Research Guide, 1999-2015, by Joe Hodnicki and
Mark Giangrande, Law Librarians Blog
http://llb2.com/2015/12/11/rip-zimmermans-research-guide-1999-2015/

Andy Zimmerman, the author of Zimmerman’s Research Guide, is retiring. His Research Guide will go offline after December 1, 2015. When I first found Mr. Zimmerman’s Research Guide, he was at LLRX.com. For the last sixteen years, this resource has been hosted by Lexis Nexis. I am sad to see it go. -CCE

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More Journalism Research Sources On The Internet.

01 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Internet, Research

≈ Comments Off on More Journalism Research Sources On The Internet.

Tags

Journalism, JournalistExpress®, Legal Research, LLRX.com, Marcus P. Zilman

 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 →

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Free Legal Research With Google Scholar – Part II.

12 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Google Scholar, Internet, Research

≈ Comments Off on Free Legal Research With Google Scholar – Part II.

Tags

Google Scholar, Legal Research, LLRX.com, Nicole L. Black

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 →

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Casetext and Law Genius – Alternatives to Westlaw and Lexis?

27 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Casetext, Law Genius, LexisNexis, Research, Westlaw

≈ Comments Off on Casetext and Law Genius – Alternatives to Westlaw and Lexis?

Tags

CaseText, Law Genius, Lawyerist Blog, Legal Research, LexisNexis, Sam Harden, Solo and Small Firms, Westlaw

Casetext and Law Genius: Wikipedia for Law? by Sam Harden, Lawyerist Blog

https://lawyerist.com/81229/casetext-law-genius-wikipedia-law/?utm_source=lawyerist-sidebar

Once hidden behind the paywalls of Westlaw and Lexis Nexis, the law is quickly becoming open source. Court decisions have always been part of the public record, at least in theory, but accessing those decisions has always been difficult for both lawyers and non-lawyers alike. The internet has been slow in getting around to making court decisions publicly searchable and understandable.

Recently, two online communities have attempted to make the law more user-friendly by letting lawyers and members of the public add comments, explanations, and cross-references. Both communities are worth exploring if you are a solo or small practitioner. . . .

Continue reading →

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

10 Friday Apr 2015

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

≈ Comments Off on Beginner’s Research Guide to Lemon Laws and Consumer Protection Law.

Tags

Barbara Bavis, Consumer Protection Laws, In Custodia Legis, Law Librarians of Congress, Legal Research, Lemon Laws, Robert Brammer

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 →

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Have Law Schools and Bar Exams Dropped The Ball On Legal Research?

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Recent Links and Articles

≈ Comments Off on Have Law Schools and Bar Exams Dropped The Ball On Legal Research?

Tags

Advanced Legal Research, James B. Levy, Legal Analysis, Legal Research, Legal Skills Prof Blog, Professor Patrick Meyer, State Bar Exam, Thomson Reuters

The Legal Research Skills New Attorneys Need For Practice, by James B. Levy, Legal Skills Prof Blog

http://tinyurl.com/kjgceba

Knowing how to use book s is still one of them according to a new article by Professor Patrick Meyer, Director of the Law Library at Detroit Mercy School of Law.  The article, called Law Firm Legal Research Requirements and the Legal Academy Beyond Carnegie, is available at 35 Whittier L. Rev. 419 (2014). From the introduction:

According to quantitative research conducted by Thomson West (now Thomson Reuters), new associate attorneys can expect to spend 45% of their time conducting research. Yet despite this high percentage, criticism of the research abilities of new associates persists. . . .

There have been a handful of important recent studies on practice skills that post-date the Carnegie Report, and they are reviewed in this article. All of these studies support a stronger emphasis on legal research training in law schools, and all but one either suggest, or directly call for, an integrated approach where some tasks are taught in both the online and print formats. All but one of these studies surveyed practicing attorneys. . . . All of these studies show that legal academia must devote more time to teaching legal research, and all but one support my conclusions: that attorneys still use books to conduct research, book usage occurs much more than most people think, and law schools need to teach both online and print-based research for some tasks.

New attorneys frequently lack basic knowledge of how to use research resources, yet this knowledge is the link between legal research and legal analysis. . . In short, law schools can do a better job at teaching legal research.

Part II of this article begins with a brief review of the history of legal research deficiencies in the law firm setting and progresses to a summary of several new studies on law firm research practices and abilities. . . . In Part III, I propose a three-part plan to remedy the lack of research acumen amongst new attorneys. First, law schools must assure that all students receive an appropriate amount of basic research instruction in the first year curriculum, to include some print-based research instruction. Second, Advanced Legal Research must be a required course. Finally, I would like to renew the call to include a research component on each state’s bar exam. [Emphasis added.]

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Compilation of Environmental Law Guides and Resources.

25 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Environment Law, Internet, Law Libraries, Legal Directories, Legal Directory, References, Research

≈ Comments Off on Compilation of Environmental Law Guides and Resources.

Tags

Environmental Law, Legal Research

Environmental Law Research Guides, PACE Law Library

  • http://libraryguides.law.pace.edu/cat.php?cid=7736

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

  • http://www.hg.org/environ.html

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

  • http://www.llrx.com/columns/environment.htm

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Fine Tune Legal Interpretation and Analysis of Precedent and Stare Decisis.

10 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Legal Analysis, Legal Writing

≈ Comments Off on Fine Tune Legal Interpretation and Analysis of Precedent and Stare Decisis.

Tags

Legal Analysis, Legal Research, Michigan Law Review, Precedent, Randy J. Kozel, Rule of Law, Stare Decisis

The Rule of Law and the Perils of Precedent, by Randy J. Kozel, Michigan Law Review

http://tinyurl.com/jvqd3y3

Introduction

In a world where circumstances never changed and where every judicial decision was unassailably correct, applying the doctrine of stare decisis would be a breeze. Fidelity to precedent and commitment to sound legal interpretation would meld into a single, coherent enterprise. That world, alas, is not the one we live in. Like so much else in law, the concept of stare decisis encompasses a series of trade-offs-and difficult ones at that. Prominent among them is the tension between allowing past decisions to remain settled and establishing a body of legal rules that is flexible enough to adapt and improve over time.[1]

Notwithstanding pervasive disagreement over the application of stare decisis to particular disputes, the doctrine is well established in American jurisprudence.[2] Indeed, the Supreme Court has gone so far as to describe stare decisis as indispensable to the rule of law.[3] But as Jeremy Waldron skillfully reminds us, justifying the doctrine requires more than platitudes.[4] Even a proposition as fundamental and seemingly intuitive as the ability of stare decisis to promote the rule of law conceals a considerable amount of analytical nuance. Professor Waldron concentrates on developing what we might think of as the rule-of-law case for precedent. Central to his project is the recognition that rule-of-law benefits arise at several distinct points along the path from initial ruling to subsequent application. The touchstone is the principle of ‘generality,’ pursuant to which individual jurists subjugate their personal beliefs to the vision of a unified court working across space and time to fashion generally applicable norms.[5]

In this Essay, I wish to build on Professor Waldron’s thoughtful analysis by saying something more about the other side of stare decisis. The rule-of-law benefits of stare decisis are invariably accompanied by rule-of-law costs. In light of those costs, the ultimate question is not whether there are ways in which stare decisis promotes the rule of law. Rather, it is whether stare decisis advances the rule of law on net. Some departures from precedent can promote the rule of law, and some reaffirmances can impair it. Even if the rule of law were the only value that mattered, excessive fidelity to flawed precedents would be cause for concern.[6] That rule-of-law ambivalence, I will suggest, should be brought to bear in calibrating the strength of deference that judicial precedents receive. . . .

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Law Guru – Free Internet Legal Research.

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP 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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Tags

Case Law, Codes, Free Legal Research, Internet Law Library, Law Guru, Legal Dictionaries, Legal Research, Statutes

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

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The Public Library of Law.

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Case Law, Constitutions, Court Rules, FastCase, Internet, Law Libraries, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, References, Regulations, Research, State Law, Statutes

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Case Law, Civil Appeal State Profiles, Fastcase®, Legal Research, Regulations, Statutes, The Public Library of Law, U.S. Code, U.S. Courts of Circuit Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court

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

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European Journal of International Law.

17 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in International Law, Law Journals, References, Research

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European Journal of International Law, European Law, International Law, Law Journal, Legal Research, Reference

European Journal of International Law

http://www.ejil.org/

I was going to try to give you a quick summary of what you’ll find here, but I think this excerpt from “About the EJIL” says it better than I ever could. -CCE

“About the EJIL

Welcome to the website of one of the world’s leading international law journals. The EJIL was established in 1990 by a small group of distinguished scholars based at the European University Institute in Florence. The Journal has grown since then in size, strength and reputation, but the Editors’ original vision remains unchanged and is distinguished by:

  • its European orientation,
  • its emphasis on critical and theoretical approaches,
  • its commitment to publishing contributions from a diverse range of contributors, especially those among the younger generation
  • its continuing interest in the historical origins of the ‘European tradition’ (in the best and broadest sense) in international law.

This website forms an integral part of the European Journal of International Law and full-text articles of all but the most recent issues are available here in the archive. For the current year, one full-text article and abstracts of all the other articles are posted.

Our commitment to linguistic diversity

Originally bilingual, the Journal is now published only in English. While we retain a strong belief in the central importance of linguistic diversity to the continued flourishing of international law, the decision to publish exclusively in English is based on the fact that it enables us to reach the widest possible readership, in view of the ever-growing number of Europeans and others for whom English is the principal second language. At the same time, however, we warmly welcome submissions in French, Spanish, Italian and German. Where resources permit, we will endeavour to translate into English those articles written in other languages that are accepted for publication. . . . [Emphasis added.]

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Basics of Legal Research – And More.

02 Friday May 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Case Law, Federal Law, Law Libraries, Legal Encyclopedia, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Regulations, Research, State Law, Statutes

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Cornell Law Library, Cornell Legal Information Institute, Cornell LII, Law library, Legal Research

Basics of Legal Research, Cornell University Law Library

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/whatwedo/researchguides/basics.cfm

If you are not familiar with the Cornell Law Library and the Cornell Legal Information Institute, you are missing a fantastic, free legal research honey pot.  This link will take you to Cornell’s basic legal research guide. If you know nothing about legal research, this is a great introduction. If your legal research is rusty, this is an excellent refresher.

But we are just getting started. The Legal Information Institute (LLI) (http://www.law.cornell.edu/) is one of the top online law libraries – and it’s free. Even though it’s free, I encourage you to make a donation. To understand why, please go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/lii/about-lii. There is no question that you definitely get a big bang for your buck. -CCE

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Legal Research Tutorials.

05 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Administrative Law, Case Law, Legal Directories, Legal Encyclopedia, Legislation, Legislative History, Mandatory Law, Primary Law, Regulations, Research, Secondary Resources, State Law, Statutes

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Administrative Law, Bloomberg Law, Case Law, Georgetown Law Library, Legal Research, Legislative History, Secondary Resources, Statutory Law, Tutorials

Legal Research and Writing Tutorials, Georgetown Law Library

http://www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/tutorials/lrw.cfm

This link will lead you to these tutorials. -CCE

  • Administrative Law Research Tutorial
  • Bloomberg Law Tutorials
  • Case Law Research Tutorial
  • Legislative History Research Tutorial
  • Secondary Sources Tutorial
  • Statutory Research Tutorial

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Teaching Legal Research – Westlaw, Lexis, Or Some Other Platform?

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Legal Technology, LexisNexis, Research, Westlaw

≈ Comments Off on Teaching Legal Research – Westlaw, Lexis, Or Some Other Platform?

Tags

Legal Research, Legal Research Instruction, Lexis Advance, LexisNexis, Research Instruction & Patron Services Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries, RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Shawn Friend, Westlaw

Thinking About Process Over Platform in Research, by Shawn Friend, RIPS Law Librarian Blog (RIPS Law Librarian is published by the Research Instruction & Patron Services Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries.)

http://tinyurl.com/qjvkqbn

This semester, I’ve struggled with whether I need to show different research platforms when I teach research. In the past, I’ve shown the different options available; lately, I have a bias I need to which I must admit.  For the last six months or so, I’ve had trouble showing students (and even professors) Lexis.  I hate to be partisan.  I hate to show Westlaw’s product without showing Lexis’ too.  But lately, I find myself making excuses as to why I can’t show Lexis Advance. . . .

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