Delaney, Electronic Legal Research: An Integrated Approach, Second Edition
Supplemental Exercises
Chapter 1
Basic Electronic Searching
Supplemental Exercises
This chapter explains how to use several Boolean search operators. Selecting the right
one can be challenging. In the following exercise, you practice managing the search
operators.
Here is a query and a series of terms. Explain the significance of the use of the selected
operators.
Example: What are possible damages for breach of contract?
a. Damages NEAR breach AND contract
This search finds the word damages close to the word breach. The document must
also contain the word contract.
b. Damages AND "breach of contract"
This search finds the word damages in documents that also contain the phrase breach of
contract.
1. If a room is not locked, can there be false imprisonment?
a. room NEAR locked NEAR "false imprisonment"
b. room AND locked AND false imprisonment
c. room OR locked OR "false imprisonment"
d. How might you use a wildcard operator to expand the results?
2. Can joint tenants sell their portion of the land without the other tenants' permission?
a. joint NEAR tenants NEAR sell AND permission
b. "joint tenants" AND sell NOT permission
c. joint OR tenants AND sell OR permission
3. Can a contract be valid without verbal acceptance?
a. contract AND valid NOT "verbal acceptance"
b. "contract valid" AND verbal NEAR acceptance
c. contract OR valid OR verbal OR acceptance
d. How might you use a wildcard operator to expand the results?
Chapter 2
Query Formation Strategy
Supplemental Exercises
This chapter looks at query formation strategy, using the Five Questions to help
formulate a query. Here is an opportunity for additional practice. Save your answers,
because we will use the information here to solve problems posed in later chapters.
1. Visit the FindLaw News Web page at http://news.findlaw.com. Select a story that
interests you, and print it or copy and paste it into your word-processing program.
a. Highlight keywords and phrases in your story.
b. Group the keywords and phrases by type. Which words are essential to
identifying the area of law? Which words help focus on a certain element of that
area of law? Do you want to avoid using any words? Which words can help you
refine your search even more?
c. Using the Five Questions Worksheet from your text, answer the Five Questions
for your article.
2. Visit the Department of Justice (DOJ) Web page at http://www.usdoj.gov, and go to
the Press Room section. Click through to browse through various press releases,
select a story that interests you. Print it or copy and paste it into your word-processing
program.
a. Highlight keywords and phrases.
b. Group the keywords and phrases by type. Which words are essential to
identifying the area of law? Which words help focus on a certain element of that
area of law? Do you want to avoid using any words? Which words can help you
refine your search even more?
c. Using the Five Questions Worksheet from your text, answer the Five Questions
for your article.
Chapter 3
Paid Legal Databases
Supplemental Exercises
This chapter introduces paid legal databases and provides practice for searching them.
For your additional work in this chapter, retrieve your two stories and Five Questions
Worksheet from the Supplemental Exercises for Chapter 2. Complete the following steps
for each story.
1. Look at your query (Question 5 of the Five Questions), and edit it using the specific
Boolean search operators of your selected paid legal database.
2. Return to Question 4 in the Five Questions, "Where will I look for the information?"
To begin your search, identify the two most relevant databases. Write an explanation
of why the first database you identify is more relevant than the second. (Writing this
down is important—it can really help you improve your database selection skills.
Remember, you can construct the world's best search, but if you run it in the wrong
place, it cannot get the results you seek.)
3. Try your search. You may be trying to answer a specific question or looking up a
section of law or a recent court decision. For the purposes of this exercise, do not be
too concerned about finding the exact answer. Rather, search until you find results
that seem to be on the right track. When you tried your search, did you get the results
you wanted? If so, bravo! Repeat these steps for your second story. If your search did
not produce the results you wanted, edit your search (by changing the query or
location) and try again. Write down each step of your process, identifying which
portions of the query you changed and how your change impacted your answer. This
may seem tedious, but as you go through the process, you will gain a greater
understanding of how even little changes can impact results. After going through the
process, you will be able to formulate your queries more accurately with less effort.
Limit your efforts on this step to 15 or 20 minutes. If you still cannot find the answer
you seek, go on to Step 4.
4. If you spent 15 or 20 minutes searching but did not find the results you wanted, use
the Query Troubleshooting Worksheet from Chapter 2 of your textbook. After
double-checking, try your search again. If after 10 more minutes you still do not find
the results you seek, stop and consult your instructor, who will help you identify ways
to improve your query.
Chapter 4
Internet Legal Research
Supplemental Exercises
This chapter describes how to search the Internet for information. Dozens of excellent
tutorials teach users to use the Internet more effectively. Here are a few that you can
explore to improve your skills.
Pandia Search Central. Try its "Short and Easy Internet Search Tutorial.” At
http://www.pandia.com, go to Search Tutorial.
The CyberLibrarian has a six-part online course that can help you improve your
searching skills. Try Searching, Sleuthing and Sifting. At
http://www.thelearningsite.net/cyberlibrarian, go to Web Searching Tutorials.
Ask Scott, another librarian Web site, has excellent resources including a great tutorial.
At http://www.askscott.com, go to Searching Tutorial.
Chapter 5
Finding and Understanding Statutes
Supplemental Exercises
In this chapter, we began learning skills to search for specific information—in this case,
statutes. These supplemental exercises give you additional practice at looking for
statutory information. Use the Statute Finding Worksheet from your textbook to complete
these exercises.
1. Look up the following federal statutory citations. What are the names of the acts?
a. 22 USC 1465
b. 16 USC 757
c. 15 USC 1191
2. Here are the names of three federal statutes. Find the statutory citation for the
Definitions section of each statute.
a. The Livable Cities Act
b. The Bald Eagle Protection Act
c. National Portrait Gallery Act
3. Find a state statute that addresses the following topics.
a. The requirements for an attorney to get her license
b. The requirements for an automobile driver to get his license
c. The requirements for a contractor to get her license
d. Are license requirements grouped or separate? If separate, how do the
requirements seem to be organized?
Chapter 6
Finding and Understanding Regulations
Supplemental Exercises
This chapter explores how to find regulations and related guidance. These supplemental
exercises will help you to clarify the difference between statutes and regulations, and the
purpose of regulatory guidance.
1. Visit the Web site of the Department of Labor (DOL) at http://www.dol.gov. Go to
the Compliance Assistance link to access the Employment Law Guide, a good
secondary source for a plain English version of the law. Find the Table of Contents
and click on the link for minimum wage and overtime pay.
a. What is the citation and title of the relevant statute cited?
b. What is the citation and title of the relevant regulation cited?
c. What is the difference between the two?
2. Visit the Web site of the Department of the Treasury Office of Thrift Supervision at
http://www.ots.treas.gov. Use the Handbooks link on the left to find some agency
guidance. Select any guidance document that seems interesting to you.
a. What is the title of the guidance document?
b. What is the purpose of the guidance document?
c. Does the guidance relate directly to a certain law? Is it a statute, regulation, or
both? What is the citation?
Chapter 7
Finding Cases
Supplemental Exercises
This chapter looks at case law and how to find it using citations, party names, or topics.
This exercise helps you balance the pros and cons of looking for a case on the Internet or
using your paid legal database. It will hone your case searching skills at the same time.
Visit the CNN Crime page at http://www.cnn.com/crime. Look at the Top Crime and
Justice Stories to find cases that interest you and answer these questions about each case.
1. What is the full citation for this case? (You may need to consult your paid legal
database to get the full citation information.)
2. Is it a state or federal case?
3. With the information you have, can you tell if a decision has been made yet? If so,
can you find the full text of the court decision on the Internet? On your paid legal
database? Explain why you think you got the results you got. (For example, you
couldn't find the case because it may have been heard at the state trial court level and
the decisions were not reported.)
Chapter 8
Finding Secondary Sources
Supplemental Exercises
This chapter explains how to find secondary sources. Secondary sources are a great way
to get started in research. In this exercise, you use secondary sources to begin a research
process. Go to FindLaw News at http://news.findlaw.com. Select a story that interests
you. Answer the following questions.
1. What is the general legal topic?
2. What are the citations for the relevant law? Cite at least one relevant statute,
regulation, or case. Is the relevant law state or federal?
3. Name at least three separate secondary sources that you could use to research this
question. Where would you find them?
4. What Web site(s) might be a good secondary source for researching this question?
For additional practice, try the same exercise on a second story.