What You Always Wanted To
Know About Legal Research
But Were Afraid To Ask
• Prepared by Peggy Roebuck Jarrett and
Jonathan Franklin
• Gallagher Law Library, University of
Washington
• 7th Annual Bridge the Legal Research Gap
• June 25, 2002
1
CONTENTS
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•
•
•
•
•
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Overarching Themes
Starting Points
Primary Statutory and Regulatory Sources
Legislative History Materials
Caselaw Research Tips
Miscellaneous Legal Documents
Final General Tips
2
OVERARCHING THEMES
• Update
• Why do the work when someone else has
already done it?
• Check Seattle U and UW law library
websites.
• Check the Washington Legal Researcher’s
Deskbook 3d.
• Use help services, including librarians and
vendor toll-free numbers.
3
STARTING POINTS
4
Abbreviations and Acronyms
•
•
•
•
Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations
Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Citations
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation
Acronyms and Abbreviations (adapted from Washington
Legal Researcher's Deskbook 3d),
http://lib.law.washington.edu/pubs/acron.html
• Bluebook Abbreviations of Law Review Titles,
http://lib.law.washington.edu/cilp/abbrev.html
• U.S. Government: Commonly Used Abbreviations and
Acronyms (reproduced from the U.S. Government Manual),
http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/usabb.html
5
What does a word mean?
• Black’s Law Dictionary
• General dictionaries (American
Heritage, Webster's)
• Words and Phrases: cites cases that
define words and phrases.
6
Starting a research project?
Try a research guide:
• UW Legal Research Guides,
http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/guid
es.html
– Washington State Legislative History
– Labor and Employment Law
– International Legal Research
– Health Law
7
More Research Guides!
•SU Law Research Starting Points,
http://www.law.seattleu.edu/informati
on/startingpoints/
–Civil Procedure
–Education Law
–Hazardous Waste & Toxics Regulation
–Land Use Law
8
When you need a bit more
detail, look for major, multivolume treatises:
•
•
•
•
Nimmer on Copyright
Chisum on Patents
Collier on Bankruptcy
Constitutional Law by Nowak and
Rotunda
• Wright & Miller's Federal Practice
and Procedure
• Moore's Federal Practice
9
Starting a Washington-specific
research project
• Washington Practice (also on
Westlaw)
• Washington Lawyers Practice Manual
• Washington State Bar Association
(WSBA) Deskbooks (also on
LoisLaw)
10
Got a specific fact pattern?
• American Law Reports (ALR) can be
gold mines of information. Especially
useful for a review of caselaw across
jurisdictions relative to a specific fact
situation.
• Recent law review articles
summarize areas of the law and the
footnotes give starting points for
additional research.
11
Looking for a law review
article?
• Use a periodical index such as LegalTrac
instead of or in addition to searching fulltext law review articles on LexisNexis and
Westlaw.
• LegalTrac indexes by subject, so you may
find articles that lack the keywords you
used in a full-text search.
• LegalTrac coverage begins with 1980.
12
Look for a law review article
on a pre-1980 topic, such as a
landmark case?
• A print index, Index to Legal
Periodicals.
• Hein Online (if available). You can
search full text, but check the
coverage!
13
Need a form?
• General Forms
– AmJur Legal Forms, 2d ed. or West's Legal
Forms, among many others
– LexisNexis and Westlaw have forms databases.
Call the help service to confirm they have the
form online before going online.
• Washington Forms
– Washington Lawyers Practice Manual
– Washington Practice
– Washington State Courts website:
http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/home.cfm
14
Need a fact, such as weather
or currency exchange rates for
a particular date?
• Use the Public Library
• Seattle Public Library, Reference
Websites,
http://www.spl.org/selectedsites/reference.
html
• Seattle Public Library Quick Information:
206-386-4636
• Internet Public Library's Reference Center,
http://www.ipl.org/ref/
15
PRIMARY STATUTORY AND
REGULATORY SOURCES
16
Start with statutes
• Starting with statutes can sometimes
get you an answer quickly.
• Cases are often based on statutory
interpretation.
• Annotated codes are a great way to
find relevant cases quickly.
17
Statutes are often easier to
use in print than online
• They have a hierarchical structure.
• It is easy to browse adjacent
sections.
• The typeface gives cues about what
parts are important.
18
Washington State statutes
• RCW = Revised Code of Washington
(official)
• RCWA = Revised Code of
Washington Annotated (unofficial;
includes notes of cases)
• ARCW = Annotated Revised Code of
Washington (unofficial; includes
notes of cases)
19
Update the RCW, RCWA, and
ARCW
• Laws of Washington = the session laws
• Session laws are the laws from each
legislative session, published in
chronological order.
• Session laws update the code.
• Washington State Legislature's
homepage,
http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/default.htm
– Includes session laws, bills, daily status
reports, and committee reports.
20
Washington State regulations
• WAC = Washington Administrative
Code
• WSR = Washington State Register.
The biweekly Register updates the
annual WAC.
21
Federal statutes
• USC = United States Code (official, but not
timely). Use primarily for citation
purposes, not for research.
• USCA = United States Code Annotated
(unofficial; includes notes of cases)
• USCS = United States Code Service
(unofficial; includes notes of cases)
• Update USCA and USCS using pocket
parts and supplements
22
Updating Federal statutes
beyond the pocket parts and
supplements
• Stat = United States Statutes at Large = the
session laws
• P.L. = Public Law
• Once a bill becomes law, it is assigned a P.L.
number.
• At the end of each legislative session, the
enacted laws are published in chronological
order in the Statutes at Large.
• Laws of a general and permanent nature are
codified in the United States Code.
• Thomas, http://thomas.loc.gov/, session laws,
bills, bill-tracking, roll call votes.
23
Popular Names of Legislation
• Washington: Check tables in RCW,
RCWA.
• Federal: Tables in USC, USCS, USCA.
Plus Shepard's Acts and Cases by
Popular Name.
• Run a search in an electronic
database of law reviews (this can be
expensive!)
24
All versions of the USC and
RCW have volumes of tables
• Codification tables
• Session law to code section
• Previous code (Remington's Revised
Statutes) to current code (RCW)
• Disposition tables of former code
sections
• More extensive tables in commercial
codes.
25
Effective Dates of Legislation
• Washington: 90 days after adjournment of
the legislative session, unless the bill has
a specified effective date or emergency
clause.
– Dates of adjournment and 90 days post-adjournment
can be found at the beginning of the Laws of
Washington volumes, in the RCWA tables volume, and
in the pocket part of each RCWA volume.
• Federal: the date the bill is signed into law
by the President, unless the bill has a
specified effective date.
26
Constitutions Annotated
• Federal: first volumes of USCA and USCS.
• Constitution of the United States of
America: Analysis and Interpretation, in
print and at
http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/sena
te/constitution/index.html.
• Washington: first volumes of RCWA and
ARCW.
• Both: LexisNexis and Westlaw.
27
Federal Regulations
•
•
•
•
•
CFR = Code of Federal Regulations
FR = Federal Register
Fed. Reg. = Federal Register
LSA = List of CFR Sections Affected
The Federal Register is published daily. It updates
the CFR.
• Use the LSA to find FR updates to specific CFR
sections.
• The proposed and final regulations printed in the
Federal Register have preambles that contain
useful background information.
28
GPO Access – the official
federal government site
• http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/i
ndex.html
• Searchable databases include Code
of Federal Regulations; Federal
Register; Congressional Record; and
congressional bills, hearings, and
reports.
29
Multi-state Statute Questions
• See if someone has done the work
first!
• Subject Compilations of State Laws
• National Survey of State Laws
• Martindale-Hubbell Law Digest
• Uniform Laws Annotated
30
Updating
• Check the pocket part!
• Check the supplement!
• Read the coverage dates – for paper
AND online sources!
• Do not assume online sources are
more current than print!
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
MATERIALS
32
Precompiled Federal
Legislative Histories
• United States Code Congressional and
Administrative News (USCCAN), 1948-present.
Selected Documents
• Congressional Universe's Legislative Histories,
1970-present.
• Federal Legislative Histories: An Annotated
Bibliography and Index to Officially Published
Sources
• Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories : A
Bibliography of Government Documents,
Periodical Articles, and Books, 1st Congress-94th
Congress
33
H.R. does not mean house
report! It's a bill!
• H.R. = House of Representatives bill.
– For example, H.R. 1157, 107th Congress
is a bill.
• H.R. Rep. = House of
Representatives report.
– For example, H.R. Rep. No. 107-95 is a
committee report on a bill.
34
Washington Legislative
Histories
• Read the chapter in the Washington
Legal Researcher’s Deskbook 3d
• See the pathfinder of Washington
Legislative Histories:
http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/was
hleghis.html
35
Congressional Record
• Two editions
– Daily edition (softbound, white paper cover) - Fast.
– Permanent edition (hardbound, maroon cover) - Slow.
– There is no correlation between the page numbers in editions!
Congress may alter text.
• If you have a cite to the daily and need the permanent, use
the indexes or the Daily Digest to find a date. Then skim!
– The permanent edition is the citation required by the
The Bluebook.
– All online versions of the Congressional Record are the
daily edition. There is no online version of the
permanent edition.
36
CASELAW RESEARCH TIPS
37
Starting with a single case
• Use the West key numbers.
• Use KeyCite or Shepards to expand
your research to other cases, other
jurisdictions, and to find secondary
sources.
• Check ALR’s table of cases.
38
Stuck on case research?
• Try finding the major cases cited in
your best case.
• Keycite or Shepardize those earlier
cases to find cases that might be
related.
• Go back to a secondary source.
39
Resist the temptation to copy
every case you find.
• Save time and money by pulling
those cases off the shelf, reading
them, and copying only the most
relevant.
40
Some reporters have strange
acronyms:
• BR = Bankruptcy Reporter
• FRD = Federal Rules Decisions
• When in doubt, check Bieber’s or the
Bluebook.
41
Update your case citations
online!
• To get more up-to-date results in less
time, use KeyCite or Shepard’s
online.
• Just before you hand in the project,
update again to make sure nothing
has changed.
42
Administrative Decisions on
the Internet
• Federal:
http://www.law.virginia.edu/admindec
• Washington:
http://lib.law.washington.edu/researc
h/research.html#rules
43
MISCELLANEOUS LEGAL
DOCUMENTS
44
Jury Instructions
• Federal Jury Practice and Instructions. Available on
Westlaw: FED-JI
• Manual of Model Civil Jury Instructions for the Ninth Circuit,
http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/web/sdocuments.nsf/civ.
• Manual of Model Criminal Jury Instructions for the Ninth
Circuit,
http://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/web/sdocuments.nsf/crim.
• Washington Pattern Jury Instructions: Civil (in Washington
Practice vols. 6 & 6A). Available on Westlaw: WA-WPI
• Washington Pattern Jury Instructions: Criminal (in
Washington Practice vols. 11 & 11A). Available on Westlaw:
WA-WPIC
45
Jury Verdicts
• Northwest Personal Injury Litigation
Reports
• What's It Worth
• LexisNexis and Westlaw databases
• Use a guide: Jury Verdicts,
Settlements, Judgments, and Liens,
http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/verd
icts.html
46
Washington State Court Rules
•
•
•
•
•
•
RPC = Rules of Professional Conduct
ER = Rules of Evidence
RAP = Rules of Appellate Procedure
CR = Superior Court Civil Rules
CrR = Superior Court Criminal Rules
CRLJ = Civil Rules for Courts of Limited
Jurisdiction
• CrRLJ = Criminal Rules for Courts of Limited
Jurisdition
• Find the text in Washington Court Rules – State,
on LexisNexis or Westlaw, or at
http://www.courts.wa.gov/rules/home.cfm.
47
Annotated Court Rules
• Washington Court Rules Annotated
• Washington Rules of Court
Annotated
• Annotated criminal rules are printed
as an appendix to Title 10 of the
RCWA.
• Various volumes of Washington
Practice
48
Local Court Rules
• Local Rules of the Superior Court,
Washington State
• Rules of the District and Municipal
Courts in Washington
• Washington Court Rules – Local
Rules
• http://www.courts.wa.gov/rules/home
.cfm
49
Washington State Bar
Association Ethics Opinions
• Formal opinions are issued by the Rules of Professional
Conduct Committee.
– Published in the Washington State Bar News
– Reprinted in the WSBA's Resources
– On the WSBA website,
http://www.wsba.org/lasd/ethics.htm
• Informal opinions
– Unofficial
– Selectively published in Resources and on the WSBA
website
50
Washington State Child
Support Schedule and
Worksheets
• http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/list.cfm.
• Printed as an appendix to RCWA 26.19.
Not printed in the RCW!
• Domestic Relations Forms. Not in the
Washington Family Law Deskbook!
• Make sure you use the most current
version.
51
Judicial Biographies
• Washington Judges Book covers State
appellate courts and some lower courts.
• http://www.courts.wa.gov/courts/ for
Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
• Washington State voters pamphlets
• Almanac of the Federal Judiciary
• Judges of the United States Courts:
http://air.fjc.gov/history/judges_frm.html
52
Washington State maximum
allowable interest rate
• Printed inside the cover of each
issue of the Washington State
Register.
• http://slc.leg.wa.gov/wsr/register.htm
53
FINAL GENERAL TIPS
54
When confronted with a new source
(such as a tax or labor looseleaf),
look for the introductory pages,
section, or chapter that explains "how
to use this book/service/index."
• Note the copyright date of the
volume and supplementation to
make sure it is current.
55
When using a looseleaf service, note
the difference between page
numbers (typically at the top) and
paragraph numbers (typically at the
bottom).
• Looseleaf service indexes often refer
to the paragraph number.
56
Citation Formatting
• The Bluebook: (More than) A Uniform System of Citation.
– Section T (the blue pages) lists the reporters, statutes,
and administrative compilations for all the states, plus a
number of foreign jurisdictions.
• Washington Courts Style Sheet,
http://www.courts.wa.gov/courts/supreme/reporter/style.cf
m.
– Additions and exceptions to The Bluebook.
• Search fulltext law review articles to find proper citation
formats when The Bluebook fails you. Beware: This can be
an expensive way to go!
57
Keep a paper trail
• Keep print copies of searches you
ran.
• If you find something on the Internet,
always print out or download a copy
for your file.
• Log sources you have already
checked to avoid going back to them
for the same thing.
58
To get a specific document at the
best price, use the CALR Get/Find
feature instead of searching.
• Use the smallest database that has
your resource
• Smaller databases are cheaper.
• Smaller databases will not give you
as many irrelevant hits.
• Smaller sets of search results save
your time.
59
When do you stop
researching?
• When certain cases and statutes
begin to recur, it is a good indication
that you have found what there is to
find.
60
OVERARCHING THEMES
(AGAIN)
• Update
• Why do the work when someone else has
already done it?
• Check Seattle U and UW law library
websites.
• Check the Washington Legal Researcher’s
Deskbook 3d.
• Use help services, including librarians and
vendor toll-free numbers.
61