RESEARCH TIPS FOR
JUDICIAL EXTERNS &
LAW CLERKS
Presented By: Katie Miller
Available FSU Judicial Externships
FLORIDA COURTS WEBSITE
A good place to find some info. on the courts
FLSC WEBSITE
A good place to find some info. on the courts
DISTRICT COURTS
A good place to find some info. on the courts
CIRCUIT & COUNTY COURTS
A good place to find some info. on the courts
FEDERAL COURTS
www.uscourts.gov
FEDERAL COURTS
FEDERAL COURTS
SUPREME COURT JURISDICTION
•Capital cases
•Bond Validations
•Public Utilities Cases
• DCA opinions declaring statutes
or constitution invalid
• Remaining cases are
discretionary jurisdiction &
original jurisdiction writs
What types of cases will you see in your court?
DISTRICT COURT JURISDICTION
• All appeals not directly appealable to FLSC
• Final actions of state agencies
• 2nd tier certiorari review
• Writs & discretionary review
What types of cases will you see in your court?
JURISDICTION
Circuit Courts
• Felonies
• Family Law
• Civil Cases over $15,000
• Probate/Guard./Mental Health
• Juv. Dependency & Delinquency
• Appeals from County Court
• Writs such as cert., prohibition, mandamus, quo
warranto, habeas corpus.
What types of cases will you see in your court?
JURISDICTION
County Courts
• Misdemeanors
• Small Claims (up to $5,000)
• Civil (up to and including $15,000)
• Traffic
What types of cases will you see in your court?
FEDERAL JURISDICTION
• Federal Court are courts of limited jurisdiction
• Federal questions
• Diversity jurisdiction & dispute more than $75,000
What types of cases will you see in your court?
STATISTICS ON TYPES OF FILINGS
Data from Florida State Court website
LINGO & ABBREVIATIONS
 JA
 CJ
 PCA
 OA
 HFO, PRR, VCC
 Law Clerk (elbow clerk) vs. Clerk of the Court
 Baker Act, Jimmy Ryce cases
 Workers’ Compensation & medical terms
If you don’t know what someone is talking about,
don’t be afraid to ask questions.
RULES OF COURT
 Helpful for jurisdictional questions and rule-based
filings (i.e. postconviction motions rule 3.800, 3.850,
3.853)
 Includes annotations online
 Florida Evidence Code, Rules of Criminal Procedure,
Civil Procedure, Probate, Traffic Court, Small Claims,
Juvenile Procedure, Appellate, Mediator, Arbitrator,
Family Law, Code of Judicial Conduct
Commonly used resources
LEGAL ENCYCLOPEDIAS
 Fla. Jur., American
Juris., Corpus Juris
Secundum
 Good starting point for
background information
on your issue
 Provides relevant case
law
Commonly used resources
TREATISES, PRACTICE MANUALS, &
OTHER SECONDARY SOURCES
 Ehrhardt’s Evidence
 Florida Appellate Practice
 Florida Criminal Procedure/ Civil Practice
 Florida Construction Law Manual
 Florida DUI handbook
 Florida Sentencing
 Moore’s Federal Practice
 Law Review articles
 Bar Journals
Look to see what books are in your supervisor’s office
or ask about commonly used resources.
FL JURY INSTRUCTIONS
 Criminal and Civil
 Available in hardcopy binders
 Also available on FLSC website
 Includes lesser included crimes, statute number
and comments about amendments or when it was
adopted.
Commonly used resources
U.S. CODE, FL STATUTES, FED.
REGULATIONS & FL ADMIN. CODE
 You may have to do research to determine
which year to use.
 Annotations
 Legislative history
 F.A.C. – sometimes easier to use paper copy
Commonly used resources
ONLINE LEGAL DATABASES
 Westlaw (West KM) & LexisNexis
Commonly used resources
Sometimes a Google search will help!!
PEOPLE
 Supervisor
 Other clerks
 Librarian
 Other interns
 But remember rules of confidentiality and don’t
share information with colleagues outside the court
Commonly used resources
CONFIDENTIALITY
 Code of Judicial Conduct
 No outside practice of law
 No discussion of opinions, internal discussions,
memos, summaries, with anyone outside of the
Court.
DON’T COMPLICATE THINGS
 Stay on issue. Use the motions, briefs, court orders to
define the issues.
 Use the cases cited by the parties as a starting point.
 Don’t make arguments for the parties.
 Ask for help instead of spinning your wheels.
Efficient and effective research
FINAL TOUCHES
 Shephardize
 Check citation formatting
– Blue Book & Florida Style Manual
 Re-read and edit.
Shephardize and citations
KEEPING UP WITH THE LAW
 Slip opinions
 Florida Law Weekly
Keeping up with the law and legal issues
KEEPING UP WITH THE LAW
Keeping up with the law and legal issues
KEEPING UP WITH THE LAW
American Bar Association website, Journal, blogs,
podcasts
KEEPING UP WITH THE LAW
 iPhone Apps
 ABA Journal
 Fastcase
 LawBox
 Legal Edge
 Legal Terms
 RSS Reader
 LawStack
Keeping up with the law and legal issues
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
 ABA Judicial Division – Council of Appellate Staff
Attorneys
 Recommended reading list for judicial clerkships
produced by NALP (National Association of Legal
Professionals)
Additional resources
CONCLUSION
 Prepare before your first day
 Know which resources to use
 Remember to ask for help
 Keep up with legal issues
GOOD LUCK!
Any questions?