Finding the Law

ELPS 6074 Purpose Honor Code Textbooks Syllabus Schedule Roster Internet

Preface

This guide has been developed as an introduction to legal research. Its purpose is to identify the major resources that can assist the legal researcher in this process. These aids are discussed in brief detail and, in most instances, appear with their respective catalog numbers. Students are expected to become familiar with the contents of this guide and the legal research process.

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Case Law

The decisions of the courts (case law) are considered one of the two great sources of legal authority. These decisions represent the current interpretation and application of statutes and laws enacted by local, state, and federal governmental agencies. The recording of these decisions enable researchers, lawyers, and judges to check for legal precedent and consistency on decisions made on similar cases.

Reporting Systems

The first American courts reports were issued in 1789. These reports summarized the "words of the courts" and became known as "law reports." Over time, the West Publishing Company developed the largest reporting system in the United States. It is known as the National Reporting System. In most instances, each volume of the series will contain the following information: (a) an alphabetical table of cases, (b) a chronological listing of cases, and (c) a cross reference list of words and phrases.
For each case reported, one will find:

  1. The name of the case.
  2. The name of the court hearing the case.
  3. The names of the judge(s) and lawyers(s) involved.
  4. The date of the hearing.
  5. A brief summary of the case.
  6. A listing of the points of law involved.
  7. The court's opinion.
  8. A dissenting opinion (in some instances).

Every case will have its own citation that includes the names of the parties involved, the name of the reporter in which the case may be found, the volume of the reporter, and the page number of the case. Each element is described below:

Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education, 294 F. 2d 150 (5th Cir. 1961).

  1. Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education is the name of the case.

  2. 294 is the volume number of the reporter in which the case is found.

  3. F. 2d is the abbreviation of the Reporter Series. In this case, it is the Federal Reporter, Second Series.

  4. 150 is the specific page number where the case can be found.

  5. 5th Cir. is the specific court in which the case was heard.

  6. 1961 is the year in which the case was decided.

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Supreme Court Reporters.
The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, hears appeals from the federal court system and certain cases that question the validity of state and federal law. The decisions of the Supreme Court are listed in six different reporter series. Their names, listings, and location in the Newman Library are listed below:

* These provide the fastest hard copy text of the Supreme Court decisions and are presented in loose-leaf form.

Federal Reporter Series.
The federal court system is entirely separate from the 50 state court systems. The federal courts hear cases that involve citizens of different states and cases that involve litigation of federal statutes of the federal Constitution. The decisions of these courts are listed in three reporter series. Their names, listing, and locations in the Newman Library appear below:

Regional Reporters Series.
The decisions made by the courts of last resort at the state level are reported in the regional reporter series. This series is a seven volume set sub-divided by region. The names of the reporters, their listings, and the locations of these reporters is also provided.

  1. The Atlantic Reporter [Cited as A. 2d], KF 135 A7, includes the states of Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, District of Columbia, New Jersey, Vermont, and Maine.

  2. The North Eastern Reporter [Cited as N.E. 2d], KF 135 N6x, includes the states of Illinois, New York, Indiana, Ohio, and Massachusetts.

  3. The North Western Reporter [Cited as N.W. 2d], KF 135 N7, includes the states of Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

  4. The Pacific Reporter [Cited as P. 2d], KF 135 P2, includes Alaska, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma, California, Montana, Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Hawaii, Nevada, and Washington.

  5. The South Eastern Reporter [Cited as S.E. 2d], KF135 S6, includes Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, and South Carolina.

  6. The South Western Reporter [Cited as S.W. 2d], KF 135 S7, includes the states of Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas.

  7. The Southern Reporter [Cited as So. 2d], KF 135 S8, includes Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi.

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State Reporter Series.
These reporters contain a number of cases decided at various court levels within the respective states. A number of states have discontinued their official reporters in favor of the West System.
Annotated Reports.
While West Publishing Company provides the most extensive reporting system of case law, there are several annotated reporting systems available to the legal researcher. Chief among these is the American Law Reports which is published by the Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company. This reporting series only reviews a small number of carefully selected cases each year and provides an editorial discussion of the law pertinent to each case. The American Law Reports (cited as A.L.R.) may provide quicker access to those decisions on leading legal issues. It may be found at KF 105 A44.

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Finding Tools

Judicial decisions are published in chronological order in all of the reporting systems discussed to this point. Searches for specific cases must therefore be made by subject or topic. Such searches are made possible through a variety of finding tools such as case digests, encyclopedias, citators, and the West's Key Numbering System.
Digests.
A variety of digests serve as finding tools for court decisions. They can be defined as indexes to judicial reports. They help locate opinions which deal with a specific situation or point of law. Digests contain a brief summary of each case listed and are accessed by a detailed word or subject index. Cases are arranged by subject in alphabetical order. The more popular digests and their locations are listed below:

West's Key Numbering System.
West Publishers have developed a unique numbering system which permits easy cross referencing of various points of law by topic. This numbering consists of 400 digest topics and is divided into seven main categories and thirty-two subheadings. In the reports published by West, paragraphs that summarize what the court states in its decision serve as headnotes for the case. Each headnote is preceded by a topic line and "key number" which becomes a cross reference for the researcher.

An example:

Griggs v. Duke Power Co. 91 S. Ct. 849

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Case Citators.
Case citators provide access to the judicial history of a specific case. Shepard's Citations, Inc. publishes the most comprehensive system of case citators in the United States. These citators allow the researcher to: (a) trace the history of any case listed in any official or West reporter, (b) verify the current status of a case in question and, (c) find later cases which have cited the original case or provided other research leads. These citators are usually located near the reporter they "shepardize." Directions on how to use this finding tool are found at the beginning of each citator. One must know the volume number, reporter cited, and the page number of the specific case to use the citator.

An example:

Griggs v. Duke Power Co. 420 F. 2d 1225

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Statutes

Statutory material appears very early in recorded history and is regarded as the second of the two great sources of law. The fundamental differences between statutes and case law rests in the differences in purpose, language, and purpose.

Reporting Systems

American statutes are published in three forms. "Slip Law" is the first official text of a statute. "Session Laws" are laws that are published in separate volumes each year or session of the legislature. Statutes are reported in chronological order. Finally, statutes are published in the form of "Codes." They collect those statutes of a jurisdiction which have general application and arrange them by broad topic.
U.S. Code.
The official edition of the federal statutory code is called the U.S. Code. Since it is the authoritative text, it must be cited as the official legal reference. The Code is published in a completely revised edition every six years with bound cumulative supplements in the intervening years.

U.S. Code Annotated.
The U.S. Codes are published in two unofficial editions. These usually provide faster access to the statute in question and also provide a great deal of supplemental information not found in the U.S. Code. Editorial notes, historical comments, and other interpretative material are included. The names of these editions, their listings, and locations in the Newman Library are found below.

Uniform Commercial Code.
Over the years there has been greater and greater interest by the states in passing uniform laws among states. The National Conference of Commissioners on the Uniform States Laws meets annually to promote such legislation. The Uniform Commercial Code is one such example.

Uniform Laws Annotated.
All of the uniform laws are compiled and published by West in one annotated set called the Uniform Laws Annotated. This series contains every uniform law adopted by at least one state, notes on these laws, and annotations to the court decisions of every state which has adopted and then litigated each law. This information is particularly valuable to the legal researcher.

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Finding Tools

In addition to the subject compilations of statutes, there are other aids to statutory research. Among these are indexes of various kinds, which provide a direct topical approach to statutes, and tables which permit the researcher to covert citations from one form to another.
Indexes.
There are indexes to current statutes by their legislative session in volumes of the Statutes At Large and its unofficial edition, called the U.S. Code, Congressional and Administrative News. Indexes for the entire body of currently effective, public, and general federal statutes can be found in the U.S. Code and the U.S. Code Annotated as previously mentioned.

Citators.
Shepard's publishes statutory citators which perform the same function as their case law citators. On the federal level, Shepard's United State Citation include entries for every section of the U.S. Code. In Shepard's state citators, statutes are usually listed by their citations in the latest code edition.

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Secondary Sources

Secondary source materials is also important to legal research. While these materials are non-authoritative in nature, they serve as additional finding tools which aid the researcher in locating relevant primary sources and authorities. They consist of periodicals, texts, encyclopedias, and various other forms of printed materials.

Periodicals.

Periodicals are published by law schools, bar associations, and private publishers. These journals comment on the current law, describe change and innovation in the law, and summarize recent court decisions. These periodicals can be accessed through the Index to Legal Periodicals which lists over 30 Law School Journals and other legal publications. Several of these improtant references can also be found on-line.

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Other Legal Sources

Revised: July 10, 2008
Copyright © 1996 Virginia Tech