The Process of Legal Research

by
Edition: 6th
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2004-06-30
Publisher(s): Wolters Kluwer
List Price: $61.00

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Summary

With a proven-effective process approach that has made this book a continual best seller,The Process of Legal Research, Sixth Edition, leads students to a deep and meaningful understanding of the "what," "why," "and "how" of conducting legal research.The text is skillfully structured to engage student interest:a thorough introduction to the process of Legal Research extensive illustrations and examples of research problems the authors emphasize best research practice coverage of electronic research is integrated into the text extensive, well-researched problem sets appear on perforated pages for easy useChanges for the Sixth Edition facilitate teaching and learning:text streamlined to offer enhanced graphics and less dense text a list of "not-to-do's" is based on a survey of writing professors and librarians, as well as practicing lawyers coverage ofALWD Citation Manualas well asThe Bluebookmore emphasis on the Internet An author website to support classroom instruction using this title is available at http://www.aspenlawschool.com/kunz6

Author Biography

Christina L. Kunz Professor of Law William Mitchell College of Law Deborah A. Schmedemann Professor of Law Associate Dean for Skills and Clinics William Mitchell College of Law Ann L. Bateson Director of the Law Library Associate Dean Professor of Law William Mitchell College of Law Matthew P. Downs Professor of Law William Mitchell College of Law Susan L. Catterall Leonard, Street, and Deinard, P.A.

Table of Contents

Exhibits and Illustrations xix
Preface xxv
Acknowledgments xxvii
Unit I Overview
1(60)
The Lay of the Land: the Importance of Legal Research, Legal Authorities, and Research Media
3(21)
The Canoga Case
3(2)
The Importance of Legal Research
5(1)
Legal Authorities
6(13)
Primary Authority
7(1)
Secondary Authority
8(11)
Finding Tools
19(1)
Research Media
19(3)
The Approach of This Book
22(2)
From Curiosity to Closure: Eight Cognitive Tasks
24(37)
Introduction
24(1)
Client-Centered Curiosity
25(11)
Learn and React to Your Client's Situation
26(1)
Develop Research Terms and Research Issues
27(1)
Understanding Legal Language
27(2)
Generating Research Terms
29(3)
Using Dictionaries and Thesauri
32(1)
Formulating Legal Issues
33(3)
Content and Context
36(3)
List and Rank Potential Authorities
36(2)
Assess Available Sources
38(1)
Consultation and Creativity
39(19)
Use Your Terms and Issues to Locate Pertinent Passages
40(14)
Study Pertinent Passages
54(1)
Research Backwards and Forwards from Major Authorities
55(3)
Closure
58(3)
Stop Researching
58(1)
Summary
59(2)
Unit II Secondary Authorities
61(60)
Preliminary Points
62(1)
Encyclopedias
63(7)
What Is an Encyclopedia?
63(4)
Why Are Encyclopedias Useful?
67(1)
How Do You Research in Encyclopedias?
67(2)
Encyclopedias in paper
67(2)
What Else?
69(1)
How Do You Cite Encyclopedias?
69(1)
Treatises
70(9)
What Is a Treatise?
70(1)
Why Are Treatises Useful?
71(1)
How Do You Research in Treatises?
71(6)
Treatises in paper
71(6)
What Else?
77(1)
How Do You Cite Treatises?
77(2)
Legal Periodicals
79(12)
What Is a Legal Periodical?
79(2)
Why Are Legal Periodical Articles Useful?
81(3)
How Do You Research in Legal Periodicals?
84(4)
Traditional periodicals research involving an index
84(2)
Periodicals in full-text key-word searching
86(2)
Citating periodical articles
88(1)
What Else?
88(2)
How Do You Cite Legal Periodicals?
90(1)
A.L.R. Annotations
91(12)
What Are American Law Reports (A.L.R.) Annontations?
91(1)
Why Is A.L.R. Useful?
92(2)
How Do You Research in A.L.R.?
94(7)
A.L.R. in paper
94(7)
A.L.R. in LexisNexis and Westlaw
101(1)
What Else?
101(1)
How Do You Cite A.L.R.?
102(1)
Restatements
103(14)
What Are the Restatements?
103(7)
Why Are Restatements Useful?
110(1)
How Do You Research in Restatements?
110(5)
Restatements in paper
110(2)
Cases referring to the Restatements in paper
112(3)
Restatements in Westlaw and LexisNexis
115(1)
What Else?
115(1)
How Do You Cite Restatements?
116(1)
Additional Secondary Authorities and Strategy
117(4)
Additional Secondary Authorities
117(1)
Research Strategy for Secondary Authorities
118(3)
Choosing Among Secondary Authorities
118(2)
Deciding Whether to Cite Secondary Authorities
120(1)
Unit III Case Law
121(66)
Preliminary Points
122(1)
Reporters, Digests, and Their Alternatives
123(48)
What Is a Case?
123(8)
How Does a Case Come to Be Decided?
123(1)
How Are Court Systems Structured?
124(1)
What Does a Published Case Look Like?
124(7)
Why Would You Research Which Cases?
131(7)
The Common Law, Stare Decisis, and Precedent
131(1)
Mandatory versus Persuasive Precedent: Federalism, Jurisdiction, and Level of Court
132(1)
Federalism and Jurisdiction
132(1)
Level of Court
133(1)
History and Treatment of the Case
133(1)
Subsequent History
134(1)
Treatment
134(1)
Publication Status
135(2)
Additional Factors
137(1)
How Do You Research Cases?
138(27)
Cases through West digests and reporters
139(12)
Cases in Westlaw
151(6)
Cases in LexisNexis
157(7)
Cases through court websites
164(1)
What Else?
165(3)
How Do You Cite Cases?
168(2)
Summary and Last Words
170(1)
Case Citators
171(16)
What Is a Case Citator, and Why Would You Use It?
171(2)
How Do You Use Case Citators?
173(11)
What Else?
184(3)
Unit IV Enacted Law
187(78)
Preliminary Points
188(1)
Codes and Session Laws
189(36)
What Are Constitutions and Statutes?
189(10)
What Is a Constitution?
189(3)
What Is a Statute?
192(6)
How Does Enacted Law Relate to Case Law?
198(1)
What Is a Uniform Act?
198(1)
Why Would You Research Constitutions and Statutes?
199(1)
How Do You Research Constitutions and Statutes?
200(21)
Statutes in annotated codes in paper
202(11)
Statutes in session laws in paper
213(2)
Statutes in commercial electronic services
215(4)
Statutes via public websites
219(1)
Local ordinances
220(1)
What Else?
221(1)
How Do you Cite Constitutions and Statutes?
222(1)
Summary and Last Words
223(2)
Legislative Process Materials
225(40)
Introduction: The Legislative Process
225(3)
Introduction
225(1)
The Legislative Process
226(2)
Legislative History
228(32)
What Are Legislative History Materials?
228(10)
Why Would You Research Legislative History Materials?
238(1)
How Do You Research Legislative History?
239(2)
Legislative history in statutory codes
241(2)
Legislative history in United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (U.S.C.C.A.N.)
243(2)
Compiled legislative histories
245(2)
Legislative history materials through LexisNexis Congressional and Congressional Information Service
247(9)
Legislative history through THOMAS
256(2)
What Else?
258(1)
How Do You Cite Legislative Materials?
259(1)
Pending Legislation
260(1)
Concluding Points
261(4)
Unit V Administrative Materials
265(60)
Preliminary Points
266(1)
Regulations
267(24)
What Is a Regulation?
267(1)
Why Would You Research Regulations?
268(2)
How Do You Research Regulations?
270(19)
Regulations research in statutes
271(4)
Regulations in a regulatory code (Code of Federal Regulations)
275(5)
Regulations in an administrative register (Federal Register)
280(6)
Regulations in agency websites
286(1)
Regulations research in case law
286(3)
What Else?
289(1)
How Do You Cite Regulations?
290(1)
Agency Decisions
291(17)
What Is an Agency Decision?
291(6)
Why Would You Research Agency Decisions?
297(1)
How Do You Research Agency Decisions?
297(10)
Agency decisions research in statutes and regulations
298(2)
Agency decisions in the agency's own compilation---reporter or database
300(1)
Updating and validating agency decisions
301(6)
What Else?
307(1)
How Do You Cite Agency Decisions?
307(1)
Mini-Libraries
308(17)
What Are Mini-Libraries, and Why Are They Useful?
308(1)
How Do You Research in Mini-Libraries?
309(13)
Administrative materials in paper looseleaf services
309(9)
Options for administrative materials research in electronic mini-libraries
318(4)
What Else?
322(1)
How Do You Cite to Mini-Libraries?
322(3)
Unit VI Rules of Procedure and Legal Ethics
325(40)
Preliminary Points
326(1)
Rules of Procedure
327(17)
What Are Rules of Procedure?
327(9)
Why Would You Research Rules of Procedure?
336(1)
How Do You Research Rules of Procedure?
336(4)
Rules of procedure
337(3)
What Else?
340(3)
How Do You Cite Rules of Procedure?
343(1)
Rules of Professional Responsibility
344(21)
What Are Rules of Professional Responsibility?
344(6)
Why Would You Research Rules of Professional Responsibility?
350(1)
How Do You Research Rules of Professional Responsibility?
350(13)
Legal ethics
352(11)
What Else?
363(1)
How Do You Cite Rules of Professional Responsibility?
363(2)
Unit VII Conclusion
365(14)
Developing an Integrated Research Strategy
367(12)
Introduction: The apARTment Problem
367(1)
The Research Journals
368(8)
Researching for the Bank
369(1)
Jennifer Henderson
369(2)
Richard Soderberg
371(1)
Researching for apARTment
372(1)
Steve Brunn
372(3)
Vickie Loher
375(1)
Our Observations
376(3)
RESEARCH SITUATIONS AND PRACTICE SETS
379(92)
Research Situations for Unit I Eight Cognitive Tasks and Unit II Secondary Authorities
381(28)
Practice Set for Chapter 2 From Curiosity to Closure: Eight Cognitive Tasks
387(4)
Practice Set for Chapter 3 Encyclopedias
391(2)
Practice Set for Chapter 4 Treatises
393(4)
Practice Set for Chapter 5 Legal Periodicals
397(4)
Practice Set for Chapter 6 A.L.R. Annotations
401(4)
Practice Set for Chapter 7 Restatements
405(4)
Research Situation and Background Reading for Unit III Case Law and Unit IV Enacted Law (State Statutes)
409(26)
First Practice Set for Chapter 9 Paper Reporters and Digests
415(4)
Second Practice Set for Chapter 9 Electronic Research in Case Law
419(4)
Practice Set for Chapter 10 Case Citators
423(4)
First Practice Set for Chapter 11 State Paper Codes and Session Laws
427(4)
Second Practice Set for Chapter 11 Electronic Research in State Statutes
431(4)
Research Situations and Practice Sets for Unit IV Chapters 11 and 12 Enacted Law (Federal Statutes)
435(12)
Third Practice Set for Chapter 11 Federal Codes and Session Laws
439(4)
Practice Set for Chapter 12 Legislative Process Materials
443(4)
Research Situations and Practice Set for Unit V Chapters 13, 14, 15 Administrative Materials
447(10)
Practice Set for Unit V Administrative Materials
451(6)
Research Situation and Practice Set for Unit VI Chapter 16 Rules of Procedure
457(6)
Practice Set for Chapter 16 Rules of Procedure
459(4)
Research Situation and Practice Set for Unit VI Chapter 17 Rules of Professional Responsibility
463(8)
Practice Set for Chapter 17 Rules of Professional Responsibility
465(6)
Index 471

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