Legal Research Flashcards
Statues at Large
* what is it and how is it compiled
the collection of laws passed by the United States Congress, in chronological order
The United States Code
- what is it
- published by who
- how is it compiled
- the official compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal statutes of the US
- it is prepared and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the US House of Representatives
- it is organized into titles based on subject matter
U.S. Law Week
contains recent decisions of the US Supreme Court
The Federal Reporter
a case law reporter published by West
- it begins with cases decided in 1880
How are Statutes published
they are published in three different forms: slip laws, session laws and codes
- statues are published as session laws before they are codified
- newly enacted laws are published chronologically, first as separate statutes in “slip law” form and later cumulatively in the bound volumes of the Statutes at Large
American Digest System
- what is it
- published by who
- a system of identifying points of law from reported cases and organizing them by topic and key number (finding court cases)
- system was developed by West Publishing to organize the entire body of American law
de novo
when an appellate court reviews a case de novo on the record, it tries the case anew, as if NO TRIAL had occurred in the lower court
Until 1932, case from the US Court of Appeals and the US District Court were combined in ____.
the Federal Reporter
Star Paging
is used to refer to the page number of the original reporter when a case is reprinted in another reporter
to update the status of a particular statue, one may use ____.
supplement volume or pocket part supplement
To determine whether a particular statute has been ruled unconstitutional by a court, one may use ____.
Shepard’s Citations, STATUTE EDITION
When a researcher wants to show that a statment in his brief is supported by the cited case, he should use ___.
NO signal is used
supra
cited in full above, before
infra
cited in full below, following
F.R.D contains:
decisions concerning federal rules of procedure
The US Constitution may be found…
the first volume of the United States Code
List primary authority (9)
refers to statements of law that are binding upon the courts, government, and individuals Examples: 1 Constitutions 2 Basic laws 3 Statutes (whether codified on uncodified) 4 Treaties 5 Municipal charters and ordinances 6 Rules of court procedure 7 Rules of evidence 8 Administrative regulations 9 Executive orders
American Jurisprudence Second
- published by who
- cited as Am. Jur. 2d - is an encylopedia of the US law
- published by West
Shepard’s Citations
- what does it mean to shepardize a case
provides a list of all the authorities citing a particular case, statute, or other legal authority
* to shepardize a case means to use Shepard’s Citation to identify other cases and authorities that have discussed the authority begin Shepardize (by doing this, you can analyze their current value as precedent)
United States Code Annotated
- a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the US
- it is prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the US House of Representatives
treatise
- a scholarly legal publication containing all the law relating to a particular area, such as criminal law or trusts and estates
- a secondary source
restatement of law
- are secondary sources that seek to “restate” the legal rules that constitute the common law in a particular area
- written by the American Law Institute (ALI)
session laws
- the collection of statutes enacted by a legislature during a single session of that legislature
- often published following the end of the session as a bound volume
- Stat. (chronological, official)
slip law
- an individual Act of Congress which is ether a public law or a private law
- they are part of a three-part model for publication of Federal statutes consisting of slip laws, session laws and codification
Code of Federal regulations
CFR - the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (aka administrative law) published in the Federal Register by executive departments and agencies of the federal government
Congressional Record
official record of the proceedings and debates of the US Congress, published by the US Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session
US Law Week
provides most current print information on US Supreme Court activity; also provides coverage of national legal news
concurring opinion
an opinion filed by a judge which agrees with the majority decision, but which expresses her different reasons for the decision, or a different view of the facts of the case, or of the law
memorandum opinion
a court’s decision that gives the ruling, but NO OPINION; the decisions is not subject to appeal by the dissatisfied party
dissenting opinion
an opinion filed by a judge who disagrees with the majority decision of a case
West’s National Reporter Blue Book
complied cases from state and federal courts and organizes them into various reporter sets
per curiam opinion
a decision handed down by the court as a whole, without identifying any particular judge as the author
*** It is the opinion of the court as a single body
statutory law
laws passed by the legislature
case law
the law as established by the outcome of former cases
administrative law
- the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government
- Government agency action can include rule making, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda
- Administrative law is considered a branch of public law
Presidential proclamations are published in ___.
Statutes at Large
common law
- ## (aka judical precedent or judge-made law or case law) the part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes
A.L.R
American Law Report
extrapolate
arrive at (a fact or a conclusion) by reasoning
ab initio
“from the begining”
elucidate
make (something) clear; explain
termerity
excessive confidence or boldness; audacity.
refractory
stubborn or unmanageable
extricate
free (someone or something) from a constraint or difficulty
et vir
“and husband”
et al.
an abbreviation for et alia meaning “and others”
hypothecate
pledge as security for a debt
non sequitur
a conclusion or statement that DOES NOT LOGICALLY FOLLOW from the previous argument or statement
N.B.
lain term meaning “note well”
res judicata/ adjudicated
a matter that has been adjudicated by a competent court and may not be pursued further by the same parties.
