Section B Flashcards
Authority
Anything the court can or must use in reaching its decision.
Primary Authority
Law
10 basic kinds
Primary Authority:
Consitution
The highest form of law.
The fundamental law that established the basic rights and obligations of citizens and creates the branches of govrnment.
U.S. Consitution is the lighest law in the United States.
Primary Authority:
Statutes
Laws created by the legislative branch of government.
U.S. COngress created federal statutes in the United States Code (U.S.C)
“Enacted law.” Supercedes “common law.”
Primary Authority:
Opinions
A decision of a court applying law to a specific, factual situation.
“Case” or “case law.”
“Common law.”
Primary Authority:
Treaties
An agreement between two or more governments.
President signs with consent of the Senate.
Primary Authority:
Executive Order
Created by the highest entity of the executive branch (President or governor).
E.g. The pardon of someone convicted of a crime.
Primary Authority:
Administrative Rules
Rules and reglations created by state and federal administrative agencies.
Primary Authority:
Administrative Decisions
Created by an administrative agency applying administrative rules to factual situations.
Primary Authority:
Rules of Court
Govern the procedures of the state and federal trial process.
Are created by the legislature, the highest court in the state, or both.
Primary Authority:
Charters
Local equivalent of a constitution.
The basic and fundamental law of loval governments; establish the structure of the local government.
Primary Authority:
Ordinances
The local equivalent of statutes.
RU;es that members of a commuitt are expected to follow.
Secondary Authority
Quotable, but not law.
E.g. Legal encyclopedia.
Citation
A legal address.
Case Law:
Caption
The title of a case.
Includes the year the opinion was written and the court that wrote it.
Case Law:
Syllabus
A short summary of the case.
Case Law:
Holding (Held)
What the court decided; the answer the court found.
Mentioned at the end of the syllabus.
Case Law:
Headnotes
Summaries of parts of the case, provided by the publisher.
The headnote number related to a bracketed numver in the opinion.
Non-Authority.
Case Law:
Key Number System
A research tool thet relates to West Digests and Westlaw.
Provided at the beginning of each headnote.
Case Law:
Line of Demarcation
Line that tells the researcher that everything above the line is provided by the publisher and cannote be quoted (non-authority).
Everything below the line is th word-for-word opinion of the court.
Case Law:
Opinions
The Majority opinion becomes law.
May be quoted as primary authority.
Case Law:
Opinion Elements
- History: Overview of how the case eveloved. Generally not quoated.
- Reasoning: Logic the court used to reach its resule. Likely quoted.
- Disposition: Result of the court’s decision (affirm, reserve, modify, remand).
Unified Theory of Research
Hard Copy: Index to Main Volume to Relevant Authority
Online: Search Query to Results Page to Relevant Authority
Cartwheeling
Association method of locating places in an index where a topic might be hidden.
I.e., subject headings and name authorites.
Index: Hierarchical System
Starts with a topic, then subtopic, then sub-subtopic, etc.
Index Signals
Guides to lead the researcher to the appropriate point within the index.
Index Signals: Intra or Ante
Look below, within the same heading
Index Signals: Supra
Look above, within the same heading
