Week 3 Flashcards
Digests are organized (1) by (2) and, within each topic, (3) by (4)
- alphabetically
- topic
- chronologically
- key number
2 Federal digests
- United States Supreme Court Digest
2. Federal Practice Digest (appeals and district courts)
3 electronic sources of federal cases
- Lexis
- Westlaw
- Web (various websites)
A key number digest is made up of which five main parts?
- topic analysis section for each topic
- case headnotes section for each topic
- a table of cases, listing cases by name and reporter citation
- words and phrases table
- descriptive word index
In a digest, cases discussing the same point of law are classified under the same (1) and (2)
- topic
2. key number
Where to go if not finding cases in your state on your topic (5)
- neighboring states
- Federal cases
- US Supreme Court cases
- Encyclopedic treatment of topic (Corpus Juris Secundum)
- articles discussing case law (American Law Reports)
3 methods for searching in digests
- topic method (find key numbers by topics)
- descriptive word method (find key numbers using words, synonyms)
- table of cases method (find key number using case name)
7 categories of law in West’s digest system
- persons
- property
- contracts
- torts
- crimes
- remedies
- government
The topic analysis found at the beginning of each topic in digests is an (1) of the topic
- expanded outline
When reorganization of topics is required, key number (1) are prepared for subsequent pocket parts and recompiled volumes
- translation tables
5 categories into which descriptive words tend to fall
- parties
- places/things
- basis of action or issue
- defense
- relief sought
4 things a table of cases listing provides
- title
- parallel citations to other reporters
- history of the case (affirmed, reversed, etc.)
- topics and key numbers under which it is classified
There is also a (1) table of cases to assist if you know only one name
defendant-plaintiff
In legal writing, a specific legal authority or other source
citation
5 parts of a legal citation
- author
- name of authority/source
- info about where info can be found within source
- publisher
- date
For formatting, use (1) when possible for a more professional look
full justification
4 auto settings in word processors that may need to be deactivated/changed for citation
- spacing after periods
- automatic ordinal superscript (inconsistent with “2d” etc.)
- automatic replacement of words and symbols
- automatic hyperlinks
In formatting citations, (1) and (2) should not be mixed within a paper. Underline only the (3)–not commas or spaces
- underlining
- italics
- word/phrase
8 things that should be italicized in a citation
- introductory signals (see)
- internal cross-references (supra, infra)
- case names
- phrases indicating subsequent/prior history (aff’d)
- titles of most documents
- topics or titles in legal encyclopedia entries
- names of internet sites
- shorts forms (id, supra)
Italicise punctuation located (1), but not (2), other italicized material. Do not italicize (3) of case names, etc. De-italicize (4). Italics for (5) should not be overused.
- within
- following
- possessive endings
- stuff that would be italicized, contained within an entire italicized passage
- emphasis
(1) can help you determine whether a foreign word should be italicized.
Black’s Law Dictionary
4 things that should not be capitalized in a title
- articles
- prepositions
- “to” as part of an infinitive
- coordinating conjunctions
page on which a particular source begins (should be cited if included in a volume)
initial page
page on which a quotation or other relevant passage appears (should be cited when referring to material on that specific page)
pinpoint page (jump citation, jump page)
Where can you find cases for:
- Fed. District Courts
- Fed. Appellate Courts
- US Supreme Court
- AZ Appellate Courts
- Federal Supplements
- Federal Reporters
- US Reports
- Arizona Reports
I. Law
A. Contracts (what is this?)
1)offer and acceptance (what is this?)
- Topic - found on list of 400
2. Subtopic - will have a key number
Use key numbers to find other (1) on the (2)
- cases
2. topic
a paragraph of information that coincides with a topic and key number. A type of editorial enhancement
headnote
list of 400 topics - index to group of reporters
digest
index to the digests–allow the researcher to look up any words related to the case
descriptive word index
cover all jurisdictions and all time frames
Dicennial Digests
For a state court, federal cases are technically (1) due to (2). (3) are mandatory.
- persuasive
- dual federalism
- state appellate courts
When moving from descriptive word indexes, check (1) first–same with moving from digest to reporters.
- pocket parts
reading the outline to jelp get an overview of a subject–closely related topics are grouped by key number
topical analysis
Headnote organization moves from the (1) to the (2), and the (3) to the (4)
- highest federal court
- lowest
- higest state court
- lowest
848P.2d870. What are the three parts here?
- 848 = volume
- P.2d = Pacific Reports, 2nd Series
- 870 = page number
Headnotes are written by (1) or (2)–not (3)! Find the case for actual authority.
- paralegals
- lawyers
- judges
