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JUDICIAL BRANCH INFORMATION SOURCES

JUDICIAL BRANCH INFORMATION SOURCES. Government Information & Access Services SLIS 5660.001 Summer I, 1998 Dr. Yvonne J. Chandler. C.C. Langdell, Dean Harvard Law School.

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JUDICIAL BRANCH INFORMATION SOURCES

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  1. JUDICIAL BRANCH INFORMATION SOURCES Government Information & Access Services SLIS 5660.001 Summer I, 1998 Dr. Yvonne J. Chandler

  2. C.C. Langdell, Dean Harvard Law School • We have…constantly inculcated the idea that the library is the proper workshop of professors and students alike; that it is to us all that the laboratories of the university are to the chemists and physicists, the museum of natural history to the zoologists, the botanical garden to the botanists.

  3. Where Law is Created in the American Government Constitution Judicial Branch Executive Branch Legislative Branch

  4. JudicialBranch Interpretation of laws known as Common Law or Case Law found in court opinions. Three Branches of Government Make Law

  5. Common Law • The United States is a Common Law Country • The law of the land is viewed as an evolving body of doctrine determined by judges on the basis of cases which they must decide. • The law grows as the principles expressly articulated and codified are tested and adapted to meet new situations.

  6. Primary Sources of the Law • Printed Cases and Opinions • Statutes or Legislative Enactment From Federal and State Legislatures • Administrative Rules and Regulations

  7. Secondary Sources of the LawTextual Treatments of the Law • Legal Encyclopedias • Periodicals, Law Reviews, Journals, Newspapers • Treatises • Looseleaf Services • Dictionaries and Words and Phrases • Directories • Finding Tools, Indexes, Digests, Annotations, Citators, Databases

  8. Characteristics of the Primary Sources of the Law • Organized by the Source of the Law • Chronological Publication • Need for Finding Tools • Official & Unofficial Publication of Cases, Rules or Regulations & Legislation • Electronic Publication

  9. Judicial Branch The judicial branch interprets the laws and regulations made by the legislative and executive branches through the courts. The court is a tribunal established by the government to hear and decide matters giving redress to the injured and enforcing punishment against wrongdoers. The judicial system provides for a nonviolent resolution of criminal matters and private disputes.

  10. Powers of the Judicial Branch • 1. Determines constitutionality of laws • 2. Characterization of cases • Courts determine the nature of the case; e.g., tort, contract. • Nature of the case determines legal rules to be applied. • 3. Promulgation of rules of court • Tells individual how to access the judicial system • Dictates proper forms and procedures to be followed • Rules of court may supersede statutes in conflict with rules

  11. Levels of the Court System 1. Trial court level is where disputes of both civil and criminal matter are adjudicated . The first level of the court system where issues of fact and issues of law are determined 2. Intermediate appellate court 3. Supreme court is the "court of last resort"

  12. Precedent • Under the doctrine of precedents, the decision of a common law court not only settles a dispute between the parties involved, but also sets a precedent to be followed in future cases. Much of legal research is the search for legal judicial precedent to support desired adversarial position, commonly called finding a "case on point.”

  13. Stare Decisis“The duty to follow precedent” Stare Decisis to stand on what has been decided • Stare Decisis is the fundamental principle of the Anglo-American Legal System that forms the basis and shapes the techniques of legal research. • The doctrine of Stare Decisis states that precedents should be followed. The concept states that people similarly situated should be similarly dealt with and judgements should be consistent rather than arbitrary.

  14. THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM IS BASED ON PRECEDENT • In order for precedent to work, attorneys, judges, and ordinary citizens must have: • a record of the cases courts decide • a way to quickly locate the points of law in those cases

  15. Legal Authority • Legal Authority is any published source of law setting forth legal rules, legal doctrine, or legal reasoning that can be used as a basis for legal decisions.

  16. Legal AuthorityTypes of Legal Information • Primary Authorities - authorized statements of the law by governmental institutions. • Case Law • Constitutions • Legislation • Rules of Court • Rules, Regulations, & Opinions of Admin. Agencies

  17. Legal AuthorityPersuasive Authorities • Mandatory Authority(or binding): Court must follow the authority. Judicial decisions from the same jurisdictions are binding on a lower court • Persuasive Authority: Court can be persuaded to follow it. a judicial decision from a different jurisdiction are not binding but the court may be "persuaded" to follow the earlier ruling

  18. Court Reports and Reporters • Law Reports are compilations of case reports or judicial decisions from courts arranged according to some grouping • Jurisdiction • Court • Period of Time • Subject Matter • Case Significance

  19. Court Reports • Court Reports are organized: • By Jurisdiction - Supreme Court Reports, New York Reports • By Geography - North Western Reporter • By Subject - Labor Law Reports, U.S. Tax Cases, U.S. Patents Quarterly

  20. OFFICIAL/UNOFFICIAL REPORTS • Official Reports are case reports officially sanctioned by state statutes or court authority. May be published by the state or a private publisher.

  21. OFFICIAL/UNOFFICIAL REPORTS • Unofficial Reports are case reports published by private companies not legislatively endorsed by state statutes. The unofficial reports duplicate the opinions in the official reports. Some may be the only source of publication of case reports.

  22. Forms of Published Decisions • Slip Opinions:decisions paginated and published individually by the court • Electronic / Digitally Published Opinion: court decisions published in computerized databases.

  23. Forms of Published Decisions • Advance Sheet:pamphlets which contain the full text of the court decision; arranged chronologically and paginated sequentially as they will appear in the bound casebook • Case Reporter (Bound Volume): Bound case reporter is the consolidation of several advance sheets.

  24. National Reporter System Begun by West Publishing in 1879 with the Northeastern Reporter. (Ahistory of Westis found at their website2.) National Reporter System publications cover over 600 courts across the nation and add over 130,000 decisions each year

  25. National Reporter System It consists of three main divisions: • Cases of State Courts - 7 Regional Reporters & CA Reporter and New York Supplement • Cases of Federal Courts - Supreme Court Reporter, Fed. Reporter, Fed. Supplement, Fed. Rules Decisions • Cases of Special Courts - Bankruptcy, Military Justice, Federal Claims, Veterans Appeals Reporter

  26. National Reporter System NRS reports are all presented in a uniform format • Format is the same no matter the origin of the case law • Consistent format aids researcher and speeds familiarity with the system • Key number system of headnotes provides uniform subject access to each case from different jurisdictions

  27. National Reporter System State court reporters are grouped somewhat geographically and published as case reports in one set of books for each group • Geographic grouping allows for reports from neighboring states to be published in the same set of books • Case law for all states are available nationally • Over one-third of states use NRS as their official reports

  28. National Reporter SystemWest Editorial System • The reporters are linked by West's editorial system of headnotes and key numbers, digests and tables of cases reported, statutes and rules considered, and words and phrases defined. Editorial enhancements for case, keyword and subject access are published in each reporter volume including: • List of judges and officers • Table of cases reported in the volume • List of statutes construed in the cases in the volume • Cumulative list of words and phrases • Digest of key numbers for subject access • Court rules and orders

  29. West/Thomson Justice Department Settlement • Divestiture of 51 tiles; e.g., U.S.C.S. & L.Ed. • Extend Lexis/ license to Thomson databases • Permit states to re-bid their official reporter contracts • License the page numbers to West judicial opinions

  30. Court ReportsBound Volumes Cases cumulate in bound volumes or on-line database versions of the hardbound volumes. Include: • Table of Cases • Table of Statutes Opinions • Subject Index or Digest of Reported Cases • Judicial Definitions of Words & Phrases used in Cases • Changes in Court Rules • Lists of Judges

  31. Components of a Published Decision • CAPTION:Name or Style of the case lists the names of the parties involved and discloses what kind of case; criminal or civil. • DOCKET NUMBER:Unique number assigned to identify case • CITATION:Volume, Reporter, Page Num., and Year of Decision • PREFATORY STATEMENT: Explaining the nature of the case, its disposition and name in the lower or appellate court, and judge.

  32. Components of a Published Decision • SYLLABUS:Summary of the cases facts and the court’s holding. Prepared by commentators or editors to aid research. • HEADNOTES:Included for each point of law discussed • NAMES OF THE ATTORNEYS:who represented the parties in the action • STATEMENT OF THE FACTS OF THE CASE • WRITTEN OPINION: Explanation or expression of the reasons why a decision or judgment was reached.

  33. Case Citations • Roe v. Wade, 410U.S. 113(1973) • Case NameCitation to VolumeAbbreviation for ReporterFirst Page Number Where Text AppearsYear of the Decision

  34. Headnotes • A summary of individual points of law in a case as identified by the commentators or editors. • May not be cited as legal authority. • The number of Headnotes corresponds to the same number found in the text of the case to source each legal principle discussed in the particular headnote. • Each headnote has a key number assigned that cross references each to a legal digest. • Refers researcher to specific area of legal digest for cases with similar legal points.

  35. Types of Opinions • Majority Opinion:written by one judge, representing principles of law that majority of judges deem operative in a decision • Separate Opinion: judge(s) may concur or dissent from the majority opinion • Concurring Opinion: judge(s) agree with the result reached by the majority, but disagrees with the reasoning

  36. Types of Opinions • Dissenting Opinion: judge disagrees with results reached by the majority & with the reasoning and/or principles • Plurality Opinion: Judgement agreed to by less than majority as to reasoning, but agreed to by a majority as to the result. • Per Curiam Opinion: Opinion by the court that expresses its decision in the case but the author is not identified • Memorandum Opinion:Very concise opinion of the court opinion

  37. A cross reference device included within the text of opinions that indicates the beginning of pages in the official edition. Star Pagination / Star Paging

  38. This text aid enables the researcher to read the more useful and current commercial version, but have available the precise official citations to the case and to any page within the case. Official citation page numbers are placed in brackets within the text of the unofficial, often with a star or asterisk. The number in brackets indicates the top of the official reporter page Star Pagination / Star Paging

  39. Harvard BluebookA Uniform System of Citation • 16th Edition • Sections help with use • Practitioners’ Notes • Contains Three Parts 1. Rules for General Standards of Citation 2. Specific Rules for Citation of Cases, Statutes, Books, Periodicals, For. & Int Materials3. Tables of Authority & Abbreviations

  40. Organization of the Bluebook • GENERAL CITATION • RULES - 1 to 9 • SPECIFIC CITATION RULES FOR CASES, STATUTES, BOOKS, etc.- RULES - 10 to 20 • TABLES T.1 to T.9OF AUTHORITY TO CITE & ABBREVIATIONS • PRACTITIONER’S NOTES P1 - P7

  41. Federal Court Citation • Jackson v. Metro. Edison Co., 348 F. Supp. 954 (M.D. Pa. 1972) • Specific Page Is Cited • Jackson v. Metro. Edison Co., 348 F. Supp. 954 , 955 (M.D. Pa. 1972) • History of the Case Citation • Jackson v. Metro. Edison Co., 348 F. Supp. 954 (M.D. Pa. 1972), aff’d 483 F. 2d 754 (3d Cir. 1973).

  42. State/Regional Citation • Citing to the State Court/ cite official reporter and regional reporter • State v. Yoder, 49 Wis. 2d 430, 182 N.W.2d. 539 (1967)

  43. Statutory/Administrative Citations • Statutory Citation • 29 U.S.C. § 1001 (1976) • Administrative Citation • 40 C.F.R. §600.315-82 (1993) • 47 Fed. Reg. 40,443 (1982)

  44. Secondary Sources • Book Citation • F. Wellman, The Art of Cross Examination (4th ed. 1936) • Periodical/Law Journal or Review Article • Vandevelde, “The New Property of the 19th Century: The Development of the Modern Concept of Property” 29 Buffalo L. Rev. 325 (1988) • Legal Encyclopedia • 63 C.J.S. Municipal Corporations 747 (1982) • 38 Am. Jur. 2d Guaranty 14 (1968)

  45. LEGAL CITATION - ONLINE RESOURCES • LEXIS CITE • Voyager v. JPL, 1994 US App LEXIS 3112, 3 • WESTLAW CITE • Voyager v. JPL, 1990 WL 3112, 3 • (S.D.N.Y.)

  46. United States Supreme Court • The U. S. Supreme Court is the highest court . The Supreme Court of the United States consists of nine justices appointed for life by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Each justice is assigned to one of the courts of appeals for emergency responses.

  47. United States Supreme Court FACTS: • The Supreme Court meets on the first Monday of October each year and usually continues in session through June. • The Supreme Court hears about 5,000 cases each year, most by a brief decision that the subject matter is either not proper or not of sufficient importance to warrant review by the court. Cases are heard en banc, which means by all the justices. • Annually, the court decides about 150 cases of national interest, and about three-fourthsof such decisions are announced in full published opinions.

  48. U. S. Supreme Court • Explanatory information about the Supreme Court is available at: • Understanding the Courts - The Supreme Court • http://www.uscourts.gov/understanding_courts/8995.htmhttp://www.uscourts.gov/understanding_courts/899_toc.htm

  49. Publication of Supreme Court Case Law - Official • Bound Reporters • 1.United States Reports - The official reporter for the U. S. Supreme Court published by the U. S. Government Printing Office. Began publication in 1882 with Volume 91. Distributed by the U. S. government since 1922. Cite as U.S.

  50. Publication of Supreme Court Case Law - Official • Supreme Court Decisions via GPO Access (Cases Decided between 1937 and 1975) • http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/supcrt/ Supreme Court Decisions Overruled by Subsequent Decisions http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/constitution/scourt.html

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