1. Chapter 7 Authority: Law Books

2. §7.1 The Function of Law Books
Research Books
Help to find the law
Contain the law
Help to use the law
Act as a reference to other materials
Online Electronic Research Banks
Westlaw and Lexis
Also, VersusLaw and LoisLaw

3. ALR Annotated Reported American Law Reports (A.L.R.)
Reporter: reprints important cases
Annotated: discusses and comments on cases
provides additional references
Publisher:
Lawyer’s Cooperative Publishing Company
Uses Total Client Service Library

5. ALR Editions Annotation = secondary authority Editions:
A.L.R. 2d } Annotate state and federal cases
A.L.R. 3d }
A.L.R. 4th } 4th & 5th Annotate state cases A.L.R. 5th }
A.L.R. Fed. } Annotates federal cases
Annotation = secondary authority
Provides commentary/discussion

6. Legal Encyclopedias Legal Encyclopedias = secondary authority
Provide information about all areas of law
Gives references to Am.Jur.2d and C.J.S.
Examples:
American Jurisprudence 2nd (Am. Jur. 2d)
Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.)
California Jurisprudence (Cal. Jur.)
Texas Jurisprudence (Tex. Jur.)

7. American Jurisprudence, 2d Am. Jur. 2d
National Legal Encyclopedia
Secondary authority leading to primary authority
Comments with authority (cases, statutes)
Arranged by Topic (Doctors, Roads, Evidence)
Publisher:
Lawyer’s Cooperative Publishing Company
Uses Total Client Service Library

8. American Jurisprudence 2d

9. Corpus Juris Secundum C.J.S.
National Legal Encyclopedia
Secondary authority leading to primary authority
Comments with authority (cases, statutes)
Arranged by Topic (Doctors, Roads, Evidence)
Publisher: West
Uses Key Number System

10. Corpus Juris Secundum

11. Blue Book (1) Uniform System of Citation Provides proper citation form
(2) ALR Blue Book of Supplemental Decisions
(updates first series of ALR)
(3) National Reporter Blue Book
(updates cases – most use Shepard’s instead)

12. Case Law Cases = Court Opinions Published court opinions:
Primary Authority
Citations = Case Address
Case Name, official citation, unofficial citation (year)
E.g., Smith v. Jones, 145 Mont. 789 (2000)
Published court opinions:
Reports = Official Reporter
Reporters = Unofficial Reporters
E.g., Smith v. Jones, 890 P.2d 678 (Mont. 2000)

13. Cases

14. Headnote
Headnotes
Numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) lead to relevant section of case
Topic and Key Numbers (184[3]) are research tools

15. Shepard’s Updating Service Validates Authority
(updates or shows invalid e.g., overruled)
Provides parallel citations
E.g., 879 Mont. 456, 123 P.2d 456
Provides additional relevant cases
Lists cases that have discussed cited case

17. Cumulative/Supplement
New and Updated Material
“Pocket Parts”
Updates volume
Newspaper-type pamphlet in pocket of at end of volume

18. Digests Index to case law Collection of case summaries by topic
Digest System:
Pacific Digest leads to Pacific Reporter Case
Federal Practice Digest leads to Federal Reporter Cases
Supreme Court Digest leads to Supreme Court Reporter
American Digest System
Century Digest cases from 1600’s to 1896
Decennial Digest summaries from state/fed digests (10yrs)
General Digest updates Decennial Digest

20. Key Number System
Key Number System
Key Topics and Key Numbers

21. Formbooks Sample Documents Trial Strategy Discovery Resource
Complaint, Answer
Trial Strategy
Exhibits, witness questions
Discovery Resource
Interrogatory Questions
R/Production Items
Deposition questions

22. Legal Dictionaries Major Legal Dictionaries: Words & Phrases
Ballentine’s
Blacks
Barron’s
Words & Phrases
Multi-volume dictionary
Court opinions define legal terms

23. Words and Phrases

24. Authored by private individual/groups areas of law
Legal Treatise
Authored by private individual/groups areas of law
Restatement of Law
by American Law Institute
“as close to the law without being the law”
Examples: Restatement of Torts
Restatement of Property Law

25. Legal Periodical Index
Legal Periodicals:
Law school journal
Bar association journal
Tort Reform Journal
Patent & Trademark Journal
Current Law Index CLI or Index to Legal Periodicals
Index to legal journals and magazines
Locate by: author, title of article OR subject matter

26. Updating Research Materials
Advance Sheets (softbound pamphlet)
Softbound materials (e.g., cases) printed before hardbound comes out
Printed “in advance” of hardbound
Slip Opinion
First printing of case before hardbound comes out
E.g., United States Law Week = USSCt cases
Loose-leaf Service
3-ring binder providing updates of materials

27. Computerized Legal Research
Lexis and Westlaw
Computerized legal research banks
Research based on query (words or phrases)
Teach! or educat! w/5 school or university

28. Martindale-Hubbell Reference book for:
State-by-state listing of attorneys
Great for interviewing!!
Digested state laws
Digested foreign laws

29. Legislative Laws Session Laws Legislative acts/bills
= Statutes at Large
Laws adopted by legislature during a session
Will be incorporated into state/fed statutes by topic
Slip Laws
First printing of legislative statutes

30. Statutory Code Codes State or federal statutes State Codes
E..g., Montana Code Ann., N.C. General Statutes
United States Code
U.S.C. (official government)
U.S.C.A. (West annotated)
U.S.C.S. (Lawyer’s Coop. Annotated)
Note: always cite official U.S.C.

31. Statute

32. Federal Agency Regulations
Federal Register
Daily summaries of administrative agencies
Includes proposed laws and actions by agencies
Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
Softbound
Federal Agency Regulations

33. Rules of Court Rules of Court =Procedural rules of courts
(e.g., 20 days to respond to complaint)
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
State Rules of Civil Procedure

34. Primary v. Secondary Authority
Primary Authority
Cases (court opinions)
Statutory Authority
(including regulatory agencies)
Constitutions (state and federal)
Secondary Authority
Materials that lead to primary authority
Encyclopedias, dictionaries, treatises, etc.