Citators and Other Finding Devices Chapter 8 Citators and Other Finding Devices William A. Raabe, Gerald E. Whittenburg, & Debra L. Sanders Copyright ©2006 Thomson South-Western, Mason, Ohio

Basic Research Goals Define the research problem Find the law that addresses the problem Apply the law Reach a conclusion Communicate the findings to the client

What is a Citator? A citator is a tool through which a tax researcher can learn the history of a case or ruling and evaluate the strength of its holdings. After locating a relevant case or ruling, the researcher can find out what later cases and rulings have said about it to determine its strength as a current source.

Purpose List and organize cases that refer to an earlier case Learn history of a case along with: Parallel citations Lower level cases Evaluate strength of its holdings Determine how later cases treat the original holding of a case

Evaluation of Cited Case (1 of 2) Cited Case (original case) This case is the one being referenced in the citing case. Facts, issues, or holding are referred to in the citing case

Evaluation of Cited Case (2 of 2) Citing Case Case referring to an original case Will contain a cite reference General cite (CCH) First page of the citing case Local or pinpoint cite (RIA & Shepard’s) The exact page where the cited case is mentioned in the citing case

Headnotes Headnotes Paragraphs in which editors summarize court’s holding on each issue Usually one headnote per issue Do not rely only on the headnotes for supporting your research: read the entire case

Commercial Citators Citators which cover only tax cases CCH RIA Shepard’s Includes tax cases in its law citator: Westlaw

RIA Citator Internet citator is called the “Checkpoint RIA Citator” Earlier versions were published by Prentice-Hall (PH) and Maxwell Macmillan The Checkpoint RIA Citator does not include the older PH Citators For cases earlier than 1954, the paper editions must be used

RIA Citator The citator is available on the opening screen Supports citator retrieval by case name, case citation, or keyword searches Templates are available for entering citations All cases listed by taxpayer’s name

RIA Citator RIA’s AFTR2d citation is given along with parallel citations Judicial history is provided All of the tax citing cases are listed Headnote reference numbers are shown A template is provided so the researcher can determine if IRS administrative rulings are still current

RIA Citator The Citing Cases are listed in chronological order by court: U.S. Supreme Court U.S. Courts of Appeals U.S. Court of Federal Claims U.S. District Court U.S. Tax Court State courts Treasury Rulings & Decisions

RIA Citators Treasury Decisions & Rulings

RIA Citator & Case: Upjohn Case

RIA Citator for Rev. Proc. 2004-15

CCH Citator Accessible through CCH’s Tax Research Network Lists only citing cases that CCH’s editors deem useful Covers Federal tax cases since 1913 Separate citators for estate & gift cases and excise tax cases

CCH Citator Drawback: it does not provide evaluations of the citing case Templates are available for entering case citations Bold black bullets designate court levels Highest level court that addressed the case is listed first

CCH Citator Limited information about judicial history Can enter either a case name or the complete citation Convenient tool: while viewing a case, click the “Check Citator” button to display the citator entries

CCH Citator Main Table for Upjohn Case

CCH Check Citator with Upjohn Case Citations