Introduction to Legal Research May 2015 Session University of Sydney Herbert Smith Freehills Law Library Patrick O'Mara – LPAB Librarian

Agenda 2 11am to 11.55amIntroductory Lecture 12pm to 12.55pmPractical Online Session Group 1 (beginners) 1pm to 1.55pmPractical Online Session Group 2 (beginners) 2pm to 2.55pmPractical Online Session Group 3 (intermediate and advanced)

Introductory Lecture: 11am-11.55am 1.Types of legal material - and what they are good for? 1.Interpreting a case citation 2.Accessing legal abbreviations 3.Where to find cases 4.Where to find legislation 5.Where to find secondary sources 6.How to get the best out of the WWW 3

Practical online sessions: 12noon-3pm Finding Australian & UK cases -Full text -Additional information about cases -Key databases for researching case law 4

More Classes! 5

Starting point for Legal Research 6 Law Library home page:

1. Types of Legal Material 7

2. Interpreting a case citation Swain v Waverley Municipal Council [2005] HCA 4 (2005) 220 CLR 517 8

›Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 ›Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 ›R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 ›Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6 9 Interpreting a case citation

›Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 ›Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 ›R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 ›Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6 10 Case citations: the parties

›Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 ›Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 ›R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 ›Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6 11 Case citations: year of the judgement

›Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 ›Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 ›R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 ›Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6 12 Case citations: report details

13 Case citations: square and round brackets ›Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 ›R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681

›Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 ›Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 ›R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 ›Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6 14 Case citations: pinpoint citations

15 ›Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760 ›Grey v Pearson (1857) 6 HL Cas 61 ›R v Young (1999) 46 NSWLR 681 at 682 ›Ayles v The Queen [2008] HCA 6 Case citations: medium neutral citations

16 3. Accessing Legal Abbreviations ›Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations -Law report, Journal and Court abbreviations -Free web site: Try also ›Laying Down the Law / Cooke et al. -Good list in Appendix 4 ›CaseBase -Online database in the ‘Help’ section

17 Information TypeAustralianUK Full textReported(via Law Reports A-Z) - Westlaw AU - LexisNexisAU - CCH Online - ICLR Online - Westlaw International Raw dataAustLIIBaiLII Information about CaseBase FirstPoint CaseBase (some) 4. Where to find cases? All via Law Library homepage Practice in hands-on session this afternoon

18 5. Where to find legislation? Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) ›AustLII covers all Australian jurisdictions ›Go to: or: -Law Library homepage > Law Databases > Legislation > AustLII

19 Best place to look for secondary sources: Library catalogue: Try AGIS for journal articles on a topic 6. Secondary Sources

20 Making the most of the Web How big is the internet?

Checklist for choosing good websites ›Authority - is it a reliable source? ›Objectivity - what motivation might the author have for writing it? ›Purpose - what is the intended audience/use? ›Currency - how up to date is it? ›Accuracy - can you verify the information in another source? 21

Question? Can you safely Google and Wikipedia your way through life??? 22

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Answer Probably not. Definitely not if you are a lawyer. 24

Checklist for choosing good websites ›Authority - is it a reliable source? ›Objectivity - what motivation might the author have for writing it? ›Purpose - what is the intended audience/use? ›Currency - how up to date is it? ›Accuracy - can you verify the information in another source? 25

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