Legal Research Final

Question 1

Where are statutes generally located?

Answer 1

The Code

Question 2

When do you use Parallel Citations?

Answer 2

When Court Rules require it

Question 3

What are Parallel Citations?

Answer 3

Two or more sources or reporters referencing the same case

Question 4

Who creates statutes?

Answer 4

The Legislature

Question 5

Name the sources you would find a Federal Statute

Answer 5

USC, USCA, USCS

Question 6

Where can you find US Supreme Court cases (source)?

Answer 6

U.S Supreme Court Reporter

Question 7

How are Codes arranged?

Answer 7

Topically

Question 8

How are Reporters arranged?

Answer 8

Chronologically

Question 9

What is the brief paragraph about a point of law written by West called?

Answer 9

A Headnote

Question 10

What is an initial individual law called?

Answer 10

A slip sheet or law

Question 11

What is the book called that contains all the laws enacted in a certain time frame before being published in the code?

Answer 11

Session Laws

Question 12

What does annotated mean (in regard to a source)?

Answer 12

That it is indexed, has summaries, headnotes, and supplemental information for research.

Question 13

Who creates cases?

Answer 13

The Judiciary

Question 14

What type of authority are they?

Answer 14

Primary

Question 15

Mandatory v. Persuasive

Answer 15

Mandatory - Precedent that must be followed - court decisions made within the same jurisdiction.
Persuasive - court decisions from lower courts or other jurisdictions that can be used for argument but do not have to be followed.

Question 16

Official v. Unofficial Reporters

Answer 16

Official is published by state or gov’t and usually take longer to compile and publish.
Unofficial - Commercially published and contains annotations like headnotes, summaries, historical information and helpful research tools.

Question 17

Which reporter will you find the federal trial court cases?

Answer 17

Federal Supplement (F Supp)

Question 18

What is a digest of cases & how are they organized?

Answer 18

Finding tool - books with cases arranged by topic or subject.

Question 19

What are the point of reference connections between a case published in a case reporter and a digest?

Answer 19

The Headnote is the point of connection.

Question 20

Which West Digest cover the cases from the Mass Courts of Appeal?

Answer 20

Mass Digest

Question 21

What information in a Shepard’s Citation list is critical to know or follow up on?

Answer 21

Finding negative references - like “o” for overturned.

Question 22

Which Shepard’s Citations would you use to find a Mass Courts of Appeal case ?

Answer 22

Shepard’s Mass Citations

Question 23

When citing a case in an interoffice memo what goes in the parentheses next to the year?

Answer 23

The Court it was heard in and then the year - NO COMMA)

Question 24

How do you cite Article 14 of the Mass Constitution?

Answer 24

Mass. Const. art. 14.

Question 25

Citation of 14th Amendment of the US Constitution?

Answer 25

U.S. Const. amend. XIV.

Question 26

When citing updated information from a supplement where does that information go?

Answer 26

In parentheses at the end of the citation with the reporter and copyright year first with a & Supp. with the pocket part year.

Question 27

First paragraph after the case header in a reporter is called what?

Answer 27

The summary or syllabus

Question 27

What is difference between a stand alone citation and an in text citation?

Answer 27

The stand alone can be abbreviated and includes full bluebook citation - An in text citation or parenthetical includes the case name with ltd abbreviations, the reporter and then the year in parentheses (NO COURT)

Question 28

What are the head note "headers" called?

Answer 28

Topic & Key

Question 29

Where is the citation of a case in the reporter? (not Bluebook!)

Answer 29

Above the case name in small letters.

Question 30

What is star paging

Answer 30

It is the symbol & page of the parallel citation