Field Searches

Fields on Westlaw Most documents on Westlaw are divided into segments called fields. Field searching adds even more precision to a Terms and Connectors search. The names and number of fields that a document contains depends on the type of database. A case law database has different fields than a statute law database. For example, there is no judge field in a statutory database.

di( “probable cause” /p stop! /p car automobile vehicle) Fields on Westlaw Most fields are entered in the search as a two-letter abbreviation. For example, the abbreviation for the title field in case law is ti. The abbreviation of the field is immediately (no space) followed by parentheses. A Terms and Connectors search within a field is constructed in the same way as a as search that is not restricted to a specific field except that the terms are entered within the parentheses. di( “probable cause” /p stop! /p car automobile vehicle)

Fields Knowing which fields a database contains and what information is in each field can greatly increase the efficiency of your search. The terms must be in the specified field(s) or the document will not be retrieved. The following slide will show some of the fields in a case law database and their abbreviations that would be used in a search.

Case Law Fields on Westlaw You can access a Fields list from the Search page on westlaw.com. Fields Fields This is the template that appears when you access the Fields list. You can use this template or just enter the search directly into the search text box. These are just some of the fields in a case law database.

Case Law Title Field You need to retrieve a case. All you know is that one party’s name is Bush and the other party’s name is Gore. ti(Bush & Gore) requires that both the terms Bush and Gore appear in the portion of the document that contains the names of the parties, the title field. The & connector can be used here because the field is so small the two terms will necessarily be close together. The search would be equally effective if /s or /p had been used as the connector.

Case Law Synopsis and Digest Fields A combination of fields can be searched. Just put a comma between the fields. The sy,di combination field is a favorite of law students because it searches both the synopsis and the digest fields in one search and insures that in the cases retrieved the issue is central to the case. sy,di(wrongful! /5 terminat! discharg!) sy,di(“product liability” /p danger! defect! /p air-bag)

Case Law Synopsis and Digest Fields The headnote and synopsis fields are prepared by West attorney-editors using consistent and current legal terminology using descriptive terms instead of proper names adding alternative terms for ambiguous, regional or outdated words Examples: Tenant is used instead of Mr. Blake or plaintiff Aspirin is used instead of Bufferin or Tylenol Intoxicated is used instead of tipsy A headnote and synopsis field search retrieves many online reporter cases that you would otherwise miss.

Case Law Fields on Westlaw Title Field Synopsis Field Topic Field Headnote Field The Digest Field is a combination of the Topic and Headnote fields.

A Case Law Field Only on Westlaw Words and Phrases Field The Words and Phrases (wp) field is used when you need to find a judicial definition of a word or phrase in the body of the case. No documents are retrieved that discuss the word or phrase without defining it. You will first see the definition in a headnote. Jump from the headnote to the body of the case to see the court’s exact wording of the definition. wp(“constructive discharge”)

The Date Restriction Field The date restriction (da) field is available in databases in which the documents are dated, such as case law, administrative decisions, and journals and law review databases. You can require documents after a date, before a date, between two dates or on a specific date. The added date (ad) field is used only to determine when documents were added to Westlaw. Date

Multiple Field Searching in Case Law What if you only know that one party’s name is Smith, that Smith’s attorney’s name is Brown and that the case was decided after 1990? ti(smith) & at(brown) & da(aft 1990) is the focused search that would retrieve the case (assuming you are in the correct database). Notice the & connectors between the fields. This is an example of one of the times the & connector must be used. Without the & connectors, your search would retrieve documents with Smith in the title field or Brown in the attorney field or all documents decided after 1990.

Statutory Law Fields There are not as many fields in a statutory law database. Most of these fields are not available in case law databases.

Statutory Law Fields: the Citation, Prelim and Caption Fields The citation (ci) field contains the statute’s citation. ci(42 +3 198*) will retrieve the following sections in Title 42: 198 and 1980 to 1989. pr,ca is a useful combination of fields in a statutory database. The pr, or prelim, field is the statute’s heading; the ca, or caption, field contains the specific title of that statute. pr,ca(“title 11” & exemption)

Statutory Fields on Westlaw Citation Field Caption Field Prelim Field Caption Field

Statutory Law Fields: The Substantive Document Field The substantive document (sd) field contains all the fields that are not enhanced by West Group attorney-editors (the “official” segments of the statute). The sd field includes the prelim, citation, caption, text, and credit fields. Annotations are not included in the sd field.

Combining Unrestricted Searches and Field Searches Many searches are a combination of unrestricted or free-text searches (words can be found anywhere in the document) and field searches. “dying declaration” /p time hour minute second day /p admiss! inadmissible admit! & ju(jackson) This search retrieves cases addressing a dying declaration and how long it can be asserted before death and be admissible according to Judge Jackson’s previous decisions.

Fields Your Turn You need cases since 1980 that discuss the Environmental Protection Agency regulations concerning underground storage tanks for which Judge Clifford wrote the appellate decision. Use the Maine Case (ME-CS) database and construct an effective search using both free text searching and field searching. Hint: A case might use the phrase underground gasoline tank or underground oil tank or underground storage tank.