RESEARCH TIPS FOR JUDICIAL EXTERNS & LAW CLERKS Presented By: Katie Miller

Available FSU Judicial Externships

FLORIDA COURTS WEBSITE A good place to find some info. on the courts

FLSC WEBSITE A good place to find some info. on the courts

DISTRICT COURTS A good place to find some info. on the courts

CIRCUIT & COUNTY COURTS A good place to find some info. on the courts

FEDERAL COURTS

FEDERAL COURTS

SUPREME COURT JURISDICTION What types of cases will you see in your court? Capital cases Bond Validations Public Utilities Cases DCA opinions declaring statutes or constitution invalid Remaining cases are discretionary jurisdiction & original jurisdiction writs

DISTRICT COURT JURISDICTION What types of cases will you see in your court? All appeals not directly appealable to FLSC Final actions of state agencies 2 nd tier certiorari review Writs & discretionary review

JURISDICTION What types of cases will you see in your court? Circuit Courts Felonies Family Law Civil Cases over $15,000 Probate/Guard./Mental Health Juv. Dependency & Delinquency Appeals from County Court Writs such as cert., prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, habeas corpus.

JURISDICTION What types of cases will you see in your court? County Courts Misdemeanors Small Claims (up to $5,000) Civil (up to and including $15,000) Traffic

FEDERAL JURISDICTION What types of cases will you see in your court? Federal Court are courts of limited jurisdiction Federal questions Diversity jurisdiction & dispute more than $75,000

STATISTICS ON TYPES OF FILINGS Data from Florida State Court website

LINGO & ABBREVIATIONS If you don’t know what someone is talking about, don’t be afraid to ask questions.  JA  CJ  PCA  OA  HFO, PRR, VCC  Law Clerk (elbow clerk) vs. Clerk of the Court  Baker Act, Jimmy Ryce cases  Workers’ Compensation & medical terms

RULES OF COURT Commonly used resources  Helpful for jurisdictional questions and rule-based filings (i.e. postconviction motions rule 3.800, 3.850, 3.853)  Includes annotations online  Florida Evidence Code, Rules of Criminal Procedure, Civil Procedure, Probate, Traffic Court, Small Claims, Juvenile Procedure, Appellate, Mediator, Arbitrator, Family Law, Code of Judicial Conduct

LEGAL ENCYCLOPEDIAS Commonly used resources  Fla. Jur., American Juris., Corpus Juris Secundum  Good starting point for background information on your issue  Provides relevant case law

TREATISES, PRACTICE MANUALS, & OTHER SECONDARY SOURCES Look to see what books are in your supervisor’s office or ask about commonly used resources.  Ehrhardt’s Evidence  Florida Appellate Practice  Florida Criminal Procedure/ Civil Practice  Florida Construction Law Manual  Florida DUI handbook  Florida Sentencing  Moore’s Federal Practice  Law Review articles  Bar Journals

FL JURY INSTRUCTIONS Commonly used resources  Criminal and Civil  Available in hardcopy binders  Also available on FLSC website  Includes lesser included crimes, statute number and comments about amendments or when it was adopted.

U.S. CODE, FL STATUTES, FED. REGULATIONS & FL ADMIN. CODE Commonly used resources  You may have to do research to determine which year to use.  Annotations  Legislative history  F.A.C. – sometimes easier to use paper copy

ONLINE LEGAL DATABASES Commonly used resources  Westlaw (West KM) & LexisNexis

Sometimes a Google search will help!!

PEOPLE Commonly used resources  Supervisor  Other clerks  Librarian  Other interns  But remember rules of confidentiality and don’t share information with colleagues outside the court

CONFIDENTIALITY  Code of Judicial Conduct  No outside practice of law  No discussion of opinions, internal discussions, memos, summaries, with anyone outside of the Court.

DON’T COMPLICATE THINGS Efficient and effective research  Stay on issue. Use the motions, briefs, court orders to define the issues.  Use the cases cited by the parties as a starting point.  Don’t make arguments for the parties.  Ask for help instead of spinning your wheels.

FINAL TOUCHES Shephardize and citations  Shephardize  Check citation formatting – Blue Book & Florida Style Manual  Re-read and edit.

KEEPING UP WITH THE LAW Keeping up with the law and legal issues  Slip opinions  Florida Law Weekly

KEEPING UP WITH THE LAW Keeping up with the law and legal issues

KEEPING UP WITH THE LAW American Bar Association website, Journal, blogs, podcasts

KEEPING UP WITH THE LAW Keeping up with the law and legal issues  iPhone Apps  ABA Journal  Fastcase  LawBox  Legal Edge  Legal Terms  RSS Reader  LawStack

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS Additional resources  ABA Judicial Division – Council of Appellate Staff Attorneys  Recommended reading list for judicial clerkships produced by NALP (National Association of Legal Professionals)

GOOD LUCK! Any questions?  Prepare before your first day  Know which resources to use  Remember to ask for help  Keep up with legal issues CONCLUSION