Case Searching: Westlaw Internet Resources 1

 Westlaw Guide for Paralegals: Chapters 1-3  Case Searching (short pdf)  Boolean Searching (short pdf)  These are posted on Websites—or downloadable from Westlawnext.com (Tutorial information) 2

 Cases ◦ Basic Search:  Known Case: Citation, Case Name  Searching for relevant cases: Key words, Boolean, Browsing ◦ Advanced Search: Template, Boolean Connectors and Field or Segment searching 3

 A case citation includes ◦ the Case Name (italicized), ◦ The volume of the print case reporter in which the case appears, ◦ The abbreviation for the case reporter and series number where appropriate ◦ The page where the case begins ◦ The year (and if a federal case, the circuit or district from which it comes.) 4

 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966) ◦ U.S. (United States Reports) is the official cite, the others are unofficial or parallel.)  Doody v. Ryan, 649 F.3d 986 (9th Cir. 2011) ◦ F. = Federal Reporter ◦ 3d is the series  Johnson v. Cullen, 704 F. Supp. 2d 869 (N.D. Cal. 2010) ◦ F. Supp. = Federal Supplement 5

 People v. Storm (2002) 28 Cal.4th 1007, 1039 [124 Cal.Rptr.2d 110, 135, 52 P.3d 52, 73] ◦ Brackets often omitted ◦ Cal = California Reports (official) ◦ Cal. Rptr. = California Reporter (unofficial/parallel)  People v. Simpson (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 854 [76 Cal.Rptr.2d 851] ◦ Cal. App. = California Appellate Reports 6

 Worksheet 2B ◦ 13. volume 92 page 496 California Appellate Reports 3d series ◦ U.S

 Select jurisdiction (citations don’t depend on jurisdiction—but names do)  In search box put case name from citation ◦ i.e. Miranda v. Arizona (a U.S. Supreme Court case) ◦ Doody v. Ryan (a federal appellate court case) ◦ People v. Storm ( a California supreme court case) ◦ People v. Simpson *  Use basic search then use advanced search  Advanced search uses Boolean and “field” search ◦ All of these cases deal with a Miranda issue 8

 Click “cases” under Browse  Select a specific case ◦ 10 most recent will appear  Let’s browse recent cases from California Court of Appeals—select most recent ◦ What is the citation for the case? 9

 Key word, Boolean, Advanced  Key words can be factual or legal  Always important to know what your task is  Common question:  Attorney remembers reading a recent case dealing with “special employee” Can you find it? (Use advanced search) 10

 Identify jurisdiction: 2  Identify issue  Identify key words (words likely to appear in a relevant case)  Basic search, Boolean search (can use either basic search box or advanced) or Advanced template.  Let’s look at Worksheet # 21 (assume U.S. Supreme Court) #28. 11

 Clark v. Arizona ◦ View ◦ Access case ◦ Look at right panel—research help ◦ Look at top menu ◦ Case features: synopsis, West headnotes, Syllabus, ◦ Opinion, star pagination (other search features from top menu); copy with citation; (we will discuss key cite and key numbers later)  229 Cal. App. 4th 45 12

 Click on “lowest” key number of headnote. 13

 Free Commercial Sites ◦ Findlaw ◦ Cornel law.cornell.edu ◦ Justia.com  Government Sites ◦ Official California Cases: ◦ Federal Cases: ◦ Library of Congress:

 Advantages: ◦ Can do some “full text” searching ◦ Can access laws and cases from numerous states and courts of appeal ◦ Easy access to U.S. Supreme Court cases ◦ Newsletters  Disadvantages ◦ Must sign in/register (free) ◦ Searching all Courts of Appeals difficult ◦ Searching by citation can be difficult. ◦ For many courts—only recent decisions (after 2000) 15

 These are different searches and Summaries only seem to go back to 2006 (see slide 17)  To search for cases go to Browse cases and codes (see slide 18) (Located below opinion summary template.) 16

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General Keyword Search California Domestic Partners Li v. Yellow Cab Federal Appellate Cases Stern v. University of Osteopathic Med. and Health Sciences, 220 F.3d 906 (8th Cir. 2000) by case name by citation Search opinion summaries then case opinions 19

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 Great for codes, rules, etc.—  Not great for locating cases  Good for Supreme Court activity. 21

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23 Full- text search box

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 Refer to Stern case  Locate volume  Use “find” feature under edit 26

 California: courts.ca.gov  Federal: ◦ 27

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 384 U.S. 436U.S.436 U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, December 23, 2009 Vascular Solutions, Inc. v. Marine Polymer Tech., Inc., No Vascular Solutions, Inc. v. Marine Polymer Tech., Inc., No United States Ninth Circuit, 05/24/2013 Institution of Cetacean Research v. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, No (Alien Tort Statute), Institution of Cetacean Research v. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, No

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 C. 3d 1230 (cite from Witkin) ◦ Copy with cite feature—highlight then click on copy with cite after name—but do not get page  2. American G.I. Forum v. Miller  3. Does DMV have power to prohibit offensive license plates? (use both terms and advanced search) How many cases? What are the first 5 cases retrieved? What is the answer to the question?  Cal. App. 4 th 1260 check headnotes 35