Internet Legal Research for Professor Mika’s Legal Writing Class Mar. 1, 2011

Outline Internet v. Lexis, Westlaw Legal Portals and Search Engines Free Case Law/Primary Sources Forms Evaluating Web Sites

Internet v. Lexis/Westlaw Internet is Free. No charges to clients Some info exclusive to Internet Municipal Ordinances Some Court FilingsCourt Filings New case/regulation (within one day) New topics/issues

Internet v. Lexis/WL Benefits of Lexis, WL: Coverage. Internet, Ohio cases back to 1950 Better Search Mechanisms Editorial features – headnotes, annotations Secondary sources – treatises Aggregate Info Trustworthiness

What’s on the Free Web All US Supreme Court Cases Reported Federal Appellate 1882-, Fed District Some Unreported Fed State cases: Reported 1950-, unreported varies -1990s- Statutes & Regulations- federal and states LOTS more!

Internet Portals Library Home Page – Legal Research on the Web Library Home Page Legal Research on the Web Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) FindLaw

Use LEGAL Search Engines Cornell University Legal Research EngineCornell University Legal Research Engine LexisWeb List of Search Legal Engines

Search Engines Clustering search engines: Yippy, Ask.comYippy Ask.com Metasearch engines: Dogpile, YippyDogpile Yippy Internet Wayback Machine Learn search syntax

Case law Google Scholar – state reported 1950-, fed circuit/ district Google Scholar Ohio Supreme Court – Ohio reported & unreported (oldest 1992) Ohio Supreme Court LexisOne – Last 10 yrs, Lexis searching LexisOne Legal Research on the Web - Cases

Search = “birth certificate” marriage transsexual OR transgender OR “sex change”

Why don’t we get the Nash case, a 2003 unreported Ohio case?

Limit to Ohio

Google Advanced Operators AROUND –ex. constitution AROUND(5) "home rule“ ~ searches for synonyms and related words ex. ~constitutionality - searches for constitutional, unconstitutional, etc. * placeholder for a word. Ex. sexual * abuse picks up “sexual misconduct abuse”, “sexual child abuse”, etc.

Demo Ohio Supreme Court case search

Finding Dockets, Pleadings, Motions LLRX or Resources for Online Court Dockets to find docketsLLRXResources for Online Court Dockets Some dockets have full text documents ex. Ohio – Montgomery & Summit Counties, federal PACER – Federal Court dockets PACER On Westlaw/Lexis – more search capability

Forms Forms and Practice Materials Resource Guide Forms and Practice Materials Resource Guide Practical Law Company – free to law students Practical Law Company

Evaluating Web Sites Credibility: author; possible bias, accuracy. Currency / Updating, Coverage Writing Quality Ease of use – Design, navigation, searchability, help Stability

Forms and Sample Contracts Who publishes the site? A legal publisher? bar association? Does the site sell forms? Who wrote the form? Use with caution, tailor to your facts

The Invisible Web Search Engines not index entire web Search engines cannot type or think. “Invisible Web” includes information stored in databases and password restricted information

Accessing Invisible Web Find databases via directories or search engines (search for a subject term and the word “database”), or ask a librarian. Bookmark databases you find See Web Searching guideWeb Searching

Invisible Web Example Traffic tickets. Try a search on Google and pipl.com to find traffic tickets for John Ferris of Vandalia, Ohio.pipl.com

Web Sites to Know Thomas.gov – Federal Legislative History Thomas Fed’l Govt. – FDSysFDSys E-CFR - most up to date Code of Federal Regulations E-CFR A-Z Index of U.S. Government Depts. & Agencies A-Z Index of U.S. Government Depts. & Agencies

More Websites to Know Martindale Hubbell Law Digest Ohio Supreme Court Municipal Ordinances

Conclusion Use Free Web, but be aware limitations in coverage, currency, searching ability, reliability Go beyond Google: Use free legal databases, legal search engines and portals

eHandout handout/alternatives handout/alternatives2011