Introduction to case law research Module 4 in the Emalus Library’s Legal Research and Information Literacy Lecture series

Introduction Identifying and locating case law is a core skill in legal practice Identifying and locating case law is a core skill in legal practice You need to be able to find out which cases are relevant to a particular legal question You need to be able to find out which cases are relevant to a particular legal question You need to be able to update your research to include cases that have cited important judgments across jurisdictions. You need to be able to update your research to include cases that have cited important judgments across jurisdictions.

Online v Hard Copy? Both are important – you should learn to use a combination of both Both are important – you should learn to use a combination of both Online sources commonly do not distinguish between the important ‘landmark’ cases and those that merely mention a topic or case. Online sources commonly do not distinguish between the important ‘landmark’ cases and those that merely mention a topic or case. Use traditional hard copy resources (such as indexes to law reports, Citators and Digests) to find ‘landmark’ cases on which to base your legal arguments Use traditional hard copy resources (such as indexes to law reports, Citators and Digests) to find ‘landmark’ cases on which to base your legal arguments

Finding specific cases Index to abbreviations – hard copy & online Index to abbreviations – hard copy & online Raistricks Index to legal Abbreviations (hard copy – in Law Reference Collection) Raistricks Index to legal Abbreviations (hard copy – in Law Reference Collection) Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations [online – via ‘Law Resources’ web page] Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations [online – via ‘Law Resources’ web page] Monash Abbreviations of Legal Publications [online – via ‘Law Resources’ web page] Monash Abbreviations of Legal Publications [online – via ‘Law Resources’ web page]

Index to Legal Abbreviations [Online]

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Monash Legal Abbreviations

Major Law Report Series For library hard copy holdings see list on Library’s Law Resources web page For library hard copy holdings see list on Library’s Law Resources web page Many law report series are available online – see directories on Lexis and Westlaw Many law report series are available online – see directories on Lexis and Westlaw

Free online sources Eg. PacLII, AustLII, BaiLII, CanLII, WorldLII etc. Eg. PacLII, AustLII, BaiLII, CanLII, WorldLII etc.Benefits: No cost No cost Often very current Often very current

Free online sources - limitations Does not include all cases reported in series of Law Reports Does not include all cases reported in series of Law Reports Often only holds cases from the last years Often only holds cases from the last years Judgments are not selected on merit (as in reported Law Reports) nor are they summarised or headnoted. This can lead to information overload and difficulty in identifying which are the important “landmark” decisions. Judgments are not selected on merit (as in reported Law Reports) nor are they summarised or headnoted. This can lead to information overload and difficulty in identifying which are the important “landmark” decisions.

Finding cases on a topic Places to start Places to start A major recent text / Casebooks A major recent text / Casebooks A legal encyclopedia (eg. Halsburys A legal encyclopedia (eg. Halsburys Indexes to law reports Indexes to law reports Digests – UK Digest, Australian Digest, Abridgment to New Zealand Case Law Digests – UK Digest, Australian Digest, Abridgment to New Zealand Case Law

Finding cases on a topic online Problem of information overload Problem of information overload Not all law reports and cases available online Not all law reports and cases available online Inefficient searching will be frustrating and counter-productive Inefficient searching will be frustrating and counter-productive Difficulty in identifying important cases Difficulty in identifying important cases

To identify cases that have cited or considered ‘landmark’ decisions : Current Law Case Citator [UK] (hard copy) Current Law Case Citator [UK] (hard copy) Australian Case Citator (hard copy) or CaseBase (online) Australian Case Citator (hard copy) or CaseBase (online) ANZ Citator to UK Law Reports (hard copy) ANZ Citator to UK Law Reports (hard copy) Indices to UK Law Reports or All England Law Reports – ‘Cases Judicially Considered’ Indices to UK Law Reports or All England Law Reports – ‘Cases Judicially Considered’ Casebase Cases and Articles Index [online] Casebase Cases and Articles Index [online] UK Case Locator (on Westlaw) UK Case Locator (on Westlaw) Keycite (on Westlaw) Keycite (on Westlaw)

Tips for searching Lii’s Use the ‘Full Search Form’ or ‘Advanced Search’ option and take advantage of the drop-down menus Use the ‘Full Search Form’ or ‘Advanced Search’ option and take advantage of the drop-down menus Search by ‘case name’ or ‘document title’ when looking for specific cases Search by ‘case name’ or ‘document title’ when looking for specific cases

Sample PacLII search

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Looking for cases on a topic on LIIs – use Boolean operators

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Introduction to Westlaw See Guide to using Westlaw for further details - See Guide to using Westlaw for further details Easiest way to find specific cases is to use ‘Find by citation’ Easiest way to find specific cases is to use ‘Find by citation’ Search across multiple databases at once Search across multiple databases at once The ‘History’ and ‘Analysis’ Tabs on Westlaw are excellent tools to identify articles, cases cited and commentary about important cases The ‘History’ and ‘Analysis’ Tabs on Westlaw are excellent tools to identify articles, cases cited and commentary about important cases Click on the ‘Case history’ button appearing at the top of important decisions to quickly browse the case analysis Click on the ‘Case history’ button appearing at the top of important decisions to quickly browse the case analysis

Ignore the popup blocker and click ‘Continue to Westlaw International’

Westlaw welcome screen

Searching for a specific case You can retrieve a specific case when you know one or more parties' names. Simply enter the abbreviation ti and then surround the party name in brackets. You can retrieve a specific case when you know one or more parties' names. Simply enter the abbreviation ti and then surround the party name in brackets. E.g. To find “Hedley Byrne v Heller” decisions, check the UK Law Reports box on the Welcome Page and enter E.g. To find “Hedley Byrne v Heller” decisions, check the UK Law Reports box on the Welcome Page and enter ti(“Hedley Bryne”) ti(“Hedley Bryne”)

Example – finding a specific case

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‘History’ on Westlaw

UK Case Law Locator on Westlaw *Highly recommended is the 'UK Case Law Locator' database. This database only includes significant reported decisions from (across all jurisdictions). Each document is an abstract which contains a summary of the case and history information and reported citations. Using UK Case Law Locator to search reduces information overload and allows you to quickly identify important cases. There are links to the full text of all decisions on the database. *Highly recommended is the 'UK Case Law Locator' database. This database only includes significant reported decisions from (across all jurisdictions). Each document is an abstract which contains a summary of the case and history information and reported citations. Using UK Case Law Locator to search reduces information overload and allows you to quickly identify important cases. There are links to the full text of all decisions on the database.

Use connectors to search for cases on a topic

Example

Result of search on UK Case Law Locator

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Introduction to Lexis See Guide to using Lexis for further details ( ) Last 20 sources ; browse directory Last 20 sources ; browse directory Use the ‘segment search’ to search for specific cases Use the ‘segment search’ to search for specific cases Use the ‘Focus’ feature to search within your search results Use the ‘Focus’ feature to search within your search results Use the ‘Kwik’ display format to view where your search terms appear in the judgment Use the ‘Kwik’ display format to view where your search terms appear in the judgment

Lexis welcome screen – easier to use the shortcut links on the Law Resources page

Links from Law Resources page to UK, NZ, & Aus. cases

Use segment searching for cases

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When searching for cases on a topic use the “catchword” segment

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CaseBase Case Citator (Aust cases)

Click on the red ‘Cases’ tab to get the full search form

Concluding comments Make use of all available resources for case law research Make use of all available resources for case law research Hard copy law reports indices and digests Hard copy law reports indices and digests Free access LII’s (AustLII, PacLII etc.) Free access LII’s (AustLII, PacLII etc.) Westlaw and Lexis Westlaw and Lexis Be aware of the limitations of each resource. Learn how to search online databases efficiently to reduce information overload and to better identify important decisions