Legal Research

Week 3 Case Law

Case Law What it is

How to Locate

How to Read

How to Brief/summarize

How to Use case law in legal analysis

CASE LAW –WHAT IT IS Written decision from an appeal or

similar proceeding that is A. Published and B. Final C. Majority or plurality decision

Compare to concurring and dissenting opinions

Comes from Court of Appeals or Supreme Court (either state or federal)

Effect of Stare Decisis

Cases that are stare decisis are MANDATORY authority

Other cases can be cited a Persuasive authority

Stare Decisis – Federal Cases

U.S. Supreme Court decisions binding on all federal and state courts

U.S. Federal Courts of Appeals Decisions binding only on trial courts in

same circuit Decisions may be binding on state court

in circuit if constitutional or federal issue

Stare Decisis--California

U.S. Supreme Court Cases—stare decisis on all courts

California Supreme Court Stare decisis for all California

appellate and superior court California Courts of Appeal

Stare decisis for all Superior Courts

Final Decisions

No case is “case law” until and unless it is final

Cases are not final if Higher court has granted review Deciding court grants a rehearing

Locating Case Law

By citation (in print or online) Obtained through secondary source Obtained through code annotations

By Full Text search (online only)

Case Law Publication Slip Opinions

www.supremecourt.gov Case Reporters

Official vs. Unofficial Advance Sheets

Internet Westlaw and Lexis Free Sources

Features of Fee-based Publications

Editorial enhancements Summaries headnotes

California Case Reporters Official:

California Reports (Cal.) California Supreme Court Cases

California Appellate Reports (Cal. App.) California Appellate Court Cases

Unofficial: California Reporter (Cal. Rptr.)

California supreme and appellate decision after 1959 Pacific Reporter (P.)

California Supreme Court cases California Appellate court cases before 1959

D.A.R.

Free Internet Access

California www.courts.ca.gov

Federal Google Scholar www.law.cornell.edu http://lp.findlaw.com/

Cite:SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED

STATES_________________

No. 01–7574_________________

DAVID ALLEN SATTAZAHN, PETITIONER v.PENNSYLVANIA

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF

PENNSYLVANIA, EASTERN DISTRICT[January 14, 2003]

Reading A Case Identify majority/plurality decision from

concurring or dissenting opinions Identify the deciding court and distinguish

what lower courts did and said from what this court says and does

Identify the parties—at trial and at all levels of appeal

Identify the legal issues or questions to be decided

Identify the holding or answer to questions Summarize the reasons

Texas v. Johnson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0G5ixr1gMs

Briefing a Case

Summary of important parts of case

Not a formal court document

No absolute format

Components of a Case Brief—One Format

Judicial History

Facts

Issues

Rules

Analysis

Conclusion

© 2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Case Brief—Other Format

Judicial History Facts Issue Holding (Conclusion) Rationale

Rules the Court Relies On Analysis of Rules

Judicial History

Reflects the appellate process

Case will be either appeal or writ

This is what happened before case was heard by deciding court (published case)

Judicial History—Gideonin text (pg 88) Trial Court:

Appellate Court:

Supreme Court granted certiorari. Do NOT give the Supreme Court’s

final decision

Judicial History--Morse

Pg. 583 in text

Writing a Factual Statement

Types of Facts found in cases: relevant, explanatory and non-essential

Use only relevant and explanatory facts

Determining Relevancy Look to the issue

Facts for Gideon and Morse

24

Issue The Question Presented

Legal issues are specific questions raised by the facts.

Issues may also be thought of as the questions the parties to a lawsuit bring to the court for resolution.

© 2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Issue - BE SPECIFIC

NEVER ask, “Did the trial court/appellate court err?”

Legal question + determinative facts Always unique to the case

Put it in question format A proper issue tells you all about the

case

Example-- LOPEZ

Is the Gun Free Zone Act, which makes it a crime to possess of a gun near a school, a constitutional exercise of congressional power to regulate interstate commerce?

Can you tell what this case is about?

Gideon and Morse

Holding/Conclusion

This is the answer to the question raised in the issue, put in complete sentence format:

Another exampleHOLDING -- LOPEZ

The Gun Free Zone Act is unconstitutional because it is not within the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce.

Rationale

This is really a summary of the whole opinion.

Include the rules the court relies on (cases, codes or constitution)

Explain how the court analyzes these rules

Review Appendix G for examples

FINDING AND USING CASE LAW

Case law is used to provide an answer to a legal dispute resulting from a set of facts

Both finding and using case law relates to the facts of your case

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Review the factual situationDetermine if the factual situation

is controlled by federal law or by state law or by both

Use research books that contain the proper law

© 2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

FINDING CASE LAW

Annotated Codes (found by using topical indexes)

Secondary Sources (found by using topical indexes)

Online full-text searching Topical index words come from

your facts

Online—full-text searching

Natural Language v. Boolean (Terms and Connectors)

Practice Worksheet

USING CASE LAW

Rule of stare decisis requires that you compare the facts and issues of your case to the case law

Case law used in various briefs/ memoranda of law--

EXAMPLEComparison of case with Terry v. Ohio

Like Officer McFadden in Terry, Officer Rose was conducting a lawful pat search when he felt an object in the outside pocket of Respondent's very fine nylon jacket (T. 9). Also, like Officer McFadden, Officer Rose testified that he was able to identify the seized object because of its distinctive shape and consistency (T. 9-10). The difference between this case and Terry is that the item seized in this case was a controlled substance rather than a weapon. n15

The Starting Point

Discovering the facts of your case Client, witnesses, investigation, discovery,

transcripts Initially analyzing and sorting your

facts Relevant Explanatory Non-essential

Initially identifying issue

Practice

Hypothetical in appendix B—and Morse case

Sorting the Facts Relevant Facts: are

absolutely essential, they cannot be ignored

Explanatory Facts: clarify the relevant facts

Non-essential Facts: play no real role in the legal situation (not too many in case law)

© 2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

STEP 1: SORT Case law FACTS STEP 2: SORT Client’s FACTS

Relevant:

Explanatory

Non-Essential

STEP 3- COMPARE FACTSMorse Speeker

FACTUAL SIMILARITIES

FACTUAL DIFFERENCES

UNKNOWNS

STEP 4 – WRITE ISSUE (i.e. Did the school violate Speeker’s

First Amendment rights in suspending Speeker students received extra credit for attending?)

RULE (This is the holding of Morse and other cases)

Application (This is where you compare and distinguish your facts; if facts are different also refer to relevant statements from the rationale of the cases)

Conclusion (Answer the question you present in issue.)