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

www.uscourts.gov

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• 2nd 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