Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies, Fourth Edition » (4th Edition)

With so many texts available for legal research courses, how does Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies maintain its best-selling status? By concentrating on fundamental skills and offering premium teaching support for professors and students.

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xix

1 Introduction to Legal Research 1

A Introduction to the legal system 2

B Introduction to the process of legal research 9

C Overview of print and electronic search strategies 12

D Introduction to legal citation 15

E Overview of this text 22

2 Generating Search Terms 25

A Generating search terms based on categories of information 25

B Expanding the initial search 27

3 Secondary Source Research 29

A Introduction to secondary sources 29

B Researching secondary sources in print 31

C Researching secondary sources electronically 50

D Citing secondary sources 53

E Sample pages for print secondary source research 59

F Checklist for secondary source research 74

4 Case Research 77

A Introduction to cases 77

B Researching cases in print 84

C Researching cases electronically 99

D Citing cases 105

E Sample pages for researching cases using a print digest 108

F Checklist for case research 126

5 Research with Citators 129

A Introduction to citators 129

B Using Shepard's in LexisNexis for case research 132

C Using KeyCite in Westlaw for case research 140

D Using Shepard's Citations in print for case research 145

E Sample pages for case research with Shepard's and Keycite 148

F Checklist for case research with citators 155

6 Statutory Research 157

A Introduction to statutory law 157

B Researching statutes in print 163

C Researching statutes electronically 174

D Citing statutes 184

E Sample pages for print statutory research 186

F Checklist for statutory research 198

7 Federal Legislative History Research 199

A Introduction to federal legislative history 199

B Researching federal legislativehistory in print 206

C Researching federal legislative history electronically 214

D Citing federal legislative history 222

E Sample pages for federal legislative history research 224

F Checklist for federal legislative history research 233

8 Federal Administrative Law Research 237

A Introduction to federal administrative law 237

B Researching federal regulations in print 242

C Researching federal regulations electronically 244

D Citing federal regulations 252

E Sample pages for federal administrative law research 252

F Checklist for federal administrative law research 257

9 Subject-Matter Service Research 259

A Introduction to subject-matter services 259

B Researching subject-matter services in print, CD-ROM, and Internet formats 261

C Subject-matter research in LexisNexis and Westlaw 262

D Citing subject-matter services 263

E Sample pages for subject-matter service research 264

F Checklist for subject-matter service research 268

10 Electronic Legal Research 269

A Introduction to electronic legal research 270

B Conducting effective electronic legal research 275

C Additional electronic research resources 292

D Citing authority obtained from electronic legal research services 296

E Sample pages for electronic legal research 299

F Checklist for electronic legal research 303

11 Developing a Research plan 305

A Introduction to research planning 305

B Creating a research plan 305

C Finding help 318

D Sample research plans 320

E Research checklists 325

Appendix A Selected Internet Research Resources 333

Index 339