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A. E. Sloan (2009). Basic Legal Research Tools and Strategies (4th ed.). New York: Aspen Publishers.

PA201 Introduction to Legal Research

Unit 1 – Introduction to the Legal Research Process

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Housekeeping -- Remember:

To raise your hand to ask a question.

To be respectful of others on the DB and in seminar (and any other way you choose to communicate with your colleagues).

Office hours for this term will be: Tuesday, 9-10PM EST;

Thursday, 9-10pm EST; or

by appointment.

AIM Name: eli.gordon1@yahoo.com

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A few basics: (Continued)

Grade weighting:

Discussion board – 160 points (20 points for the 8 units of discussion 1-4; 6-9)

Seminar – 40 points (5 points for the 8 units, 1-4; 6-9)

Quizzes – 130 points (25 points for units, 1, 3, 4 and 7; 30 points for unit 2)

Writing Assignments 510 points Course Project 160 points

TOTAL POINTS: 1000

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Discussion Board

Students should aim to post at least 4 to 5 messages of substance to the Discussion Board each week, in order to get a solid understanding of the materials and a good score. It is strongly suggested that you post at least once before, during and after the weekend.

Main categories on the DB rubric are as follows:

Timeliness and frequency;

breadth and depth of responses;

clarity and organization; and

grammar and mechanics.

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A few basics: (Continued)

Late assignments: Let me know immediately

if there is a problem, otherwise there will be deductions for turning assignments in late. General rule is 1% deduction per day late

Use of www.turnitin.com. (prevents plagiarism)

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Grading Rubric

Writing assignments:

See document under Doc Sharing (PA201 Grading Rubric.doc). It changes for each assignment. General example:

Research 26 of 28 points

Mechanics 10.5 of 10.5 pointsFormat 9.5 of 10.5 points Style 9.5 of 10.5 pointsLanguage 10.5 of 10.5 points

Total: 66 out of 70 = 94.3%

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First assignment

Due in Unit 1 – March 30, 2010

Part 1Please locate your home state’s government website (more

than likely a ".gov") using a search engine (such as Google or Yahoo). Using the state government website you have located provide the following: (1) a link to your state’s constitution, (2) a link that provides court opinions (Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, etc.) for your home state, and (3) a link that provides the statutory compilations of your home state. In responding to questions 1-3, also indicate the name of your state in your submission.

For example, a response to question # 1 may be as follows: (1) The California State Constitution can be located at the following website: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/const-toc.html 

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First assignment (cont...)

Due in Unit 1- March 30, 2010

Part 2

Locate another state's government website (more than likely a ".gov") using a search engine (such as Google or Yahoo). Using the state government website you have located provide the following: (1) a link to the state's constitution, (2) a link that provides court opinions (Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, etc.) for the state, and (3) a link that provides the statutory compilations for the state. In responding to questions 1-3, also indicate the name of the state in your submission.

As part of your assignment, include the links you located above and then explain which state's website you found most user friendly.

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Questions

Does anyone have any questions on the syllabus or class in general?

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Chapter One: Introduction to Legal Research

Structure of the court system – Federal and State

Trial Court – Intermediary Appellate Court – Supreme Court

Weight of Authority

Primary versus Secondary

Binding versus Nonbinding Authority

Outside of jurisdiction

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Legal Research Process

Two main steps to the research process:

Defining the parameters of the search

Generating search terms

General goal of legal research: find mandatory, primary sources.

Three processes for searching: by citation, by subject matter and by word.

**Real Life Tip- Secondary sources are often VERY important.

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Citation

Bluebook or ALWD (Association of Legal Writing Directors)

We cite for one of three reasons:Quotation

Paraphrasing

Explaining information from a source.

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How to Cite?

The order of the citation is important because each part identifies something in the reference that can lead the reader to the original source as you found it.

Each legal source has its own particular order to follow and specific information that must be included in the cite.

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Most important parts to the Bluebook

Back cover: Quick reference to proper citation for basic legal documents (non-law journal articles)

Blue pages at the front of the book: It is an introduction to Bluebook and again focuses on proper citation for basic legal documents; not law journal articles

Appendices: Area of book with the dark blue edge. Provides tables with names and abbreviations of courts (nationally and internationally), common abbreviations of a variety of words and periodicals.

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How to Cite Cases?

A general case citation is as follows: Tom Reed Gold Mines Co. v. United E. Mining Co., 39 Ariz. 533 (1932).

Always underline or italicize case names:Smith Corp. v. Doe Inc. or Smith Corp. v. Doe Inc.

The “v.” is lowercase, is followed by a period, and is not “vs.”:

Follow case names by a comma, which is not underlined or italicized: Arizona v. Fulminante,

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How to Cite Cases?

Do not include parties' first names, unless they are the name of a corporation: Baker v. John Smith Inc.,

If there is more than one plaintiff or defendant, use only the first party on each side.

Do not abbreviate United States in a case name: United States v. Michigan,

Some words may be abbreviated, but do not abbreviate them if they are the first word of a party. Refer to the appendices in the Bluebook for common abbreviations.

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How to Cite Federal Cases?

U.S. Supreme Court:Smith & Jones, Inc. v. Couch, 401 U.S. 313

(1985).

U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal: Cite to F., F.2d, or F.3d. Note no space between the F. and the number. Include the circuit in the cite: Davis v. Everett, 102 F.2d 24 (9th Cir. 1954).

U.S. District Courts: Cite to F. Supp. Note the space between the F. and the Supp. Include the district in the cite: Flanders v. Glissandi, 913 F. Supp. 885 (C.D. Cal.

1996).

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How to Cite State Cases?

Cite to the regional reporter. Include the court in the cite:Hoyt, Inc. v. Irving-Johnson Corp., 425 P.2d 976 (Cal.

App. 1976). Kearney v. Lovejoy, 777 P.2d 1024 (Cal. 1993).

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How to Cite Cases Available Only in Lexis?

Vaughn v. Wilson, No. 95-124, 1995 U.S. Sup. Ct. LEXIS 3255, at *16 (1995).

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How to Cite Quotations?

Always give the exact page of a quote (i.e. pinpoint cite), even when paraphrasing:"The Fourth Amendment protects people, not places."

Katz v. United States, 375 U.S. 76, 82 (1965).

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How to Cite Statutes?

Federal Statutes: Cite to U.S.C. or U.S.C.A. 12 U.S.C. § 1986 (West 1996).

12 U.S.C.A. § 1986 (1996).

State Statutes: The form varies by state. Cal. Pen. Code § 187 (West 1989).

Neb. Stat. Ann. § 212-414(b) (West 1990).

A.R.S. § 1-101 (2005).

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How to Cite Constitutions?

Federal: U.S. Const. amend. XX

U.S. Const. art. I, § 2, cl. 3

State: Cal. Const. art. XIV

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How to Cite Secondary Sources?

Books: John Knight, A Jury of Twelve, 225 (1st. ed. 2001).

Periodicals: Mary A. Jones, The Best of Trial Briefs, 28 Neb. L. Rev. 102 (2006).

Encyclopedias: 16 C.J.S. Evidence § 12 (1996).

Dictionaries: Black's Law Dictionary, 826 (7th ed. 1998).

Annotations: Tom McCannon, Annotation, Searches and Warrants, 79 A.L.R.2d 1257 (1995).

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How to Cite Court Rules?

Federal:Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 (b)(6).

Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(b).

State:Haw. Fam. Ct. R. 106.

N.J. Ct. R. 3:8-3.

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How to Cite Electronic Sources?

American Bar Association. Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Legal Education and Bar Admission Statistics, 1963 – 2005, available at http://www.abanet.org/legaled/stats.html, (last visited Oct. 18, 2006).

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Miscellaneous Points

When a cite is in the middle of a sentence, follow it with a comma. In Yon v. Sambaed, 421 U.S. 119 (1992), the Supreme

Court held that . . .

When a cite is at the end of a sentence, follow it with a period. This decision was overruled in Ankeny v. Burnside,

102 F.2d 65 (3d Cir. 1942).

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Miscellaneous Points

When you have a string cite (several cases cited in a row) separate them with semicolons. Cite federal cases first, then state cases, and cite higher courts before lower ones. Several courts have held that the sun rises in the

east. Caruthers v. Druid, 414 U.S. 9 (1992); Major v. Minor, 2 F. Supp. 1245 (S.D.N.Y. 1912); California v. Parker, 421 P.2d 198 (Cal. App. 1978).

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Miscellaneous Points

To delete one or more words within a quote, use ellipses. At the end of a sentence, follow the ellipses by a period. "The time has come . . . to talk of many things."

Lewis Caroll, Alice in Wonderland 56 (1872). Never start a sentence with ellipses. If you

start a quote in the middle of a sentence, or if you substitute letters or words in a sentence, use brackets. "[M]y troubles seemed so far away." Paul

McCartney, Yesterday 2 (1966).

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Questions?