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Legal Research
Terms for Legal Research
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| legal dictionary | a dictionary defining and explaining legal terms |
| legal thesaurus | a book providing synonyms for legal words |
| index | a list of words or phrases that reflect the topics covered in the book |
| legal citations | special abbreviations used to describe resource materials |
| federalism | a system of government in which the people are regulated by both federal and state governments |
| common law | body of law developed through the courts |
| precedent | the example set by the decision of an earlier court for similar cases or similar legal questions that arise in later cases |
| Stare Decisis | "It stands decided"; another term for precedent |
| primary source | a work that contains the law |
| secondary source | a tool used to help understand the law; one such tool is a legal encyclopedia that explains the law |
| code books | books that contain codes or statutes |
| case reporter | books that contain case decisions from the courts |
| CD-ROM libraries | Legal materials, either primary or secondary sources, stored on CD-ROMs |
| LEXIS | a computer-assisted legal research service |
| Westlaw | a computer-assisted legal research service |
| law library | a library that is dedicated to legal resource material |
| table of contents | an outline of the material covered in the book or document |
| table of cases | a common feature of legal publications containing the names of all cases cited in the book or document |
| table of statutes | a common feature of legal publications containing a list of all statutes or codes that are referenced in the book |
| table of abbreviations | a common feature of legal publications containing an explanation of all abbreviations found in the book |
| pocket part | a removable supplement; includes all changes or additions to the material contained in the hardbound volume |
| case law | a collection of reported cases |
| precedent | the example set by the decision of an earlier court for similar cases or similar legal questions that arise in later cases |
| legal analysis | the process of comparing and contrasting facts and legal issues |
| questions presented | a statement of the legal issue presented to the court for resolution |
| pleadings | the formal written allegations filed with the court by both sides to a lawsuit; claims and defenses are clearly set out so that both parties are placed on notice of the position of the opposing party |
| causes of action | the basis upon which a lawsuit may be brought to the court |
| affirmative defenses | defenses raised by the defendant in the answer; reasons why the plaintiff should not recover even if all of the allegations of the complaint are true. |
| judicial history | the legal (courtroom) history of a case |
| elements | the components of a cause of action or of a statute |
| prima facie case | on first view or on its face; for example, the plaintiff presented a strong prima facie case for establishing the negligence of the defendant |
| primary authority | the resources that provide the actual law; laws are found in constitutions, statutes, case law, and some administrative materials. |
| decision | the formal written resolution of a case; it explains the legal and factual issues, the resolution of the case, and the law used by the court in reaching its resolution |
| opinion | a decision is sometimes referred to as an opinion; formal written resolution of a case; explains the legal and factual issues, the resolution, and the law applied by the court in reaching its resolution |
| precedent | the examples set by the decision of an earlier court for similar cases and similar legal questions that arise in later cases |
| stare decisis | "It stands decided"; another term for precedent |
| mandatory authority | case law that must be followed by a court |
| binding authority | another term for mandatory authority; case law must be followed by the court |
| persuasive authority | non-binding case law that nevertheless is considered by a court |
| double jeopardy | clause in the U.S. Constitution that generally prevents the government for trying a person more than once for the same offense. |
| affirm | to uphold; in connection with an appeal to uphold the lower court's decision |
| reverse | to change |
| remand | to send back |
| motion | a request for an order from the court |
| regional reporters | a set of published volumes of cases by courts in specific regions of the U.S.; for example, the Pacific Reporter or the North Eastern Reporter. |
| Uniform System of Citation | A reference manual; it contains the rules for proper citation format; often called The Bluebook |
| LEXIS | a computer-assisted legal research service |
| Westlaw | a computer-assisted legal research service |
| Case law reporters | sets of published volumes of cases decided by various courts |
| official citations | this is the citation the the official publication of the case law for a particular jurisdiction (usually a government publication);includes the name of the case, volume number in which the case is located, the first page of the case, and year of decision |
| secondary sources | tools used to understand the law; one such tool is a legal encyclopedia, which explains the law |
| style manual | a manual illustrating the proper citation format for a particular state |
| parallel citations | many case citations include references to unofficial publications as well as the official citation. These additional references are parallel citations; simply stated - you may find the exact case in more than one publication |
| United States Reporter | official publication of all U.S. Supreme Court case law; published by the federal government |
| unofficial publication | material not published by a government entity or a government designee |
| editorial enhancements | helpful information included in many unofficial publications; the enhancements assist the researcher to understand the material. Most official publications have little or no editorial enhancements |
| digest topics | topics included in an index (digest) to reported case law, arranged by subject |
| key numbers | a research aid unique to the West Group materials; these numbers allow a researcher to quickly access specific material in a digest |
| Supreme Court Reporter | printed by West, this is an unofficial publication of all U.S. Supreme Court case law |
| Lawyers' Edition | LexisNexis publishes this unofficial (nongovernment) printing of all U.S. Supreme Court case law |
| Federal Reporter | The set containing all of the federal appellate decisions |
| Federal Supplement | The set containing the cases argued and determined in the U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of International Trade, and the ruling of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation |
| Federal Rules Decisions | The set containing federal opinions, decisions, and rulings involving the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure |
| specialized reporters | collections of cases grouped by specific topics rather than by level of court or jurisdiction |
| official reporters | sets of case law published by the government or the designee of the government |
| unofficial reporters | collections of printed decisions that are not government publications |
| headnote | editorial enhancement added to the front material of a case; useful summary of most legal topics addressed in the case |
| de-publish | in rare instances, a court will decide a case, write and release a decision, but before it is published in the official reporter, the court decides not to publish some or all of the case decision. A de-published case cannot be used as precedent |
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