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454679105106131227231276327394Alternative DisputeResolutionAttorney and ClientAttorney GeneralClerks of CourtsCourt CommissionersCourtsDistrict andProsecuting AttorneysJudgesJustices of the PeaceNotariesReferenceUnited StatesMagistratesMaritime erriesMaritime LiensNavigable WatersPilotsSalvageSeamenShippingWharvesMedicare and Medicaid198H Health259402Products ExplosivesFoodGasProducts LiabilityWeaponsProfessional ttorney and ClientBrokersHealthInfantsMental HealthNegligenceReligious SocietiesSchoolsReal Property61520596566Military Law34Armed Services258A Military JusticeMilitiaWar and NationalEmergency 25T8489AAbstracts of TitleAdjoiningLandownersAdverse PossessionBoundariesBrokersBuilding and LoanAssociationsCommon LandsCondominiumPrint Research ResourcesLegal Services13THE WEST KEY NUMBER SYSTEMTHE WEST KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

THE WEST KEY NUMBER jectmentEminent DomainEntry, Writ ofEstates in PropertyFencesFixturesForcible Entry andDetainerImprovementsJoint TenancyLandlord and TenantLicensesLiensLife EstatesLis PendensMechanics’ LiensMortgagesNegligencePartitionParty WallsPerpetuitiesPrivate RoadsPropertyPublic LandsQuieting TitleReal ActionsRegisters of c PerformanceTrespassTrespass to Try TitleVendor andPurchaserWasteZoning and PlanningSecurities andCommodities Regulation83HCommodity FuturesTrading Regulation160Exchanges349B Securities ountiesInternal nTownsTorts374548A788291117168Assault and BatteryAttorney and ClientAutomobilesCivil RightsCollisionConspiracyDeathFalse Imprisonment

pingTurnpikes and TollRoadsUnemploymentCompensation356A Social Security andPublic Welfare392T UnemploymentCompensationTHE WEST KEY NUMBER SYSTEMFoodForcible Entry andDetainer184Fraud190Gas198H Health213Innkeepers233Landlord and Tenant237Libel and ance313A Products Liability315T Public Amusementand 9Torts386Trespass389Trover andConversion404Waste406Weapons 17817915Print Research ResourcesTHE WEST KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

MOVING ONLINE:RESOURCES FORCONDUCTING RESEARCHON WESTLAW

18WESTLAW INFORMATIONW E S T L A W I N F O R M AT I O NHelping you do research as accurately and efficientlyas possible is what Westlaw is all about. And while nosingle technique is right for every situation, the WestlawResearch Pyramid and the Westlaw research tips (on thefollowing pages) are excellent places to begin.T H E W E S T L AW R E S E A R C H P Y R A M I D1Gather background information from secondarysources—American Law Reports (ALR),American Jurisprudence 2d (Am Jur 2d), lawreviews and journals, and West key numberdigests—to understand your issue and findleads to primary law.2Analyze relevant primary sources—cases,statutes, and regulations.3Update your research with KeyCite, West’scitation research service.

19321KeyCite StatutesCasesALR ,Am Jur ,and other treatisesandRegulationsWestKey NumberDigestsLawReviewsThe Westlaw Research PyramidOnline Research Resources WESTLAW RESEARCH PYRAMIDWESTLAW INFORMATION

20WESTLAW INFORMATIONW E S T L AW R E S E A R C H T I P SWhere do I start my research?Wondering where to begin? Resources such as law reviewsand legal texts can provide you with background information on a topic. When you need more information aboutan issue, start with the following:Law reviews and bar journalsRecent law review articles are a good place to startresearching a legal issue because law review articles canserve as an introduction to a new topic a source of terminology you can use to formulatea search a review of a topic with which you are familiar a tool to lead you to pertinent primary authority,such as cases and statutes persuasive secondary authority, in some instancesFor example, suppose you want to learn more about thestandards for summary judgment.1. Access the Journals and Law Reviews database (JLR)and click the Natural Language tab if it is not alreadyselected.2. Type a description such as what is the standard forgranting summary judgment in the Search text box andclick Search Westlaw.Restatements of the LawWestlaw contains the full text of more than a dozen of theAmerican Law Institute’s current Restatements of the Law,

For example, suppose you are researching the effect ofimpossibility of performance.1. Access the Restatement of the Law–Contracts database(REST-CONTR) and click the Natural Language tab ifit is not already selected.2. Type what is the effect of impossibility of performancein the Search text box and click Search Westlaw.American Law Reports (ALR)Search the American Law Reports database (ALR) to finda thorough discussion of case law relating to a particularlegal issue. Attorneys who write ALR articles have alreadyanalyzed the available American cases on the issue andhave prepared a detailed discussion of the legal principlesdeduced from the cases.To browse the ALR index, complete these steps:1. Access the ALR database and click the Terms andConnectors tab if it is not already selected.2. Type ci(index) in the Search text box and click SearchWestlaw.3. At the next page, click Continue Search if necessary.The first document in your result contains a list of alltopics in the index. covering such topics as conflict of laws, contracts,judgments, products liability, property, restitution, andtorts. The restatements analyze current law, explain themost accepted interpretations given by the courts, andlook at the direction in which the law is moving.WESTLAW RESEARCH TIPS21Online Research ResourcesWESTLAW INFORMATION

22WESTLAW INFORMATIONAmerican Jurisprudence 2d (Am Jur 2d)The American Jurisprudence 2d database (AMJUR)contains the full text of Am Jur 2d, a comprehensiveencyclopedia of state and federal law, revised andrewritten in light of modern authorities and developments.To browse an alphabetical list of the more than 400 AmJur topics, complete these steps:1. Access the AMJUR database.2. At the Search page, click Table of Contents.I have a citation. How do I retrieve the document?Use the Find service on Westlaw to easily retrieve a widevariety of documents, including cases, statutes, regulations,administrative decisions, and articles from law reviews andnewspapers.At the tabbed Law School page, type your citation in theFind by citation text box and click Go. For example, toretrieve 98 S. Ct. 2733, type 98sct2733 in the Find bycitation text box and click Go. Your document isdisplayed in the right frame. Click the links in the leftframe to see information related to the displayeddocument.I found a useful case. How do I use the topic andkey numbers in it to focus my research and retrieveother relevant cases?Each legal issue in a case published by West is identified,summarized, and assigned at least one topic and keynumber by West attorney-editors. This classificationsystem is called the West Key Number System. You can

To run a topic and key number search, complete thesesteps:1. Access a database containing the type of cases you wantto retrieve, e.g., to retrieve U.S. Supreme Court cases,access the All U.S. Supreme Court Cases database(SCT), and click the Terms and Connectors tab if it isnot already selected.2. Type the topic number, the letter k, and the key numberin the Search text box. For example, to search for casescontaining topic 92, Constitutional Law, and keynumber 980, Case or Controversy Requirement, type92k980.3. Click Search Westlaw.To use the Custom Digest to obtain a single documentcontaining the case law headnotes that are relevant toyour legal issue from a particular jurisdiction, completethese steps:1. Access a case law database. At the Search page, clickCustom Digest to display the topic and key numberoutline.2. Select up to 10 topics and key numbers from the easyto-browse outline and click Search selected.3. Follow the on-screen instructions and click Search. find topic and key numbers in case law headnotes,West digests, and the online Custom Digest.WESTLAW RESEARCH TIPS23Online Research ResourcesWESTLAW INFORMATION

24WESTLAW INFORMATIONCONNECTORS USED IN TERMS ANDCONNECTORS SEARCHINGUse this connectorAND&ORspaceGrammatical Connectors/s s/p pNumerical Connectors/n nPhrase“”Use this connectorBUT NOT%

both search terms: driver & passengereither search term or both search terms: landlord lessorsearch terms in the same sentence: bernanke /s interestthe first search term preceding the second term in the samesentence: treaty s violationsearch terms in the same paragraph: warrant! /p habitab!the first search term preceding the second term in the sameparagraph: insurance p actionsearch terms within n terms of each other (where n is anumber from 1 to 255): attorney /5 feethe first search term preceding the second term by n terms(where n is a number from 1 to 255): capital 3 gainsearch terms appearing in the same order as in the quotationmarks: “adverse possession”To exclude documents that containthe terms following the percent symbol: tax taxation %income To retrieve documents that containCONNECTORS25Online Research ResourcesWESTLAW INFORMATION

26WESTLAW INFORMATIONUSING KEYCITEOne of the most valuable legal research tools you willfind is KeyCite—West’s citation research service. Thisincredibly powerful, versatile tool performs severalfunctions, each designed to help you do your research withtotal confidence and accuracy. Specifically, you can useKeyCite and the KeyCite family of services to ensurethat the cases, statutes, regulations, and administrativedecisions you cite are good law; retrieve cases, legislation,articles, and other documents that cite these materials;and verify that the format and spelling of your citationsare correct.In addition, the ability to display the history of a case ingraphical view and unique graphical elements, such asstatus flags, depth of treatment stars, and quotationmarks, enable you to quickly identify and evaluateinformation.KeyCite for CasesKeyCite for cases covers all cases on Westlaw, includingunpublished opinions.KeyCite for Statutes and Federal RegulationsKeyCite covers the United States Code Annotated (USCA),the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), statutes from all50 states and the District of Columbia, and regulationsfrom selected states.KeyCite for Administrative MaterialsKeyCite is also available for administrative decisions of

KeyCite also provides citations to cases, law reviewarticles, and other secondary sources that have cited a lawreview article. KeyCite information is available for articlesfrom hundreds of law reviews. In addition, KeyCiteprovides citing references from numerous texts andtreatises.ACCESSING KEYCITETo access KeyCite at the tabbed Law School or Westlawpage, type a citation in the KeyCite this citation text boxand click Go. To access KeyCite from any page, clickKeyCite at the top of the page, then type a citation in theKeyCite this citation text box at the KeyCite page andclick Go. KeyCite history is displayed in the right frame.KEYCITE LEGENDKeyCite Status FlagsA KeyCite status flag lets you immediately know the statusof a case, statute section, regulation, or administrativedecision.A red flag indicates that the case or administrativedecision is no longer good law for at least one ofthe points of law it contains or that the statute orregulation has been amended by a recent sessionlaw or rule, repealed, superseded, or heldunconstitutional or preempted in whole or in part. selected federal agencies including the National LaborRelations Board, the Internal Revenue Service, and theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office, among others.USING KEYCITE27Online Research ResourcesWESTLAW INFORMATION

28WESTLAW INFORMATIONA yellow flag indicates that the case oradministrative decision has some negative historybut hasn’t been reversed or overruled; that thestatute has been renumbered or transferred by arecent session law; that an uncodified sessionlaw or proposed legislation affecting the statuteis available (statutes merely referenced, i.e.,mentioned, are not marked with a yellow flag);that a proposed rule affecting the regulation isavailable; that the regulation has been reinstated,corrected, or confirmed; that the statute orregulation was limited on constitutional orpreemption grounds or its validity was otherwisecalled into doubt; or that a prior version of thestatute or regulation received negative treatmentfrom a court.A blue H indicates that the case or administrativedecision has some history.A green C indicates that the case or administrativedecision has citing references but no direct historyor negative citing references or that the statute orregulation has citing references.Depth of Treatment StarsKeyCite depth of treatment stars indicate the extent towhich a citing case, administrative decision, or briefdiscusses the cited case or administrative decision. Examined: The citing case, administrativedecision, or brief contains an extended discussion of thecited case or administrative decision, usually more than aprinted page of text.

Cited: The citing case, administrative decision,or brief contains some discussion of the cited case oradministrative decision, usually less than a paragraph. Mentioned: The citing case, administrative decision,or brief contains a brief reference to the cited case oradministrative decision, usually in a string citation.KeyCite Quotation MarksQuotation marks ( ) indicate that the citing case,administrative decision, or brief directly quotes the citedcase or administrative decision.KEYCITE ALERTKeyCite Alert is a service that automatically monitors thestatus of your cases, statutes, administrative decisions, andregulations and sends you updates when their KeyCiteresults change, providing you with the most currentKeyCite information for your research.To access KeyCite Alert from a KeyCite result or adisplayed document, click Monitor with KeyCite Alert onthe Links tab in the left frame. The KeyCite Alert wizard isdisplayed with the citation of the document automaticallyentered for you. The wizard will ask you the necessaryquestions to complete your KeyCite Alert entry. Discussed: The citing case, administrative decision,or brief contains a substantial discussion of the cited caseor administrative decision, usually more than a paragraphbut less than a printed page.USING KEYCITE29Online Research ResourcesWESTLAW INFORMATION

30WESTLAW INFORMATIONF R E Q U E N T LY U S E DW E S T L A W D ATA B A S E SDatabaseIdentifierCase LawAll Federal and State CasesAll Federal CasesAll State CasesCases for Individual State*E.g., Ohio CasesALLCASESALLFEDSALLSTATESXX-CSOH-CSU.S. Supreme Court MaterialsAll U.S. Supreme Court CasesU.S. Supreme Court BriefsTranscripts of U.S. Supreme CourtOral ArgumentsSCT-ORALARGStatutesUnited States Code AnnotatedAnnotated Statutes for Individual State*E.g., Louisiana Statutes–AnnotatedUSCAXX-ST-ANNLA-ST-ANNTexts and PeriodicalsAmerican Jurisprudence 2dAmerican Law ReportsBlack’s Law Dictionary, 8th EditionJournals and Law ReviewsTexts and Periodicals–All LawReviews, Texts, and Bar JournalsNews and InformationAll NewsMajor NewspapersNew York JNYT*where XX is a state’s two-letter postal abbreviation

Here are brief definitions of legal terms you’re likely toencounter in law school. For complete definitions of theseand more than 40,000 other terms, see the Black’s LawDictionary database (BLACKS) on Westlaw.actus reus Guilty act. A wrongful deed; generally coupledwith mens rea to establish criminal liability.amicus curiae Friend of the court. An individual ororganization not party to a lawsuit but allowed to petitionthe court or requested by the court to file a brief in theaction because of a strong interest in the subject matter.bona fide In good faith. 1. Made in good faith, withoutfraud or deceit (e.g., bona fide offer). 2. Compliant withthe law (e.g., bona fide pension plan). 3. Sincere orgenuine (e.g., bona fide signature).brevet A privilege, such as a patent, granted to a privatecitizen by a government. In military law, a commissionpromoting an officer to a higher rank but without acorresponding pay increase.caveat emptor Let the buyer beware. A doctrine holdingthat purcha

1877- Federal Reporter andSupreme Court Reporterare 1889 introduced. 1887 West brings order to American case reporting by introducing the National Reporter System, the first national case reporter. These seven geographical reporters feature high-quality editing, rapid publication of cases, and a uniform format.