Volusia Association of Paralegals
Spring Seminar
May 18, 2002
LEGAL RESEARCH
ROBERT TAYLOR BOWLING
Cobb Cole & Bell
150 Magnolia Avenue
P.O. Box 2491
Daytona Beach, FL 32115-2491
Tel: (386) 255-8171
Fax: (386) 248-0323
LEGAL RESEARCH
Authority - The objectives of legal research are to find and verify legal authorities.
II. Finding Authority
A. Where to begin
1. Forum or "system': Local, State, or Federal preemption and concurrent jurisdiction
a. separation of powers: legislative, executive, judicial
b. Levels of the Court System
(1) trial court (State: circuit, county; Federal: district)
intermediate appellate (State: District Court of Appeals (DCA); Federal: Circuit Court of Appeals
(3) Supreme Court
2. Substantive
a. Constitutional
b. Statutory
c. Common Law (case law)
d. executive (e.g., presidential action)
3. Procedural
a. Federal
(1) civil
(2) criminal
(3) appellate
(4) evidence
(5) local court rules
(6) special (maritime, bankruptcy)
b. State procedural
(1) civil
(2) criminal
(3) family
(4) appellate
(5) juvenile
(6) small claims
III. Primary vs. Secondary Authority - may be determined by jurisdiction
A. Primary law is mandatory - "weight" afforded to such authority
1. Constitution (federal & state published with statutes)
2. Statutes (ordinances at local level)
a. Bill uW slip law OW session law OW codification
(1) bills that are adopted become slip laws which later become part of larger group of statutes; collected slip laws are "session laws" which are codified into a "code"
(2) State: Laws of Florida, Florida Statutes (Fla. Stat. (annotated versions as well)
(3) Federal: Statutes at Large, United States Code (U.S.C.) (annotated versions as well)
(4) Local: Municipal Codes (County Codes)
3. Case law
a. Reported vs. Unreported (official and unofficial)
(1) This is where use of U.S. v. S. Ct. comes into play
b. Case reporters (like So. 2d, F.2d)
(1) slip opinions
(2) advance sheets
c. elements of a reported case - holding (rule of law or proposition for which case is cited), parallel citations, caption, decision (result or disposition, like "reversed", opinion (explanation, includes dicta), dicta (gratuitous comments)
4. Rules of procedure
5. Rules of evidence
6. Administrative rules
a. Decisions from administrative bodies (e.g., NLRB)
7. Executive orders
B. Secondary Authority is persuasive and afforded less "weight"
1. Other jurisdictions
2. Legal Encyclopedia (C.J.S. and Am. Jur.)
a. background, case citations
3. American Law Reports (A.L.R.)
a. selective, annotated, commentary, citations
4. Restatements (by A.L.I.)
a. Scholarly works; often cited by courts; by area
5. Dictionaries (Black's)
6. Digests
7. Treatises
8. Periodicals (magazines, law reviews)
IV. Research Methodology
A. Area or topic
B. Case or statute
C. Computer or Hard Copy
1. Internet or Commercial V. Verification
A. Commercial Services 1. Shepard's 2. KeyCite
B. Updating
1. Pocket parts
2. Looseleaf services
3. Supplements
VI. Citation Form
A. Blue Book
1. Form
2. Signals
3. Style
B. Other manuals
