legal research, how to find and understand the law 12th (2004)

Twelfth Edition Legal Research How to Find & Understand the Law by Attorneys Stephen Elias and Susan Levinkind Edited by Richard Stim bout Nolo A esti Have a legal qu and online lp yo e Nolo can he on? 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LEGAL INFORMATION ONLINE ANYTIME 24 hh u r s a d a y www.nolo.com AT THE NOLO.COM SELF-HELP LAW CENTER, YOU’LL FIND • Nolo’s comprehensive Legal Encyclopedia filled with plain-English information on a variety of legal topics • Nolo’s Law Dictionary—legal terms without the legalese • Auntie Nolo—if you’ve got questions, Auntie’s got answers • The Law Store—over 200 self-help legal products including Downloadable Software, Books, Form Kits and eGuides • Legal and product updates • Frequently Asked Questions • Our ever-popular lawyer jokes Our “No-Hassle” Guarantee Quality Return anything you buy directly from Nolo for any reason and we’ll cheerfully refund your purchase price No ifs, ands or buts • NoloBriefs, our free monthly email newsletter • Legal Research Center, for access to state and federal statutes Law Books & Software for Everyone Nolo’s user-friendly products are consistently first-rate Here’s why: • • • • A dozen in-house legal editors, working with highly skilled authors, ensure that our products are accurate, up-to-date and easy to use We continually update every book and software program to keep up with changes in the law Our commitment to a more democratic legal system informs all of our work We appreciate & listen to your feedback Please fill out and return the card at the back of this book Read This First T he information in this book is as up to date and accurate as we can make it But it’s important to realize that the law changes frequently, as fees, forms and procedures If you handle your own legal matters, it’s up to you to be sure that all information you use— including the information in this book—is accurate Here are some suggestions to help you: First, make sure you’ve got the most recent edition of this book To learn whether a later edition is available, check the edition number on the book’s spine and then go to Nolo’s online Law Store at www.nolo.com or call Nolo’s Customer Service Department at 800-728-3555 Next, even if you have a current edition, you need to be sure it’s fully up to date The law can change overnight At www.nolo.com, we post notices of major legal and practical changes that affect the latest edition of a book To check for updates, find your book in the Law Store on Nolo’s website (you can use the “A to Z Product List” and click the book’s title) If you see an “Updates” link on the left side of the page, click it If you don’t see a link, that means we haven’t posted any updates (But check back regularly.) Finally, we believe accurate and current legal information should help you solve many of your own legal problems on a cost-efficient basis But this text is not a substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer If you want the help of a trained professional, consult an attorney licensed to practice in your state Twelfth Edition Legal Research How to Find & Understand the Law by Attorneys Stephen Elias and Susan Levinkind Edited by Richard Stim TWELFTH EDITION JULY 2004 Editor RICHARD STIM Illustrations LINDA ALLISON Cover Design SUSAN PUTNEY Book Design TERRI HEARSH Proofreading EMILY K WOLMAN Index JULIE SHAWVAN Printing EDWARDS BROTHERS INCORPORATED International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) 1539-4115 ISBN 1-4133-0058-8 Copyright © 1982, 1986, 1992, 1995, 1997-2004 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Printed in the U.S.A No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission Reproduction prohibitions not apply to the forms contained in this product when reproduced for personal use For information on bulk purchases or corporate premium sales, please contact the Special Sales Department For academic sales or textbook adoptions, ask for Academic Sales Call 800-955-4775 or write to Nolo at 950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 Dedications To Catherine and Megan Whose special gifts Ease these troubled times And illuminate my future –– SE To Elana my heart's companion And to Andrea, Scott, Sammy and Adam for immeasurable pleasures –– SL Acknowledgments Over the years many wonderful people have contributed to this book in many different ways, including insights into legal research resources and techniques, text editing, error checking and book and cover design We specifically wish to acknowledge the contributions of Nolo publisher Jake Warner, Mary Randolph, Janet Portman, Jackie Clark Mancuso, Eddie Warner, Stephanie Harolde, Nancy Erb, the late Diana Vincent-Daviss, Shirley Hart-David, Robert Berring, Terri Hearsh, Toni Ihara, Raquel Baker, James Evans, Ella Hirst, Nolen Barrett, Ling Yu and our legal research students Table of Contents How to Use This Book An Overview of Legal Research A Patience and Perspective 2/2 B How to Find (and Feel at Home in) a Law Library 2/2 C Legal Research on the Internet 2/3 D A Basic Approach to Legal Research 2/4 E Six Time-Saving Research Tips 2/6 F Understand the Legal Uncertainty Principle 2/8 G Know When You’re Done 2/9 An Overview of the Law A What Is the Law? 3/2 B Foundations of American Law 3/2 C The Increasing Importance of Statutes and Regulations 3/3 D The Development of American Common Law 3/3 E Where Modern American Law Comes From 3/4 F About Going to Court 3/4 Putting Your Questions Into Legal Categories A The Land of the Law 4/2 B Find the Broad Legal Category for Your Problem 4/3 C Identify Specific Terms for Your Problem 4/10 Getting Some Background Information A How Background Resources Can Help 5/2 B Self-Help Law Resources 5/3 C Law Textbooks 5/3 D Legal Encyclopedias 5/4 E Form Books 5/22 F Practice Manuals 5/25 G Law Reviews and Other Legal Periodicals 5/28 H Specialized Loose-Leaf Materials 5/33 I/12 LEGAL RESEARCH of digests, 9/11 of legal encyclopedias, 5/4, 5/5 of titles in U.S Code, 6/16 Tables of statutes, of case reporters, 9/7 Tax law, 4/9 Internet sites on, 5/38 Temporary restraining order (TRO), 3/7 Textbooks, 5/3–4 on constitutional law, 6/4, 6/5 Thesaurus, 4/13 Time-saving tips, 2/6, 2/8 Titles of Code of Federal Regulations, 6/44, 6/46 internal, in federal statutes, 6/12 of state statutes, 6/24, 6/25 of U.S Code, 6/6, 6/8 Topical searching, on Internet, 5/39, 13/4–5, 13/7, 13/14 Topics See Key number system; Questions, research Tort law, 2/5, 4/6, 4/9 example of research method, 12/2–22 hypothetical research problem, Appendix B/1–8 Total Client Service Box, 5/13 Trademarks, Internet sites on, 5/38 Transcript of trial, 3/10 Treatises, 5/34–35 Triable issues of material fact, 3/7 Trial, 3/8–10, 6/50 Trial courts, 3/4 appeals from decisions of, 7/5, 7/17 precedent and, 7/14, 7/15 reported decisions of, 3/11, 7/2, 7/5 Trial date, setting, 3/7 Tribal law, 3/4, 9/20 U Uncertainty principle, legal, 2/8 Underlining, in pocket part statutes, 6/26 Unemployment insurance, 4/9 Uniform (Blue Book) citation system, 9/2, 10/3, 12/13 Uniform laws, 6/42–43 United States Code (U.S.C.), 6/6–16 approaches to finding statutes in, 6/7–8 citations to statutes in, 6/7, 6/8–9, 6/19, 6/20 indexes of, 6/7, 6/12, 6/13, 6/14, 6/20 Internet searches of, 6/8, 6/15–16, 6/20–23 out-of-date statutes in, 6/15, 6/23 pocket parts of, 6/8, 6/15, 6/17, 6/20 popular name searches in, 6/7, 6/9–11, 6/12, 6/14 recent or pending statutes in, 6/17–23 statutory schemes in, 6/8, 6/12, 6/14–15 See also Annotated U.S Code; Federal statutes United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.), 6/6–7 legislative history references in, 6/39 pocket parts of, 6/15, 6/20 Popular Names Index of, 6/9–10, 6/11 Quarterly Supplement of, 6/17, 6/19 Rules of Civil Procedure in, 6/50 United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.), 6/6–7 Advance Legislative Service of, 6/17–19 federal regulations in index of, 6/46 legislative history references in, 6/39 pocket parts of, 6/15, 6/20 Table of Acts by Popular Names, 6/11 United States Supreme Court Reports (U.S.), 8/3 URL, 13/3 U.S Bankruptcy Courts, 8/2 See also Bankruptcy law U.S Code Congressional and Administrative News, 6/11, 6/20, 6/39–41 U.S Constitution Bill of Rights in, 4/3, 6/4, 6/5, 6/6 See also First Amendment categories of federal law and, 4/3 Internet research on, 6/5–6, 13/14 natural law and, 3/2 origin of, 3/3 powers reserved to states by, 3/4, 4/3 research on, 6/4–6 Supreme Court and, 3/10–11, 7/14 U.S Courts of Appeal cases from, 8/3, 9/3, 9/12, 9/20, 10/19 circuits of, 8/3 relation to other courts, 7/5, 7/14 reporters for, 3/11 U.S District Courts appeals from decisions of, 7/5, 7/14, 7/17 cases from, 7/2, 8/2, 9/3, 9/12, 9/20, 10/20 relation to other courts, 7/5, 7/14 U.S Law Week, 8/7, 9/17 U.S Supreme Court, 3/10–11 cases that go directly to, 3/11 citations to cases of, 7/17 constitutional research and, 6/5, 12/23, 12/24, 13/14 decisions published in Law Week, 8/7 elements of opinions from, 7/5–6, 7/11 example of case from, 7/17 finding cases of, 9/3, 9/12, 9/13, 9/16, 9/17, 9/20, 9/21–23 INDEX lower courts with appeals to, 7/5 persuasive authority of, 7/15 precedent and, 7/13–14 reporters for, 8/3–4, 9/3 Shepardizing cases of, 10/2, 10/12 Shepard’s abbreviations for actions of, 10/6 West Digests with cases of, 10/16, 10/19–20 U.S.C See United States Code (U.S.C.) V v (versus), 9/2 Vacated decision, 10/6 Vehicle law, 4/9 VersusLaw, 8/7, 9/3, 9/18, 9/20, 9/23 compared to KeyCite, 10/25, 10/26 Veterans’ law, 4/10 Voir dire, 3/8 Volume number, of reporter, 9/2 W Warranties, 4/10 Websites attorney general opinions, 6/37–38 “Authority on Demand” (Matthew Bender), 13/3 California Judicial Council Forms, 5/22 of cities, 6/51 for constitutional research, 6/5–6 continuing education, 5/27 Cornell Legal Information Institute, 5/37, 6/16, 6/26, 9/18 of counties, 6/51 court rules, 6/50 current legal events, 13/13 federal legislation, 6/8, 6/15–16, 6/20–23 federal regulations, 6/47 FindLaw, 5/37, 9/21–23 help with legal research, 13/2 KeyCite, 6/35, 9/4, 9/10, 10/24–26, 13/14 I/13 law schools, 5/4 law textbooks, 5/4 Nolo.com Law Centers, 5/3, 6/26, 6/27, 13/5 self-help law resources, 5/3 state resources, 6/26, 6/27, 6/48, 9/17–18 of U.S Circuit Courts of Appeal, 9/20 of U.S District Courts, 9/20 of U.S Supreme Court, 9/20 VersusLaw, 8/7, 9/3, 9/18, 9/20, 9/23, 10/25, 10/26 Zimmerman’s Research Guide, 5/2 See also Internet Welfare law, 4/10 West Digest system See Digests West Group, 5/5, 5/27, 5/33, 5/36 See also Key number system Westlaw, 8/7, 9/3, 13/2, 13/3 Wildcard characters, 13/11–12 Wills, 4/10 Internet sites on, 5/38 Witnesses, 3/6, 3/8 Words and Phrases, 6/36–37 Worker’s compensation, 4/10 Workplace rights, Internet sites on, 5/38–39 Writing up research findings, 2/9 See also Memoranda Writ of Certiorari, 3/10, 8/4, 10/6 Writ of mandamus, 3/6 Writ of mandate, 3/10 Writ of prohibition, 3/10 X Xor operator, 13/10 Y Year, in case citation, 9/3 Z Zoning power, 6/51 ● CATA L O G more from Nolo PRICE CODE BUSINESS The CA Nonprofit Corporation Kit (Binder w/CD-ROM) $59.95 CNP Consultant & Independent Contractor Agreements (Book w/CD-ROM) $29.95 CICA The Corporate Minutes Book (Book w/CD-ROM) $69.99 CORMI The Employer’s Legal Handbook $39.99 EMPL Everyday Employment Law $29.99 ELBA Drive a Modest Car & 16 Other Keys to Small Business 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