Thurgood Marshall Law Library Guide to Legal Research: 2017 - 2018

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL AUTHORITIES
AND LEGAL RESEARCH

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
How Does Legal Research Differ from Research in Other Contexts?
Types of Legal Authorities
Relationship Between Statutory Law and Case Law
The Universe of Choices for Legal Research
The Legal Research Process
Understanding Citations to Basic Primary Authorities

INTRODUCTION
Legal research is the search for authority that can be applied to a given set of facts and
issues. The universe of potentially useful authority is vast, and good researchers have
well-developed analytical skills in addition to an understanding of the techniques and
efficiencies of doing legal research. The Thurgood Marshall Law Library Guide to Legal
Research has been developed for use in a variety of introductory and advanced research
courses. It presents a succinct introduction to the tools and techniques, both print and
online, with which the legal researcher must become familiar. Additionally, the strategy
sections include information about how to select potentially relevant authorities, as well
as discussions about which sources to consult and how they can best be used.

HOW DOES LEGAL RESEARCH DIFFER FROM RESEARCH IN

OTHER CONTEXTS?
To many law students, legal research presents a challenge because it differs in many
ways from the research they may have conducted as undergraduates. It is essential to
establish a clear understanding of the goals of research in the legal context, and of the
various types of legal materials and their interrelationships.

An initial step in developing legal research expertise is to develop an awareness of the

types of materials that constitute "the law," and of the relationships between these
materials. In the process of researching a legal issue, it may be necessary to consult
statutes (legislative enactments), cases (opinions of the judiciary), and/or regulatory
materials (administrative agency regulations and decisions). All these types of materials
are considered "primary sources." A major challenge for a novice researcher is to gain a
perspective on how such sources may apply to a particular subject matter and how they
relate to each other. It is often necessary to consult multiple sources and use different
techniques for each type of source. Furthermore, for a given problem relevant materials
may exist on any or all of the federal, state, or local levels.

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A major area in which legal research differs from research a student may previously have
conducted is in the need for comprehensiveness in primary authority research. When
presented with a legal issue, the researcher must endeavor to locate any potentially
relevant authority which would be binding in the applicable jurisdiction. Most important
for the beginning researcher to appreciate is that cases or statutory provisions which seem
not to favor a client's position cannot simply be ignored and other authorities relied upon
instead. Rather, these sources must be discovered, thoroughly analyzed, and distinguished
if possible.

Because law is organic, the legal researcher must also learn to appreciate the need to
update and verify every source that will be relied upon in developing a legal argument.
For example, the precedential value of cases is frequently affected by subsequent judicial
analysis or by the actions of legislatures. Likewise, it is not unusual for statutes to be
repealed or amended by the legislative body; statutes may also be applied and interpreted
by case law. The researcher must update carefully in order to accurately assess the
significance of any authority.

Another matter that often challenges beginning legal researchers is the need to analogize.
For many of the problems you may be asked to research, no precisely “on point,” that is
factually identical, authority exists. Judges decide disputes before them, and lawyers
build arguments, based on a reasoning process that analogizes that a rule of law applied
to one set of facts should logically be applied to another set of factual circumstances.
Thus it is rarely sufficient to look for authorities that deal with facts too closely
resembling those with which you have been presented.

TYPES OF LEGAL AUTHORITIES

Primary

Primary legal authorities are authorized statements of law issued by governmental bodies.
This category includes court opinions, constitutions, legislation, regulations and rulings
of administrative agencies and other similar documents that carry the force of law.
Primary authorities can be either mandatory (binding) or persuasive (non-binding).

Deciding what constitutes mandatory authority involves a knowledge of which law-

making bodies issue legal authority for a particular jurisdiction. The concept of
jurisdiction initially involves a determination of whether an issue that arises in a
particular geographic location is governed by state or federal law.

In addition to knowing what the law-making bodies are and their relation to each other
(for example, rulings of higher courts within a jurisdiction are binding on the lower
courts), one must make judgments as to the similarity of facts and issues to the
circumstances in the problem that is being researched. Mandatory statutory authority
must be followed; mandatory judicial authority must be followed under the principle of
stare decisis, unless the court decides that changed circumstances warrant a different

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outcome. The doctrine of stare decisis encourages stability of the legal system and
provides mechanisms for individuals to predict the outcome of their behavior. However,
this goal is counterbalanced by the need for responsiveness to change. The result is a
system that places a high premium on following established judicial precedents, but one
that allows for change if it is necessary or desirable.

Persuasive primary authority can include court decisions of other jurisdictions, which do
not have to be followed but which may be used as examples of good reasoning. For
example, a decision of a Pennsylvania state court, or even of a federal court sitting in
Maryland, would be only persuasive if the issue relates to Maryland state law. Searching
for persuasive authority can be important if mandatory authority does not exist in a
particular jurisdiction, or if the researcher wishes to look for arguments as to why
existing precedents should be changed.

Secondary

Secondary legal sources are descriptions of, or commentary on, the law. This category
includes law review articles, treatises, Restatements of the Law, legal encyclopedias, and
other similar items. Secondary sources can be used only as persuasive authority.
Moreover, they vary widely in their relative weight as persuasive authority.

Other

Statutes from jurisdictions outside the controlling jurisdiction are neither mandatory nor
persuasive authority. Court decisions of other jurisdictions that are operating under
different statutory frameworks cannot be used as persuasive authority. It is, therefore,
important to determine the statutory framework under which cases in other jurisdictions
have been decided.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATUTORY LAW AND CASE LAW

Legal systems in Great Britain and the United States were originally centered around case
law, or judge-made law. The term common law refers to judge-made law that is found in
judicial opinions. Judges hear cases involving particular parties, then issue decisions
based on available precedent and on their own initiative in the absence of prior decisions.
The notion that a common law existed that reflected the generally accepted values and
practices of a society, and upon which judges drew to decide individual disputes, was
behind this reliance on judge-made law.

The law in some subject areas still consists primarily of common law. In recent years,
however, legislatures and administrative agencies have become much more active in the
law-making process. Present-day legislatures adopt statutes affecting a broad range of
activities. Some of these statutes may preempt earlier court decisions, either as a result of
a deliberate action on the part of a legislature or inadvertently. For example, if the
legislature disagrees with a court interpretation, the legislature can amend an existing

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statute, or enact a new statute, clarifying the particular issue upon which there is
disagreement.

Administrative agencies, created and empowered by statute to carry out mandates, have
also become extremely active in promulgating regulations that carry the force of law.
Most such agencies also have the authority to issue rulings and interpretations of
regulations, and to conduct hearings adjudicating disputes under their jurisdiction.

Under the balance of power inherent in our system, courts can declare statutes and
regulations to be unconstitutional if they exceed constitutional authority or if they conflict
with constitutional provisions. Thus the universe of potential authority for conducting
research on a specific problem has broadened considerably from the days when case law
comprised the bulk of legal authority. Even so, judicial opinions, whether they draw
upon earlier common law precedent or apply or interpret statutes or regulations, are still a
major source of law for the researcher. The complete picture can only be gained by
reading the applicable statutes and regulations in conjunction with relevant cases.

THE UNIVERSE OF CHOICES FOR LEGAL RESEARCH

Legal research has been profoundly affected by the information and technology
explosions of recent years. The universe of legal materials was once fairly small and
contained in a predictable set of sources. Now the sheer volume of potentially applicable
materials, as well as the variety of formats in which they can be accessed, is enormous
and contained in a nearly unlimited set of sources. The number of cases decided by courts
has continued to grow in recent years; the volume of legislation and regulation has
expanded in scope as well as in volume. To complicate matters further, the researcher
also may have many more options as to the format in which to search for or access these
materials; the researcher must therefore learn to evaluate the various formats available for
a given research task.

Factors of cost and time efficiency have assumed great importance for the legal
researcher. In "real world" settings, lawyers have always had to make determinations
about how much research a particular problem is worth. In the current legal marketplace,
clients shop for service much more critically than ever before, and are much less willing
than in the past to pay for unlimited research costs. The researcher's cost-benefit analysis
is complicated by the need to make choices among print and online formats for the same
information. The decision is often not an easy one.

The Lexis system has been available since the mid 1970’s; Westlaw has been widely
available since the early 1980’s; and Bloomberg Law has gained popularity since its
introduction in 2009. All of these electronic research systems offer tremendous
advantages to researchers by offering large databases of both primary authorities and
secondary sources. While these systems have revolutionized traditional methods of
research, they have not replaced the print sources. Although the time involved in using
print materials must be factored against the time spent online, the cost of using the online
systems can be prohibitive in many "real world" situations. Print sources still provide the

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ability to browse and to "happen upon" cases or other sources that may not be found if
the researcher does not think of the terminology contained in those opinions. The
flexibility of print sources may also suggest alternative means of approaching or
analyzing legal issues more readily than the more literal electronic research tools.

The internet plays an increasingly important role in the legal research process.
Particularly in the administrative law arena, internet sites offer extensive agency
materials that are not available elsewhere. In other areas such as case and statutory law,
material on the internet can almost always be found in legal research databases and in
print sources. There is little that is not conveniently available elsewhere. Furthermore,
internet coverage often does not extend very far beyond recent years. Particularly in
legal research, where access to historical materials and access to very current information
are both extremely important, internet researchers must be wary of sites that are not
authoritative and/or are not updated on a regular basis. While researching cases and
statutes on the internet may be a viable alternative if other sources are not available or if
the cost of the online services is too high to consider in a particular situation, the internet
is not yet a source that can be relied upon exclusively for legal research. Accuracy and
currency of internet sites vary greatly.

Often the most effective approach to researching a given problem is to utilize a

combination of electronic and print sources. It is essential in today's research
environment to become adept at using a variety of formats and in making informed
judgments about which formats are most efficient to consult at various stages of the
research process.

THE LEGAL RESEARCH PROCESS

Legal research is not a linear process. The following represent steps that are typically
taken when doing legal research. The order in which the steps are taken may vary
depending on information that is known at the outset of the project, on information that is
discovered during the research process, and on the scope of the project.

Analyze the facts and formulate a preliminary statement of issues.

This is a continuous process. Be prepared to reframe the issue(s) as your research

progresses.

Create a Research Plan

This plan may change or evolve as you work, but it can still provide guidance and a
checklist for complete research. List the tools you intend to use and the initial search
terms you will use. Be prepared to add new terms or searches to the list as you learn
more about your issue.

Conduct background research to get an overview of the subject area, identify issues
and terms, and get clues to primary sources.

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Your research plan should begin with building on what you already know about the
problem. Begin with background reading in secondary sources if you are unfamiliar with
the subject. Determine the appropriate jurisdiction for your legal issue, and determine
whether state or federal law applies. Learn the types of authority involved, i.e. whether
the issues are governed by case law, statutory law, administrative law or a combination.
Identify any “terms of art” specific to this area of law, and read secondary sources to find
additional search terms. Secondary sources will often cite directly to governing statutes
and regulations and cite to key case law, which will be useful starting points for searching
for primary law.

Search for primary law.

Using a variety of tools will ensure comprehensive research and compensate for
difficulties that one may encounter in using particular sources. For the most efficient
primary law research, use citations found in secondary sources to guide you directly to
relevant primary law. For statutes and regulations, use annotated codes or
Shepard’s/KeyCite to find cases that cite the statute or regulation. In cases a) obtain
citations to additional relevant cases cited in the opinion; b) look at case headnotes to find
topics and key numbers to find additional cases on the issue; c) BCite, Shepardize or
KeyCite cases to obtain citations to additional authorities; and d) read the case to discover
possible additional search terms. Always look for pocket parts and other supplements
when using print sources. Note the dates of coverage in all sources consulted.

Read and evaluate all materials as you proceed with your research.

Do not skim secondary sources simply to find pointers to primary law. Instead, read
carefully to fully understand the issue. In many cases, secondary sources will fully
answer your legal research issue, and you will need to search for primary authority only
to make sure that the information learned in your secondary source research is correct and
that the cited legal authorities are still good law.

Never overlook the importance of reading cases and other primary authority. Do not
substitute reading of the headnotes, synopses or interpretations in secondary sources for
your own thoughtful reading of the authorities you find. Look for holdings of cases, not
just broad statements of the law.

Make sure cases are still good law and you have the current version of statutes.

Once you have determined that a case is relevant and/or important, use citation tools to
verify that the case remains good law for your legal issue. Make sure you have checked
all available supplements if using print sources. Look up statutes in electronic form to
check for recent amendments.

Refine analysis and formulate conclusion.

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Do not be frustrated if you return to tools already consulted earlier in the research
process. You may have discovered new relevant terms as you gained a fuller
understanding of the research issues. Returning to secondary sources near the end of a
research project can be helpful. These sources can be easier to understand after you have
read some of the primary authorities.

When should you stop?

Determining when to stop will often be one of your most difficult decisions. Base your
decision on several key considerations. When you have completed the steps in the
model. When you have used a variety of appropriate sources. When you are finding the
same authorities over and over again. When cost exceeds benefit, that is, when you run
out of time.

UNDERSTANDING CITATIONS TO BASIC PRIMARY

AUTHORITIES
The following examples of citations to cases, statutes, and regulations, both federal and
state, can be used as a guide to help you understand and construct citations. Each
example is followed by a brief explanation of its components. All of the abbreviations
are from The Bluebook. The examples of citations to statutes follow the traditional
Bluebook mandate of citing to the print versions of codes. Note that local practice may
vary, particularly in citing to regulations.

Cases – Federal

Thomas v. Chicago Park Dist., 534 U.S. 316 (2002).

Thomas v. Chicago Park Dist. – The parties to the case.
534 – The volume in which the case appears.
U.S. – The United States Reports, the official reporter of the United States
Supreme Court and which reports cases only from the Supreme Court.
316 – The page within volume 534 on which the case begins.
2002 – The year the decision in the case was issued by the court.
Stanton v. Sims, 134 S. Ct. 3 (2013).
S. Ct. – The Supreme Court Reporter, an unofficial reporter published by
West and which reports cases only from the Supreme Court. Until cases
are reported in the advance sheets of the official United States Reports,
currently about four to five years after the decision is issued by the court,
this is the reporter that must be cited.
Booth v. Maryland, 327 F.3d 377 (4th Cir. 2003).
F.3d – The Federal Reporter third series, the unofficial reporter of cases
from the federal Courts of Appeals, the intermediate level appellate courts
within the federal court system.
4th Cir. –The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers the federal
courts within the states of Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Virginia, and West Virginia and is one of the 13 Courts of Appeals.

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Jones v. Sowers, 107 F. App’x 367 (4th Cir. 2004).

F. App’x – Published by West since 2001, “[t]he Federal Appendix
contains cases [from the United States Courts of Appeals] that have not
been selected for publication in the Federal Reporter . . . . [C]onsult local
court rules to determine when and under what circumstances these cases
may be cited.” Opinions designated by the Courts of Appeals as
“unpublished,” “not for publication,” “not recommended for full-text
publication,” “not appropriate for publication,” et cetera are not binding
precedent.
Allen v. Rumsfeld, 273 F. Supp. 2d 695 (D. Md. 2003).
F. Supp. 2d – The Federal Supplement second series, the unofficial
reporter of cases from the federal District Courts, the trial level courts
within the federal court system.
D. Md. – The District Court for the District of Maryland. There is at least
one federal District Court for each state.
Gonzalez v. Hasty, No. 05 Civ. 6076(RMB)(RLE), 2012 BL 447835, 2012 U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 68552, 2012 WL 1711136 (S.D.N.Y. May 11, 2012).
Gonzalez v. Hasty – “[A] case [that] is unreported [in print] but available
on a widely used electronic database . . . .”
No. 05 Civ. 6076(RMB)(RLE) – “[T]he case docket number exactly as it
appears.”
2012 BL 447835, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68552, 2012 WL 1711136 –
Database identifiers “that uniquely identify the case . . . .” Citing to only
one of the databases is often sufficient.
S.D.N.Y. – The District Court for the Southern District of New York.
There are four federal District Courts in New York State.
May 11, 2012 – The “full date of the most recent major disposition of the
case.”

Cases – State

Lema v. Bank of America, 375 Md. 675, 826 A.2d 504 (2003).
Md. – The Maryland Reports, the official reporter of the Maryland Court
of Appeals, the higher of the two Maryland appellate courts. It reports
only cases from the Court of Appeals.
826 A.2d 504 – A parallel cite to the same case as reported in the Atlantic
Reporter second series, one of seven unofficial regional reporters that
publish appellate cases from all the states and the District of Columbia.
The Atlantic Reporter also publishes appellate cases from Connecticut,
Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The seven regional reporters
are the Atlantic (A.), North Eastern (N.E.), North Western (N.W.), Pacific
(P.), South Eastern (S.E.), South Western (S.W.), and Southern (So.).
Zdravkovich v. Siegert, 151 Md. App. 295, 824 A.2d 1051 (2003).

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Md. App. – The Maryland Appellate Reports, the official reporter of the
Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the lower of the two Maryland
appellate courts. It reports only cases from the Court of Special Appeals.
Utsch v. Utsch, 581 S.E.2d 507 (Va. 2003).
S.E.2d – The South Eastern Reporter, which publishes cases from
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia and
is one of the seven regional reporters.
Va. – The Virginia Supreme Court, the higher of the two Virginia
appellate courts and the court that decided this case.
Griffin v. Griffin, 581 S.E.2d 899 (Va. Ct. App. 2003).
Va. Ct. App. – The Virginia Court of Appeals, the lower of the two
Virginia appellate courts and the court that decided this case.

Statutes – Federal

8 U.S.C. § 1154 (2012 & Supp. IV 2016).

8 U.S.C.S. § 1154 (LexisNexis 2008 & Supp. 2017).
8 U.S.C.A. § 1154 (West 2017).
U.S.C., U.S.C.S., and U.S.C.A. – The United States Code (the official
version), the United States Code Service (an unofficial version), and the
United States Code Annotated (an unofficial version), the three print
topical compilations of federal statutes currently in force.
8 – Title 8, titles being the main unit into which the United States Code is
divided. Titles are further divided into chapters and subchapters, although
these are not usually cited.
1154 – The section within Title 8 that is being cited.
LexisNexis and West – The two competing private publishers of the code.
This must be noted as these are not the official version of the code.
2012, 2008, and 2017 – The years the main volumes, containing part or all
of the language being cited, were published.
Supp. IV 2016 and Supp. 2017 – The years the most recent supplements,
containing additional, newer language also being cited, were published.

Statutes – State

Md. Code Ann., Crim. Proc. § 6-217 (LexisNexis Supp. 2017).

Md. Code Ann., Crim. Proc. § 6-217 (West 2011).
Md. Code Ann. – The Annotated Code of Maryland.
Crim. Proc. – The Criminal Procedure article, articles being the main unit
into which the Annotated Code of Maryland is divided.
6 – Title 6, titles being the main unit into which articles are divided.
LexisNexis and West – The two competing private publishers of the code.
The publisher must be included according to the example in the Bluebook.
You may cite to either version of the code.
Supp. 2017 – The year the pocket part supplement, containing all of the
language being cited, was published.

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2011 – The year the main volume, containing all of the language being
cited, was published.
Va. Code Ann. § 32.1-111.4 (2015).
Va. Code Ann. – The Code of Virginia 1950 Annotated.
32.1 – Title 32.1, titles being the main unit into which the Code of
Virginia 1950 Annotated is divided. Titles are further divided into
chapters and articles, although these are not usually cited.
111.4 – The section within Title 32.1 that is being cited.
The private publisher of this version of the code is LexisNexis. This is not
included according to the example in the Bluebook. If you were citing to
the West version, which is disfavored, you would have to include the
publisher.
2015 – The year the main volume, containing all of the language being
cited, was published.

Regulations – Federal

9 C.F.R. pt. 91 (2017).

9 C.F.R. § 91.1 (2017).
C.F.R. – The Code of Federal Regulations, the official topical compilation
of federal regulations currently in force.
9 – Title 9, titles being the main unit into which the Code of Federal
Regulations is divided. Titles are further divided into chapters and
subchapters, although these are not usually cited.
pt. 91 – Part 91, parts being the main unit into which titles are divided.
§ 91.1 – Section 91.1, sections being the main unit into which parts are
divided.
Citation may be to either the part level or the section level, depending
upon how specific the citation is.
2017 – The year of the most recent update of this title.
81 Fed. Reg. 2980 (Jan. 20, 2016).
Fed. Reg. – The Federal Register, the official administrative register of the
United States.
81 – The volume being cited.
2980 – The page within the volume.
Jan. 20, 2016 – The date of the issue in which the citation appears.

Regulations – State

Md. Code Regs. [Link] (2017).

Md. Code Regs. – The Code of Maryland Regulations, or COMAR as it is
popularly known, the official topical compilation of Maryland regulations
currently in force.
08 – Title
03 – Subtitle
11 – Chapter

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05 – Regulation
2017 – The year of the most recent update of this title as noted in the
effective date of the table of contents of each title.
43 Md. Reg. 1071 (Sept. 16, 2016).
Md. Reg. – The Maryland Register, the official administrative register of
Maryland.
43 – The volume being cited.
1071- The page within the volume.
Sept. 16, 2016 – The date of the issue in which the citation appears.

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