Training presentation for inexperience paralegals on how to find cases in both the federal and New York jurisdictions.

1. Legal Research for the Legal
Assistant:
Basic Methods of Finding Cases
(Federal & New York)
Janice E. Henderson, Esq., M.L.S.

2. Case Research
 Federal & State Court Systems
 Trial Courts
 Appellate Courts
 Courts of Last Resort
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3. Federal Court System
 Trial Court:
U.S. District Court
 Appellate Court:
Court of Appeals
 Court of Last Resort:
U.S. Supreme Court
3

4. Federal Court System
U.S. District Courts
Comprises:
 94 Judicial Courts
◦ Ex. New York has 4 District Courts
 U.S. Bankruptcy Courts
 U.S. Court of International Trade
 U.S. Court of Federal Claims
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5. New York District Courts
 Southern District covers the Counties of Bronx,
New York, Dutchess, Westchester, Orange,
Putnam, Rockland and Sullivan.
 Eastern District covers the Counties of Kings,
Queens, Richmond, Nassau & Suffolk.
 Northern District covers the Counties of Albany,
Schenectady, etc.
 Western District covers the Counties of Allegany,
Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, etc.
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6. Courts of Appeals
 Comprises 13 Circuits
 Second Circuit includes:
◦ Connecticut
◦ New York
◦ Vermont
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7. 7

8. Federal Court System
U.S. Supreme Court
State Courts of
Last Resort
Court of Appeals
for the
Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of
Appeals
Court of Appeals
for the Armed Forces
Court of
Federal Claims
U.S. Court of
International Trade
U.S. Court of
Veterans Appeals
U.S. District
Courts
Tax Court
Administrative Agencies:
Federal Trade Commission
Nat’l Labor Relations Board
etc.
Appellate
Courts
Trial
Courts
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9. Federal Case Reporters
District Court Cases
 Federal Supplement (F. Supp.)
 Federal Supplement 2d (F. Supp. 2d)
Court of Appeals Cases
 Federal Reporter (F.)
 Federal Reporter 2d (F.2d)
 Federal Reporter 3rd (F.3d)
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10. Federal Case Reporters
U.S. Supreme Court Cases
 U.S. Reports (U.S.)
 Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.)
 Lawyers Ed. (L. Ed.)
 Lawyers Ed. 2d (L. Ed. 2d)
 U.S. Law Week (U.S.L.W.)
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11. New York Court System
 Trial Court:
Supreme Court
 Appellate Court:
Appellate Division
 Court of Last Resort:
Court of Appeals
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12. New York Court System
Court of Appeals
Civil
Criminal
Non-Felonies in 2nd
Dept.
Civil, felonies, all 3rd& 4th
Dept. cases
3rd& 4th Depts.
2nd
Dept.
Appellate Division of
Supreme Court (4)
Appellate Terms of
Supreme Court (3)
Supreme Court (12) County Court (57)
Family
Court (58)
Surrogate’s
Court (62)
City Court (61)
Town & Village
Justice Court
(1,487)
Court of
Claims
District
Court (12)
Civil Court of
the City of N.Y.
Criminal
Court of the
City of New York
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13. New York Case Reporters
Supreme Court Cases
Official Reporter:
 Miscellaneous Reporter (Misc.)
 Miscellaneous Reporter 2d (Misc. 2d)
Unofficial Reporter:
 New York Supplement (N.Y.S.)
 New York Supplement 2d (N.Y.S.2d)
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14. New York Case Reporters
Appellate Division Cases
Official Reporter:
 Appellate Division Reporter (A.D.)
 Appellate Division Reporter 2d
(A.D.2d)
Unofficial Reporter:
 New York Supplement (N.Y.S.)
 New York Supplement 2d (N.Y.S.2d)
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15. New York Case Reporters
Court of Appeals Cases
 New York Reports (N.Y.)
 New York Reports 2d (N.Y.2d)
 North Eastern Reporter (N.E.) (unofficial
reporter)
 North Eastern Reporter 2d (N.E.2d)
 New York Supplement (N.Y.S.)
 New York Supplement 2d (N.Y.S.2d)
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16. West Digest System
A digest, first published in 1848, is a
multivolume index to the law. It
consists of major topic headings,
thousands of subheadings, and short
summaries (commonly referred to as
headnotes) of legal propositions
stated in published court cases.
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17. 17

18. West Digest System
Digest Topics by Specialty
Note: Under these main headings West editors indexes the cases.
There are 7 main topics:
Persons
Property
Contracts
Torts
Crimes
Remedies
Government
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19. How to Use the Digest
 Table of Cases
 Descriptive-Word Index
 Topic Analysis
 Words and Phrases
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20. West Digest System
Digest Topics by Specialty
 It is prudent to begin your search by
using the general index at the end of the
set. The reason for this is because a
topic can be discussed under different
main or sub-topics throughout the set.
Unless you are quite familiar with the
topic, you may miss an important
discussion of your issue.
 Let’s look at Commercial Law as an
example of where it is discussed in the
digest. 20

21. West Digest System
Digest Topics by Specialty
Example of Finding Commercial Law in the Digest
under different subject headings.
Commercial Law
 38 Assignments
 51 Bankruptcy
 52 Banks and Banking
 56 Bills and Notes
 70 Carriers
 76 Chattel Mortgages
 92b Consumer Credit
 92h Consumer Protection
 95 Contracts
 117t Debtor and Creditor
 186 Fraudulent Conveyances
 219 Interest
 278 Novation
 294 Payment
 343 Sales
 349a Secured Transactions
 382 Trade Regulation
 403 Warehouse
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22. West Digest System
Table of Cases
 To find when a case is discussed in
the digest, search by name of the
case in the Table of Cases.
 For example: In re Vienna Park
Properties v. United Postal Savings
Association, 976 F.2d 106.
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23. How to Use the Digest
Table of Cases
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24. How to Use the Digest
Descriptive-Word Index
Research Issue:
What if you were interested in finding out if
creditors have to file a financing statement
(UCC Form) in order to perfect a security
interest in the rents a debtor collects from
his rental property?
To start search the Descriptive-Word Index
for the word: Perfection. Then go the
designated volume.
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25. How to Use the Digest
Descriptive-Word Index
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26. How to Use the Digest
Secured Transactions Index
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27. How to Use the Digest
Topic Analysis
At the beginning of each topic in a volume,
there is a detailed analysis for that topic.
Start
your research here if you have complete
familiarity with the topic. You’ll also find
here
what subjects are included or excluded in
the
topic.
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28. How to Use the Digest
Topic Analysis
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29. Other Sources of Finding
Case Law
 Legal Encyclopedias
◦ American Jurisprudence, Corpus Juris
Secundum, New York Jurisprudence, etc.
 Loose-leaf Services
 Treatises
 Law Reviews, Practitioners Journals &
Newsletters
 Annotated Statute
◦ U.S. Code Annotated, U.S. Code Service,
McKinney’s Consolidated Laws of N.Y.,
etc. 29

30. Case Opinion Outline
There are several sections of an
opinion:
 Title
 Docket Number
 Decision Date
 Case Synopsis
 Headnotes – only with West Reporters
 Opinion
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32. Shepard’s / Keysite
Research Tips
Why Use a Citation Service?
 A citation service
◦ will tell you the status of the case by
answering if the case has been overruled,
etc.
◦ will also tell you what other cases has
cited the case.
◦ will also give you a list of publications (law
review articles, treatises) that discusses
the case.
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33. Shepard’s / Keysite
Research Tips
What is the importance of
Parallel Citations?
 Parallel citations are other reporters
that have the case opinions. There
may be official or unofficial reporters
for state cases. Not every state has
both. New York is a jurisdiction that
does for each court level.
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34. Shepard’s / Keysite
Research Tips
How do you use West’s headnotes when
Shepardizing or Keysiting?
 Select the headnotes that discusses the issue(s)
you are interested in.
 The headnotes includes the topic number and
key number (issue number) in the West Digest
System.
 You can use the topic & key number in any
digest. This system is universal. For instance, if
you want to find federal cases and state cases,
you’ll find the same types of cases in each
digest.
 Example of a digest topic & key number:
◦ Secured Transactions 183 or for Westlaw 349a 34

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36. Shepard’s / Keysite
Research Tips
What other services does a
citation service provide?
 Following are examples from Keycite
and Shepard’s on how a citation service
will tell you what other cases have cited
or followed the case you’re interested in.
 The service will tell you in what headnote
your case is cited in.
 Shepard’s on Lexis, like West with
Keycite, includes Lexis’ own headnote
system.
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37. Reading Headnotes
KeyCite
22. Cited by:
Indian Motorcycle Associates III Ltd. Partnership v.
Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, 66 F.3d
1246, 1254, 27 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 1230, 1230, Bankr. L.
Rep. P 76,672, 76672 (1st Cir. (Mass.) Oct 02,
1995) (NO. 94-2233) HN: 5 (F.2d)
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38. Reading Headnotes
Shepard’s
2ND CIRCUIT - U.S. DISTRICT COURTS
17.Followed by:
Marine Midland Bank v. Breeden (In re Bennett
Funding Group, Inc.), 255 B.R. 616, 2000 U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 17783, 43 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d
(CBC) 727 (N.D.N.Y. 2000)
LexisNexis Headnotes HN19
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39. Purpose of
Shepardizing / KeyCite
 To find out the history of the case.
 To extend your research to find other
cases.
 To find secondary sources to further
your research.
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40. The End
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