1. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Legal Research

2. SOURCES IN LEGAL RESEARCH:
Primary sources are legally binding rather than merely
descriptive. These sources include:
• Statutes (also known as codes)
• Printed opinions (case law)
• Administrative law
Secondary and non-legal sources should meet the criteria of
having persuasive authority and provide well-reasoned
statements of the law. These sources include:
• Treatises
• Legal periodicals
• Other textual treatments of the law

3. HOW TO READ LEGAL CITATIONS
Legal sources have different ways of citing materials, but
understanding symbols and the general way in which a legal citation is
set up is helpful.
United States Code Service
The United States Code Service uses Titles to designate various volumes.
Title 22 USCS § 2222-ee
Volume
Chapter or Section
Section Number

4. North Carolina General Statutes
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25-3-201
N.C. General Statutes
Chapter or Section
Section Number
Legal Encyclopedias
Banks § 264
Volume
Chapter or Section
Section Number

5. CASE LAW CITATIONS
Murray v. United States, 108 S.Ct. 2529 (1988)
Date the case
Murray is the APPELLANT.* was decided.
Volume
The United States is the
Page Number
APPELLEE.**
Supreme Court Reporter
*The Appellant is also known as the Petitioner and these terms can be used
interchangeably.
**The Appellee is also known as the Respondent and these terms can also
be used interchangeably.

6. ELEMENTS OF A DECISION
1. The Caption:
MURRAY v. U.S.
Cite as 108 S.Ct. 2529 (1988)
Michael F. MURRAY, Petitioner,
v.
UNITED STATES
Argued Dec. 8, 1987.
Decided June 27, 1988.

7. 2. Syllabus:
• The syllabus is not an official part of the opinion; however, it is often
useful in determining the issue of a case.
• The issue is the legal question that the court is attempting to answer.
• The issue is sometimes presented as a “whether statement” and usually
located at the very beginning of the opinion.
Defendants were convicted in the United States District Court for the District of
Massachusetts, Walter Jay Skinner, J., on charges arising out of conspiracy to
possess and distribute illegal drugs, and they appealed. The Court of Appeals, for the
First Circuit, 771 F.2d 589, affirmed. The Supreme Court, 476 U.S. 1138, 106 S.Ct.
2241, 90 L.Ed.2d 688, vacated and remanded for reconsideration, and upon remand,
the Court of Appeal, 803 F.2d 20, affirmed, and defendants’ petitions for certiorari
were granted and consolidated. The Supreme Court, Justice Scalia, held that to
determine whether marijuana observed in plain view at time of unlawful entry
and later seized during subsequent search pursuant to warrant was admissible
under independent source doctrine, remand was required to determine whether
government agents would have sought warrant if they had not earlier enter
warehouse.

8. 3. The Opinion
• The opinion is the rationale the Court uses in
answering the issue (the legal question).
• The opinion makes up the bulk of the case and will
cite other statutory and case law in support of the
Justices’ argument and decision.

9. 4. The Holding
Remand – The Court sends the case back to the
same court out of which it came with instructions
on what further action(s) should be taken.
Vacate, or Reverse – The Court vacates or
reverses the lower court’s ruling entirely.
Affirms – The Court agrees with the previous
court’s decision.

10. 5. Concurring and Dissenting Opinions
• A concurring opinion means the Justices agreed with the result
reached by the majority, but don’t agree with the reasoning used to
reach that result, or they disagree with opinion of the majority.
• Following the majority opinion and any concurrences, there may be
one or more dissenting opinions. These are views held by
Justices who did not agree with the majority decision.
• Justices sometimes concur in part and dissent in part. It is
important to read the entire case in order to understand the
rationales for the concurrences and the dissents.

11. For more information on how to write a brief, see
the sample brief and other resources located in
the Criminal Justice Guides and Tutorials at the
James Library.