Updated March 22, 2006.

Problem

Is your case or statute still good law?

• Has a Ninth Circuit case been reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court?
• Has a law from the Revised Code of Washington been declared unconstitutional by the Washington Supreme Court? 
• Has a Washington Supreme Court case been overruled in a later decision?
• Have later cases modified or limited the precedential value of a case on which you are relying?

Solution

    Use KeyCite to determine the history and status of U.S. and state court cases and statutes.

KeyCite is an online citator, similar to Shepard's. Type in a legal citation (such as 120 S.Ct. 2054; 87 Wash.App. 131; or 42 U.S.C. 1983) and KeyCite will display a history of the case and later cases and other sources that cite to that case.

KeyCite searches citations only. You cannot search by case name, popular names of acts, subjects, or keywords.

Availability

KeyCite is available to Westlaw subscribers. The Law Library subscribes to KeyCite for patrons who come to the Library. When using KeyCite at the Library, you will see a Westlaw screen, but the KeyCite subscription does not include access to the rest of Westlaw. For more about access to Westlaw and other online legal research services, see CALR Access by UW Law Students, Faculty, Staff, and Librarians.

The Library has a single-use password, meaning that only one user at a time may conduct a search. If you receive an error message while attempting to access KeyCite, it means that someone else is currently using the service.

To access KeyCite, ask the Reference librarian on duty to sign you in. If the Reference librarian is unavailable, ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk.

When you have finished searching KeyCite, you must sign off. Click on the Sign Off button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Failure to sign off will prevent other users from using KeyCite.

If you cannot come to the Gallagher Law Library to search KeyCite and are willing to pay to use the service, visit the Westlaw by Credit Card page, http://creditcard.westlaw.com/welcome/frameless/default.wl. Westlaw currently charges $4.25 per KeyCite search and $12 for each retrieved document. Prices are subject to change without notice.

More Information

To learn more about KeyCite, ask a reference librarian or see the following sources:

• KeyCite homepage, http://west.thomson.com/store/product.asp?product%5Fid=KeyCite&catalog%5Fname=wgstore
• KeyCite Product Tour, http://www.westlaw.com/Tours/keycite/ 
• Guide to KeyCite flags, stars, and other symbols, http://west.thomson.com/store/product.asp?product%5Fid=keycite+symbols&catalog%5Fname=wgstore

Other Citators

The Law Library subscribes to print volumes of selected Shepard's citator series, including:

• Code of Federal Regulations Citations, KF78 .S54
• Federal Citations, KF105 .F433 (covering decisions from the Federal Reporter and the Federal Supplement)
• Federal Statute Citations, KF63 .S57 (covering the U.S. Code)
• United States Citations, KF101.1 .L383 (covering decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court in the U.S. Reports, Supreme Court Reporter, and Lawyer's Edition)
• Washington Citations, KFW45 .A222 (covering Washington State statutes and cases)

For a complete list of Shepard's citators found in the Library's Reference Area, browse the titles in this catalog list. Some Shepard's series are no longer kept up-to-date. Always check the publication date of the print citator you are using.