Updated Sept. 2, 2009.
Prepared by Peggy Roebuck Jarrett & Jonathan Franklin for 2002 Bridge the Legal Research Gap.
Updated & revised by Cheryl Nyberg for 2006 Bridge the Legal Research Gap.
Links to LexisNexis and Westlaw require user passwords or IDs. Links to Hein Online are UW Restricted.
| Abbreviations & acronyms |
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| What does that word mean? |
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| Starting a research project? |
Consult a research guide
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| Need an exhaustive treatment? |
Try a a major, multi-volume treatise
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| Starting a Washington-specific research project? |
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| Got a specific fact pattern? |
- American Law Reports (ALR) annotations can be gold mines of information. Especially useful for a review of caselaw across jurisdictions relative to a specific fact situation. LexisNexis: 2NDARY;LEDALR
- Causes of Action 2d is a great source for tort-based actions, with sample pleadings, leading cases & practice tips. Westlaw COA
- Recent law review articles summarize areas of the law & footnotes lead to sources for additional research
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| Looking for a law review article? |
- Use a periodical index such as LegalTrac instead of or in addition to searching full-text law review articles on LexisNexis & Westlaw
- LegalTrac indexes by subject, so you will find articles that lack the keywords you used in a full-text search
- LegalTrac coverage begins with 1980 (longer time span than most law reviews available in full text on LexisNexis & Westlaw)
- LegalTrac searches will yield fewer but more relevant lists of articles
- LegalTrac database available on LexisNexis: LEXREF;LGLIND & Westlaw: LRI as the Legal Resource Index (LRI)
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| Looking for older law review articles? |
- Use the Index to Legal Periodicals (indexes articles published before 1980).
- Check
Hein Online for PDF versions of older law reviews, including the Columbia Law Review (1901- ), Harvard Law Review (1887- ), Michigan Law Review (1902- ) & Washington Law Review (1925- )
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| Sample forms save time |
- General forms
- Washington forms
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| Need factual information? |
Contact the public library!
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| Constitutions annotated |
- Federal: first volumes of USCA & USCS
- Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and
Interpretation.
GPO Access
- Washington: first volumes of RCWA & ARCW
- Both: LexisNexis & Westlaw
|
| Start your research with statutes |
- Can yield a quicker answer
- Cases are often based on statutory interpretation
- Annotated codes are a great way to find relevant cases & law
review articles quickly
- Gallagher legal research guide: Statutory
Research Checklist
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| Statutes are often easier to use in print
than online |
- They have a hierarchical structure
- It is easy to browse adjacent sections
- The page layout provides context, emphasizing important sections
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| Update! |
- Check cover or title page to determine how current the volume is
- Consult the pocket part or other supplement
- Look for the legislative service or the session laws (U.S.
Statutes at Large or Laws of Washington)
- Go to legislative websites for latest action.
- Do not assume online sources (LexisNexis or Westlaw) are more
current than print! Look for date of currency
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| Popular names of legislation |
- Washington: Tables in RCW & RCWA
- Federal: Tables in USC, USCS & USCA. Plus Shepard's Acts and
Cases by Popular Name
- Popular Names of
Acts in the US Code, from Cornell Law School
- Run a search in an electronic database of law reviews (this can be
expensive!)
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| Effective dates of legislation |
- Washington: 90 days after adjournment of the legislative session,
unless the bill has a specified effective date or emergency clause.
Refer to Laws of Washington, RCWA tables volume & RCWA
pocket parts for dates of adjournment and 90 days after
- Federal: the date the bill is signed into law by the President,
unless the bill has a specified effective date
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| Need to convert a session law or public law
reference to a current statutory citation? |
Use the tables volumes.
- Codification tables
- Session law to code section.
- Previous code (Remington's Revised Statutes) to current
code (RCW)
- Disposition tables of former code sections
- Commercial sets (USCA, RCWA) provide more extensive tables
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| Federal statutes |
- USC = United States Code (official, but not timely). Used
primarily for citation purposes, not for research.
GPO Access
- USCA = United States Code Annotated (unofficial; includes
references to cases). Westlaw:
USCA
- USCS = United States Code Service (unofficial; includes
references to cases). LexisNexis: GENFED;USCS
- Update USCA & USCS using pocket parts & supplements, or online
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| Washington statutes |
- RCW = Revised Code of Washington (official).
LegalWA
- RCWA = Revised Code of Washington Annotated (unofficial;
includes references to cases). Westlaw:
WA-ST-ANN
- ARCW = Annotated Revised Code of Washington (unofficial;
includes references to cases). LexisNexis: WASH;CODE
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| Federal regulations |
- CFR = Code of Federal Regulations
- FR or Fed. Reg. = Federal Register. Published daily;
updates the CFR
- LSA = List of CFR Sections Affected. Use the LSA to find FR
updates to specific CFR sections
- Proposed & final regs in the Federal Register often include
have preambles with useful background information
- Gallagher legal research guide: U.S.
Administrative Law Research
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| Washington regulations |
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| Comparing 50 states' laws? |
See if someone has done the work already!
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| Internet sites for statutes & regulations |
Gallagher's Internet Legal
Resources |
| Federal legislative histories |
Look for shortcuts!
|
| Congressional Record |
Two editions
- Daily edition (softbound, newsprint)
- Page numbers are alphanumeric, starting with the letter S
(Senate), H (House), or E (extension of remarks)
- All online versions of the Congressional Record are the
daily edition
- Permanent edition (hardbound).
- Page numbers are strictly numeric
- Publication of the permanent edition is many years behind
- Bluebook requires citation to the permanent edition
- Tips
- No correlation between the page numbers in daily & permanent
editions
- If you have a cite to the daily & need the page number in the
permanent edition, use the indexes or the Daily Digest to find a
date. Then browse
- Members of Congress may alter text
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| Understand the abbreviations |
- H.R. = House of Representatives bill. For example, H.R. 1157.
- H.R. Rep. = House of Representatives committee report. For
example, H.R. Rep. No. 107-95.
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| Washington legislative histories |
|
| Starting with a single case |
- Use West key numbers
- Use KeyCite or Shepard's to expand your research to other cases
(in the same or other jurisdictions) & to find secondary sources
- Check ALR's table of cases
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| Stuck on case research? |
- Look at the major cases cited in your best case
- KeyCite or Shepardize those earlier cases to find cases that might
be related
- Go back to a secondary source
|
| Resist the temptation to copy every case
you find |
Save time & money by pulling those cases off the shelf, reading them
& copying (or printing) only the most relevant |
| Abbreviations |
- BR = Bankruptcy Reporter
- FRD = Federal Rules Decisions
- When in doubt, check Bieber’s or the Bluebook
- Gallagher research guide: Reporters &
Digests
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| Case updating best done online |
- To get more up-to-date results in less time, use KeyCite or
Shepard’s online
- Just before you hand in the project, update again to make sure
nothing has changed
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| Administrative agency decisions |
- LexisNexis & Westlaw databases
- Internet sources
- Consult major looseleaf services & corresponding online databases:
banking, environment, labor, securities, tax, etc.
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| Court rules, Washington State |
- RPC = Rules of Professional Conduct
- ER = Rules of Evidence
- RAP = Rules of Appellate Procedure
- CR = Superior Court Civil Rules
- CrR = Superior Court Criminal Rules
- CRLJ = Civil Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
- CrRLJ = Criminal Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
- Find the text in Washington Court Rules – State
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| Court rules, Washington local |
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| Court rules, Washington annotated |
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| Child support schedule & worksheets,
Washington |
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| Ethics opinions |
Gallagher legal research guide: Washington
State Ethics Opinions covers attorneys, judges, legislators & public employees |
| Jury instructions |
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| Jury verdicts |
Gallagher legal research guide: Jury
Verdicts, Settlements, Judgments, and Liens |
| Judicial biographies |
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| Interest rate, Washington maximum allowable |
Printed inside the cover of each
Washington State Register
issue |
| First time using a new source? |
- Review "how to use" section
- Browse table of contents & index
- Check publication date & supplementation to determine how much
updating you will need to do
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| Looseleaf services |
- Page numbers & paragraph numbers are different
- Indexes & finding lists refer to paragraph numbers, not page
numbers
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| Citations |
- Check section T (the blue pages) of The Bluebook for lists
of reporters, statutory codes & administrative codes for all the
states (with abbreviations) & many foreign jurisdictions
- Reporter of Decisions
Style Sheet covers additions & exceptions to The Bluebook
required by the Washington Courts.
- Search full-text law review articles to find proper citation
formats when The Bluebook fails you. Beware: This can be an
expensive option!
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| Keep a paper trail |
- Keep print copies of searches run
- If you find something on the Internet, always print or download a
copy
- Log sources you have already checked to avoid going back to them
for the same thing
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| CALR tips |
- Smaller databases are cheaper
- Smaller sets of search results save you time & minimize the number
of irrelevant hits
- Use Get or Find feature to efficiently retrieve known items
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| Use the system as a citator |
When you need to verify the status of an administrative decision or
some other legal authority not included in Shepard's or Keycite. |
| When is it OK to stop? |
When the same cases & statutes repeatedly appear. |
