Law changes everyday, constantly from city ordinances to the U.S. Supreme Court, research must be appropriate, relevant and up to date.
- Legal issue- the point in dispute between two or more parties in a lawsuit
- Identify the pertinent facts in the case at hand
- Use the TAPP rule Thing-Act-Person-Place
- Find the law applicable to the legal issue
- Analyze the law as it relates to the legal issue and fact of the case at hand.
- Communicate the findings of the research and analysis and put on paper
- The scope of research should be:
The law itself first
Step by Step Guide on How to do Legal Research
There are multiple ways to find the Laws you need for a particular area of law. Below gives you options and opens your mind to all the good information that is out there to help you retrieve research material. So you may find duplicate information but it will inform you on the various sites available to use.
State Law Resources , This is a link to Your States Laws & Legal resources available
Federal Law Resources
You’ll find ways to search or browse the three main sources of Federal Law
- The U.S. Constitution
- The U.S. Code
- The Federal Regualtion
- Click Here
The various forms such as Statutes, cases, regulations and like is public property free to be looked at by anyone, Cases however have to be found in law library books, or online at Lexis, and Westlaw. You can go to a Public Law Library in your area or if not available here are some suggestions.
* One Suggestion is to find a paralegal or an attorney who would be willing to help you and do just the legal research of an issue. Look on Craigs list under services, then legal tab, Call a few and just ask for the research of a particular area of law, or a Case law.
The Constitution is the fundamental law
The legislature enacts statutes, the executive branch issues executive orders, the court decides cases, and Administrative agencies regulate special areas of the law.
These Acts ,Constitution, statutes, executive orders, court decisions, and administrative regulations – Are known as primary authority The Law itself
Everything else is secondary authority that includes legal encyclopedias, law review articles, newspaper polls, judges opinions, and policies.
Judge a book by its cover. Read the forward or preface, it should indicate what is and what is not in their books.
How to find a public law library in your state
Depending on the population of your area, and the State that you live in you may not have a law library close by , check your local college, court house or local library they will be able to direct you to one nearest you.
- Gather the facts, and then analyze them
- Identify the legal issue, and the relative importance; come up with terms you will use in computer word searches
TAPP rule Thing-Act-Person-Place
- Select sovereign – Federal or State
- Search statutory authority in the sovereign as mentioned above Federal statutes, & State statutes if State which States laws and Constitution should you be looking at ?
NOTE * Search Statutes first they are the law itself
Go to your local States website or the one provided above click here here you can read the statutes of your State.
- Search mandatory case authority, cases heard by the courts in your state.
- Search persuasive case authority, area out of your State, but in your courts of appeals or district courts. See map Click Here
One goal of the legal research is to find persons in like circumstances, to find a case like yours, where the person like you won. That is the strongest argument you can make to a judge.
Cases are important because they can interpret statutes
find as many cases as you can, 3 cases and a Land mark case– the first significant case on a particular issue, case of first impression – A leading case – look for a case opinion written by a judge laying out all the precedent on your issue pros & cons. And the local case– the most recent case from your local jurisdiction ( remember the map above shows all the states in your jurisdiction) this is a case that was decided in your favor ( a case most like yours) . Last look for law cases in other jurisdictions and sovereigns.
After following this road map, you should now envision a path to take you on your legal research journey.
Legal Research and Writting for Paralegals
Legal Research
Nolo’s books are written by attorneys for everyday folks to understand
Legal Research in a Nutshell
This book is used by the legal profession every day, easy to read and understand, published by the top legal publisher
Law 101 Everything You Need to Know About The American Legal System
found on the resource link for the American Bar Association offered to Attorneys
