Introduction to legal research

The ProcessSecondary Sources: sources of information that describe or interpret the law cited by lawyers to persuade a court to reach a particular decision in a case, but which the court is not obligated to follow.Step 1: Start with a secondary source in order to: learn from legal experts get most important authority read important background information Primary sources: a document that establishes the law on a particular issue such as a case decision or legislative act.Step 2: Use Primary SourcesWhy? --- Because it is authoritative, precedent, and controllingShepardizing: the process of consulting Shepard's to see if a case has been overturned, reaffirmed, questioned, or cited by later cases.Step 3: ShepardizingYou can't use reversed or overruled authorityStep 4: Rinse and RepeatMust keep your research up-to-date with the current law.

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