Legal Research Chapter 1-3

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 egal Research by Rufus Rodriguez  notes by: Iris Valeriano 09168649597

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- Finding appropriate secondary materials is most often

accomplished through the use of law library catalogues, legal

periodical indexes, and other bibliographic aids

- Frequently provide citations to persuasive treaties and law

review articles

3. Finding Tools - provides access to primary sources 

-  Ex: SCRA Quick Index-Digest, PHILJURIS and LEX LIBRIS (computer

assisted legal research)

 Legal Research chapter 2

I.  Four Basic Steps to a Systematic Approach in Legal Research

1. Identify and Analyze Significant Factsa.  TARP Rule is a useful techinique to analyze your facts according to the following

factors 

Thing or subject matter – controversy or problem may be a significant element

Cause of  Action or group defense –claim

R elief sought

Parties of persons- may be an individual or a group that is significant to the solution

of the problem or the outcome of a lawsuit (also relationship)  

2.  Formulate the Legal Issues to be Researched

-  Goal is to classify or categorize the problem in general, and

increasingly specific, subject areas to begin to hypothesize legal

issues 

-  Needs consultation of general secondary sources for an overview of

all relevant subject areas. Secondary sources are used to provide

background information and help you formulate issues. They are

tools, not objects of research. 

-  Once statements of issues have been drafted, they should be

arranged in a logical pattern to form an outline. Logically related

issues may be combined as sub-issues under a broader main issue 

3.  Research Issue Presented

a.  Organize and Plan.

b.  Identify, Read and Update All Relevant Constitutional Provisions, Statutes

and Administrative Regulations through statutory compilations, computer- 

assisted legal research, and secondary sources  

c.  Identify, Read, and Update All Relevant Case Law

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d.  Refine the Search and expand your argument by using sources that could support

it 

4.  Update-consult Philjuris or Lex Libris to determine whether the authorities have been

interpreted or altered in any way, or whether new cases, statutes or regulations have

been published 

 Legal Research chapter 3

I.  Case Briefing (Typical Components)

1.  Facts – describe events between parties leading to litigation (to make something the

subject of a lawsuit) and tell how the case came before the court that is now

deciding it

- Other elements: a. plaintiff (suer) and the defendant (sued) are

b.  Plaintiff’s suit and the relief plaintiff is seeking 

c.  Include Regional Trial Court on the case and whether the

Court of Appeals affirmed or reversed the decision 2.  Issue(s)- query the court must decide to resolve the dispute between parties in the

case before it. To find this, you have to identify the rule of law that governs

the dispute and ask how it should apply to those facts. 

3.  Ruling- court’s decision on the question that is actually before it. Ruling or holding  

provides the answer to the question asked in the issue statement

II.  Synthesizing Cases

In cases in which your research for a problem turns up many cases relevant to

the problem, you must relate the cases to each other, that is synthesize them. In that way,

you can understand the applicable area of law and then use the synthesis to analyze yourproblem.

The courts will frequently have done some synthesis for you. Often, in reading

cases, you will see definitions of a claim for relief or statements followed by a string of

citations. Usually, these definitions or statements have evolved as courts have put together

the decisions of many related cases. The judges who have formulated those definitions or

statements have worked inductively. They have analyzed the outcome of each case and

then combined those separate analyses into a coherent whole to form general principles

about the area of the law. These general principles are then expressed at a level ofabstraction that encompasses the particular holdings of all the individual cases.

Synthesizing is the step between your research and your writing. You do

research by reading one case at a time. If in your writing you merely report each case, one

at a time, then you have compiled a list of case briefs, but you have not analyzed your

topic.