Judicial Branch Publications

Peggy Roebuck Jarrett, guest lecturer

http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/judbranch.html

Sources of Primary Law

Statutes passed by legislative bodies Regulations promulgated by

administrative agencies Case law created by judges Constitutions

Case Law: Why

U.S. is a common law country An evolving body of doctrine

Case Law: What

Primary law Created by judges in the course of

resolving disputes The written resolution of the issues The words “case,” “opinion,” and

“decision” are often used interchangeably

Not a jury verdict

Publication of Opinions

Only opinions of precedential value are published in reporters Precedent allows similarly situated

people to be treated the same Published v. unpublished matters, not

official v. unofficial Some courts allow citations to

unpublished opinions in briefs

Publication of Opinions

United States Reports only major reporter in Federal Depository Library Program

Lower federal court and state appellate opinions are commercially published

Some states have official reporters Opinions in commercial reporters are

primary law

Opinions and the Court System

A generic court system consists of trial courts intermediate appellate courts the appellate court of last resort

Specialized courts Courts of limited jurisdiction

Opinions and the Court System

Where do reported cases come from? State: appellate courts Federal: appellate plus some trial courts

In a jury trial, there is nothing to “report” except a verdict

Court Systems

Washington State Courts Federal Courts

Home Federal Court Locator U.S. Court Locator

Washington State Courts

Supreme Court Court of Appeals

3 divisions Superior Courts

by county Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

The Federal Court System

U.S. Supreme Court U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals

Washington State is in the 9th Circuit U.S. District Courts

Western and Eastern District of Washington

Bankruptcy handled by special district courts

Specialized Federal Courts

U.S. Court of Federal Claims handles claims against the federal government

Court of International Trade deals with international trade and customs

U.S. Tax Court U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed F

orces U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Cl

aims

How to Find Case Law

Use Internet Legal Resources to find free sites

Use a commercial database, such as LexisNexis Academic (UW restricted)

Use an annotated code Use secondary sources

How to Find Case Law

Update, update, update Reversed or overruled opinions are not

deleted from reporters or databases Use Keycite or Shepard’s

Best Free Sites for Case Finding

Washington State Courts LegalWa.org

U.S. Supreme Court Official site Cornell Legal Information Institute FindLaw GPO just has bulk data from 1937-1975

Other Places to Look for Cases

U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals and States other than Washington Federal and State court websites FindLaw Public Library of Law Google Scholar

U.S. District Courts Google Scholar

Google Scholar

Start with Advanced Scholar Search Limit by jurisdiction Limit by date

Includes West reporter citations Disadvantage: “how cited” is not a

case verification tool Advantage: free text, includes

Federal District Court opinions!

LexisNexis Academic

Federal: all published appellate and district court cases

State: all available appellate court cases

Shepard’s Citations Finding tools: secondary sources and

annotated codes UW Restricted

Court Briefs & Oral Arguments

Briefs are written arguments submitted to an appellate court

Larger law libraries may have paper or microfiche

Patrons may need to obtain them directly from the court clerk

Some briefs & oral arguments are online

Court Briefs & Oral Arguments

Audio of U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments at Oyez

Audio (and some video) of Washington State Supreme Court at TVW

Gallagher Law Library, Briefs & Oral Arguments

PACER

Public Access to Court Electronic Records

Case and docket information from Federal courts

Fee-based PACER Service Center Issues:

Not in FDLP Privacy

Judicial Branch Business

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

Federal Judicial Center Judicial Conference of the U.S. Courts Reports, studies, monographs,

newsletters, and statistics

US Sentencing Commission

Develops guidelines for sentencing in Federal courts

In 2005 US Supreme Court made guidelines advisory, not mandatory

USSC Home

Administrative Agency Decisions

Most administrative agencies have a quasi-judicial function

Decide (adjudicate) individual cases arising from the application of their rules and regulations

Few agency decisions are distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program

Administrative Agency Decisions

Administrative Decisions & Other Actions (UVA)

Washington State Administrative Decisions (Gallagher)

LLMC Digital (UW Restricted) HeinOnline (UW Restricted) Use web and law library print

resources

Gallagher Law Library

We are located on L1 and L2 (lower level) of William H. Gates Hall. We are open to the public!

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