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Principles of Legal ResearchFall 2008Week 3: September 22-26
Cecilia Tellis, Law LibrarianBrian Dickson Law Library
Jurisprudence– how case law is published
Anatomy of a case – Exercise
Case law reporters How to find cases
– Various methods– Introduction to the Canadian Abridgment– Exercise
Outline
Jurisprudence
Definition: the body of case law on a topic Judicial decision rendered by a judicial or
administrative court is always documented but not necessarily published
Reported = published in a case law reporter
Unreported = will not appear in a printed format in a reporter
Unreported decisions
Often available in online legal research services like Quicklaw and WestlaweCarswell
Can sometimes be obtained from the specific court
How are cases selected for publication?
Criteria can vary from publisher to publisher
E.g. the Ontario Reports cases are selected based on whether the case:– Makes new law by dealing with a novel situation or by
extending the application of existing principles – Includes a modern judicial restatement of established
principles – Clarifies conflicting decisions of lower courts, etc.
Case law reporters
extensive duplication between report series (i.e. the same case may be reported in several law report series)– Parallel citations
R. v. Sparrow,46 B.C.L.R. (2d) 1, [1990] 4 W.W.R. 410, 56 C.C.C. (3d) 263, 70 D.L.R. (4th) 385,
[1990] 1 S.C.R. 1075, 111 N.R. 241, [1990] 3 C.N.L.R. 160
7 citations to the same case
Case law reporters
Two main categories:1) General law reports:
• Decisions from a specific court• Several courts w/in a specific jurisdiction• Several courts w/in several jurisdictions
2) Specialized law reports• Include decisions discussing specific subjects of
law independent of court or jurisdiction
Anatomy of a case
Typically a published case consists of the following sections:
Style of Cause: e.g. R. v. Casarello – names of the parties to the legal dispute
Preliminary information: court name, judge(s) who heard the case, date of the decision's release
Catchlines/Catchwords: phrases and key words separated by dashes that describe the legal issues and the facts of the case
Anatomy of a case (cont’d)
Headnote: summary of the facts, issues and reasons for the decision
Authorities referred to: cases, statutes and secondary sources consulted or referred to
History of the case: if this is not the first hearing of the case, prior history will be given
Decision(s): decisions or written reasons of the judges who heard the case appear following all of the above preliminary information.
How do I find cases?
Consult secondary sources– Textbooks
• Table of cases– Encyclopedias
• e.g. Canadian Encyclopedic Digest– Annotated codes
• e.g. Modern First Nations legislation annotated
How do I find cases? (cont’d)
Using the Canadian Abridgment and similar research tools that list cases by style of cause or subject
Read summaries or digests of cases
What about ?
Sometimes works – for very famous cases– to verify a citation
But…– depends on the jurisdiction– depends on year of decision– usually too many hits
Better to try a legal database• Canadian Legal Information Institute: Canlii.org• Other Legal Information Institutes• Quicklaw or WestlaweCarswell or relevant DB for your jurisdiction
Digests
A digest is a short concise summary of the court decision made soon after its release.
Commonly used digest services:– All Canada Weekly Summaries – Weekly Criminal Bulletin – Lawyers' Weekly case digests – Canadian Case Summaries– Canadian Abridgment case digests
Introduction to the Canadian Abridgment
Published by Thomson Carswell, the Canadian Abridgment is a comprehensive multi-volume research tool for Canadian Law
includes all reported decisions, as well as some unreported ones
Does not include decisions on Quebec Civil Law
What can I find by using the Abridgment?
Case Digests– To find case law by legal issues / topics
Consolidated Table of Cases– Case law by the case name
What can I find by using the Abridgment?(cont’d)
Canadian Case Citations– contain the citations, history, and judicial treatment of
cases by Canadian courts and tribunals Canadian Statute Citations
– judicial considerations of statutes and rules of practice
Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts and Tribunals– judicial interpretation of words and phrases from all areas
of law
What can I find by using the Abridgment?(cont’d)
Canadian Current Law– To find the legislative history of statutes,
regulations and bills Index to Canadian Legal Literature
– books, articles, case comments
To find your legal issue in the Digests
The General Index lists the key legal concepts arising out of the digests
The Key & Research Guide is the Abridgment’s Table of Contents
Classification Scheme: example
Torts– XX. Trespass
• 2. Trespass to land
– C. Particular situations of trespass » i. Landlord and tenant
Volume 115 (3rd edition)
How is the General Index organized?
This is organized alphabetically by keyword, with citations to the corresponding key numbers in the main work.
Excerpt from the General Index
Certified cheque – see Cheques, accepted or certified cheques
Certiorariin civil matters discretion of court to refuse availability of other remedy,
ADM 1.3470-3501
Cross-reference
Main topic
Sub-topicSubdivision of sub-topic
Further subdivision with locatorskey number
Case Law: by case name 1. Consolidated
Table of Cases - main volumes
2. Consolidated Table of Cases –
supplement volumes
3. Canadian Current Law: Case digests
monthly issues
Case Law: by legal issue / topicCase Digest Search
1. Main Case Digest volumes2. Case Digest supplement volumes3. Canadian Current Law: Case Digests monthly issues (not shown)
1 2 1 2
3rd edition 2nd edition
Summary Cases – reported or unreported General & specialized reporters Canadian Abridgment
– comprehensive research tool– complex, but worth understanding