Basic Legal Research for Paralegals PDF
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Basic Legal Research for Paralegals McGraw-Hill Business Careers Paralegal Titles MCGRAW-HILL PARALEGAL TITLES: WHERE EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT GOES BEYOND EXPECTATIONS. B uilding a solid foundation for a successful paralegal career is becoming more challenging as the needs of students and instructors continue to grow. The McGraw-Hill paralegal texts offer the solu- tion to this ever-changing environment. Integrated real-world applications in each chapter teach students the practical skills needed for a thriving career in the field. A common vocabulary among all M cGraw-Hill titles ensures consistency in learning. Up-to-date coverage of the available technol- ogy used in a legal setting and a purposefully designed set of pedagogical features with shared goals across the list provide the systems needed for students to fully grasp the material and apply it in a paralegal setting. With a thorough set of ancillaries and dedicated publisher support, these texts will facilitate active learning in the classroom and give students the skills sets desired by employers. Introduction to Law & Paralegal Studies The Law Office Reference Manual Connie Farrell Scuderi Jo Ann Lee ISBN: 0073524638 ISBN: 0073511838 © 2008 © 2008 Introduction to Law for Paralegals The Paralegal Reference Manual Deborah Benton Charles Nemeth ISBN: 007351179X ISBN: 0073403075 © 2008 © 2008 Basic Legal Research, Second Edition The Professional Paralegal Edward Nolfi Allan Tow ISBN: 0073520519 ISBN: 0073403091 © 2008 © 2009 Basic Legal Writing, Second Edition Ethics for Paralegals Pamela Tepper Linda Spagnola ISBN: 0073403032 ISBN: 0073376981 © 2008 © 2009 Legal Research and Writing for Paralegals Family Law for Paralegals Neal Bevans George Kent ISBN: 007352462X ISBN: 0073376973 © 2008 © 2009 Contract Law for Paralegals Torts for Paralegals Linda Spagnola ISBN: 0073376930 ISBN: 0073511765 © 2009 © 2008 Criminal Law for Paralegals Civil Law and Litigation for Paralegals ISBN: 0073376965 Neal Bevans © 2009 ISBN: 0073524611 Real Estate Law for Paralegals © 2008 ISBN: 0073376957 Wills, Trusts, and Estates for Paralegals © 2009 George Kent Law Office Management for Paralegals ISBN: 0073403067 ISBN: 0073376949 © 2008 © 2009 Legal Terminology Explained for Paralegals Edward Nolfi ISBN: 0073511846 © 2008 Basic Legal Research for Paralegals Second Edition Edward A. Nolfi Boston Burr Ridge, IL Dubuque, IA Madison, WI New York San Francisco St. Louis Bangkok Bogotá Caracas Kuala Lumpur Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan Montreal New Delhi Santiago Seoul Singapore Sydney Taipei Toronto BASIC LEGAL RESEARCH FOR PARALEGALS Published by McGraw-Hill/Irwin, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10020. Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 VNH/VNH 0 9 8 7 ISBN 978-0-07-352051-3 MHID 0-07-352051-9 Editorial director: J ohn E. B iernat Publisher: Linda Schreiber Associate sponsoring editor: N atalie J. Ruffatto Developmental editor: T ammy Higham Marketing manager: Keari B edford Project manager: Bruce G in Production supervisor: J ason I . H uls Lead designer: Matthew B aldwin Lead media project manager: Cathy L . Tepper Cover design: S tudio M ontage Cover image: @Getty Images Typeface: 10/12 Times Roman Compositor: T echbooks Printer: Von Hoffmann Corporation Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nolfi, Edward A., 1958- Basic legal research for paralegals / Edward A. Nolfi.—2nd ed. p. cm.—(McGraw-Hill business careers paralegal titles) Rev. ed. of: Basic legal research. c1993. Includes indexes. ISBN-13: 978-0-07-352051-3 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-07-352051-9 (alk. paper) 1. Legal research—United States. I. Nolfi, Edward A., 1958- Basic legal research. II. Title. KF240.N65 2008 340.072’073—dc22 2006035510 www.mhhe.com Acknowledgments T he author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the following reviewers, whose efforts, suggestions, ideas, and insights helped shape this text into the valuable tool it is. Donna Bookin Broderick Nichols Mercy College University of Memphis Bob Diotalevi B. Arthur Swerine Florida Gulf Coast University DeVry University Amy Feeney Debbie Vinecour Wilmington College SUNY-Rockland Angela Masciulli MTI College The author also gives special thanks to his wife, Sheri, and his sons, Anthony and Brian, for enduring everything. ix Dedication The first edition of this book was dedicated to my students. This edition is dedicated to my mentors and teachers, especially Alfred W. Gans and Earnest H. Schopler. Al said collect all the arguments and write your thesis. Earnest said let your writing be guided by your research. v About the Author As an associate editor with the Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company in the mid-1980s, E dward A. Nolfi learned legal research from the inside out. While preparing annotations for American Law Reports, Federal, and casenoting the Internal Revenue Code for the U nited States Code Service, he researched the knowledge, wisdom, tips, and tricks of current and former editors. In 1988, Ed brought his wealth of knowledge to the paralegal classroom, leading the paralegal program at the Academy of Court Reporting in Akron, Ohio. In addition to engaging in the gen- eral practice of law, he later taught at several schools, including Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, Pennsylvania. In 1999, Ed returned to law publishing as part of the $200 million Case Law Summaries Proj- ect at LexisNexis. He became the only case law editor promoted three times, to a position with both editorial and management duties, including project management and product development. After completing another look “behind the curtain” of law publishing, Ed shares more of his knowledge and insight in this second edition of Basic Legal Research. Edward A. Nolfi’s educational background includes receiving an A.B. with Honor Thesis (Religious Studies) from Brown University, and a J.D. (Law) from the University of Akron School of Law. He is admitted to the bar in New York and Ohio, and in several federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Ed is also the author of Basic Wills, Trusts, and Estates, and the O hio Supplement to Basic Civil Litigation, each published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill in the early 1990s. vi Preface L egal research is an art. It is a specialized knowledge blended with specialized skills. It is the knack of effectively using law books and other media. The key to its mastery is acquiring knowl- edge of the true nature of law books, accompanied by significant experience with their use and practical application. In a candid speech to the Los Angeles Bar Association in 1932, William Mark McKinney, then Editor-in-Chief of the Bancroft-Whitney Company, spoke eloquently about the great value of law books, tempering his praise with an admission: “There is no such thing as a 100-percent perfect law book.” The law is embodied in words and contained in countless books and other media. But it is a serious mistake to believe that all legal resources are created equal. They are not. They must be carefully examined and questioned, and also used creatively, if their full value is to be obtained. Most legal research books are sonorous legal bibliographies. They read like publishing house catalogs. The reader is introduced to one book after another and one feature after another, with little or no attempt to make sense of the books as a whole. The value of each book and each feature is never questioned. Thus, the reader is left with no sense of which books are good and which are bad; no sense of which ones are easy to use and which are difficult; no sense of which books are worth reading, and which ones should be left on the shelf. The book in your hands is an “insider’s guide” to the art of legal research. I have endeavored to rate fairly the principal books and features I discuss. In general, I have endeavored to describe how these books are actually written. Inside knowledge is invaluable. In the same way that a navigator’s chart is a map of the sea, legal resources are a map of the law. If navigators fail to take into account the distortions inherent in their charts, they may go off course and not reach their desired destination. Similarly, if legal researchers fail to take into account the distortions inherent in the resource they are using, they may be deceived and not find the appropriate law they are looking for. This book does not cover every legal resource. No one can claim an intimate knowledge of every legal resource. Yet, experienced legal researchers know that some resources are used repeatedly, or should be, while others are to be used rarely, if at all. This book, B asic Legal Re- search, covers the principal law books and other legal resources used by general practice lawyers and paralegals in the United States, with a decided emphasis on national sources. If, after reading this book, you want to know more, you can always consult a sonorous legal bibliography, local guide, or specialized text. ORGANIZATION OF THE TEXT T he book’s text is divided up into 13 chapters. Each includes a systematic approach that intro- duces legal research through a summary of the U.S. legal system, law publishing, law books, and law libraries, with a section on the purpose of legal research and strategies. The Appendix provides the text of the most fundamental document in U.S. legal research, the Constitution of the United States. The principal sources of the law—such as cases, statutes, constitutions, court rules, and administrative regulations—are described and their use discussed. Secondary sources of law are explored and their value and use to the researcher are examined. Proper legal citations are d escribed and analyzed. How to use S hephard’s Citators, The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, as well as ALWD are explained. Finally, an overview of how to use computer-assisted legal research is provided along with the most popular and recognized sources. All of the chap- ters build a systematic base for how to best navigate through the vast amount of legal resources available to the researcher. vii viii Preface Text Design Each chapter begins with course objectives followed by an introduction. A “case fact pattern” opens the discussion in each chapter, presenting a sample situation in which the student is intro- duced to the information discussed in the chapter. A Day in the Life of a Real Paralegal c oncludes each chapter, wrapping up the key topics covered in the chapter. This text is designed to be user-friendly. Key terms are boldfaced and defined in the margin, with an alphabetical list of these terms at the end of each chapter. This edition includes several new boxed features: • Research This provides students with hands-on tasks, asking them to apply the legal research techniques discussed in the text. • CYBER TRIP focuses on the important role the Internet plays in legal research and provides Web links and information about online resources. • Eye on Ethics keeps ethics in the forefront, raising issues every paralegal will face in the profession. Further, each chapter contains assessments, exercises, and a puzzle to amplify the legal research concepts presented, thus enhancing the learning process. Students are encouraged to complete all assessments and activities, and to keep this text at home or in the office as a handy desk reference. A Guided Tour Basic Legal Research This book is an “insider’s guide” to the art of legal research. Using a hands-on approach, BLR provides students with an easy and approachable way to learn about the processes, materials, and background of legal research. It explains the many methods of legal research in a simple and straightforward manner and language. This text is essential for all law office personnel and paralegal professionals. The pedagogy of the book applies three goals: Learning Outcomes • Critical thinking • Vocabulary building • Skill development • Issues analysis • Writing practices Relevance of Topics without Sacrificing Theory • Ethical challenges • Current law practices • Technology application Practical Application • Real-world exercises • Portfolio creation • Team exercises Chapter 1 Before Beginning Legal Research Chapter Objectives CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Chapter Objectives introduce the concepts students • Understand the importance of legal research. • Explain the purpose of legal research. should understand after reading each chapter as well • Understand how legal research is used by the attorney. as provide brief summaries describing the material to • Understand the role of the paralegal or legal assistant as a research assistant. • Identify the process of legal research. be covered. The mastery of legal research is one of the most critical skills sought in people seeking em- ployment in a legal environment. Most legal documents will require the locating, analyzing, and communicating of the law by legal professionals. This task is usually completed by para- legals and legal assistants. This chapter will demonstrate how to establish a starting point from which to launch your legal research. x
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