NALA Legal Research & Citation Methods — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the purpose of a case citation in legal research?
- To provide a standardized reference that allows anyone to locate the exact court opinion (Correct answer)
- To summarize the court's decision in a few words
- To identify the attorney who argued the case
- To indicate whether the case has been appealed
Correct answer: To provide a standardized reference that allows anyone to locate the exact court opinion
A case citation provides the case name, volume number, reporter abbreviation, page number, and year, enabling legal professionals to locate the exact opinion in law libraries or databases.
Question 2: What does 'Shepardizing' a case mean in legal research?
- Checking the subsequent history and treatment of a case to verify it is still good law (Correct answer)
- Filing a case with the court clerk
- Summarizing a case for a senior attorney
- Translating legal terms into plain language
Correct answer: Checking the subsequent history and treatment of a case to verify it is still good law
Shepardizing (named after Shepard's Citations) involves reviewing all subsequent cases and legal materials that cite a case to determine if it has been overruled, distinguished, or otherwise affected.
Question 3: What is primary authority in legal research?
- Law itself, including constitutions, statutes, regulations, and court opinions (Correct answer)
- Legal encyclopedias and treatises
- Law review articles written by professors
- Attorney General opinions
Correct answer: Law itself, including constitutions, statutes, regulations, and court opinions
Primary authority is the law itself—constitutions, statutes, administrative regulations, and court opinions that are binding or persuasive legal authority, as opposed to secondary sources that analyze or explain the law.
Question 4: Which legal research database is the Westlaw equivalent of LexisNexis?
- Both are competing commercial legal research databases offering similar access to legal materials (Correct answer)
- Westlaw is a free public database
- LexisNexis only covers state law
- Westlaw only covers federal law
Correct answer: Both are competing commercial legal research databases offering similar access to legal materials
Westlaw (by Thomson Reuters) and LexisNexis are the two major competing commercial legal research platforms, both providing comprehensive access to case law, statutes, regulations, and secondary sources.
Question 5: What is a 'headnote' in a published court opinion?
- A brief summary of a point of law addressed in the opinion, added by the publisher (Correct answer)
- The judge's personal opinion about the case
- The first paragraph written by the winning attorney
- A footnote added by a law professor
Correct answer: A brief summary of a point of law addressed in the opinion, added by the publisher
Headnotes are editorial summaries of legal points made in a case, added by legal publishers (like West) at the beginning of published opinions. They are not part of the official opinion and are not citable authority.
Question 6: What is the Bluebook in legal citation?
- The standard reference guide for legal citation format used in the United States (Correct answer)
- A directory of all practicing attorneys
- A compilation of federal criminal statutes
- A blue-covered bound volume of Supreme Court decisions
Correct answer: The standard reference guide for legal citation format used in the United States
The Bluebook (formally 'A Uniform System of Citation') is the most widely used legal citation style guide in the US, providing rules for citing cases, statutes, books, articles, and other legal materials.
NALA Legal Research & Citation Methods
What is the purpose of a case citation in legal research?