Cameron Miranda
Headnotes are summaries of a point of law that appear at the beginning of a case. They are written by editors at Westlaw and Lexis and are useful for finding other cases that address similar legal issues. However, it is important to note that headnotes should not be cited directly in legal writing assignments or work products. While they are valuable research tools, headnotes are not considered authoritative sources and do not constitute legal precedent. Instead, when citing a case, it is necessary to refer to the actual text of the opinion written by the judge or justice. This means that while headnotes can guide legal research and understanding, they should not be relied upon as standalone sources and must be supported by references to the original case law.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Nature | Summaries of a point of law that appear at the beginning of a case |
| Writer | Editors at Westlaw and Lexis |
| Use | Help find other cases that address similar legal issues |
| Cite | Cannot be cited in work products; only the actual text of the opinion written by the judge or justice can be cited |
| Hyperlinks | Hyperlinks with numbers can be clicked to view the corresponding West Headnotes summarizing that point of law |
| Similar cases | "Cases That Cite This Headnote" link can be clicked to find other cases that cite a particular headnote |
| Shepardize | "Shepardize - Narrow by this Headnote" can be clicked to find more cases that discuss the same point of law |
| Similar headnotes | "More like this Headnote" can be clicked to find other headnotes similar to the particular headnote appearing in a case |
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What You'll Learn
Headnotes are not law
Headnotes are summaries of a point of law that appear at the beginning of a case. They are written by editors at Westlaw and Lexis and are sometimes verbatim from the text of the opinion. While headnotes are excellent research tools to assist in finding other cases that address similar legal issues, they are not law and should not be cited in work products.
When citing a case, one should only cite the actual text of the opinion written by the judge or justice. This is because headnotes are not considered authoritative sources. They are similar to Cliff Notes in that they break down the legally relevant portions of a decision so that readers can see if the case will apply to them. However, they are not a substitute for the actual case language, just as one would not quote Cliff Notes in a book report instead of the book itself.
Headnotes can be a useful way to find the most relevant cases for a legal issue. For example, the West Key Number System allows users to view other cases from within or across jurisdictions that address similar issues by clicking on the key number hyperlinks that correspond with the headnote of interest. Similarly, LexisNexis Headnotes identify the key points of a case by closely tracking the court's language, and these can be searched using the HEADNOTES segment.
While headnotes are a helpful research tool, they should not be relied upon as a substitute for the actual case law. Always refer to the original case law when citing or quoting.
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Headnotes are summaries of a point of law
Headnotes are an excellent way to find relevant cases for a particular legal issue. They are a summary of the legally relevant portions of a decision. Clicking on a headnote link will take you to the LexisNexis Headnotes section of the document. Here, you can view the corresponding West Headnotes summarising that point of law.
To find other cases that cite a particular headnote, click on the "Cases that cite this headnote" link located below the one-sentence summary of the point of law. This will show you all cases that cite to this case and reference the same issue corresponding with that headnote. This is a useful way to find the most relevant cases for your legal issue.
Additionally, the West Key Number System can be used to view other cases from within or across jurisdictions that address similar issues. This can be done by clicking on the key number hyperlinks that correspond with the headnote of interest.
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Headnotes are written by editors
Headnotes are summaries of a point of law that appear at the beginning of a case. They are written by editors at Westlaw and Lexis. While headnotes are an excellent research tool to help find other cases that address similar legal issues, they are not considered legal authority and should not be cited in legal writing assignments.
The language used in headnotes is sometimes verbatim from the text of the opinion. However, they are not written by the court but by editors for Westlaw and Lexis. As such, they are not considered authoritative and should not be cited directly. Instead, they are meant to help users better understand the court's opinion and find the relevant language in the case that they can cite.
For example, while reading through an opinion on Westlaw, users may encounter hyperlinks with numbers embedded throughout the text. Clicking on one of those links will allow users to view the corresponding West Headnotes summarizing that point of law. These headnotes are written by Westlaw editors and are meant to provide a summary of the legally relevant portions of the decision.
Lexis headnotes are organized by broad topics and then progressively subdivided into narrower subjects. However, Lexis headnote subjects tend to be broader concepts than the West key numbers. Additionally, Lexis headnotes do not editorialize; instead, they lift the language straight from the text of the case. Each headnote in a case published in a West reporter is assigned a topic and key number, which can be used to find more cases on the same subject.
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Headnotes are a research tool
When reading through an opinion on Westlaw, hyperlinks with numbers may appear throughout the text. Clicking on one of these links will allow you to view the corresponding West Headnotes, which provide a summary of the point of law. To find other cases that cite a particular headnote, click on the "Cases that cite this headnote" link located below the one-sentence summary of the point of law. This will provide a list of cases that specifically address that point of law.
The West Key Number System can also be used to find other cases that address similar legal issues. This system is an indexing system devised for American case law by West (now Thomson Reuters). It assigns a permanent number to a specific point of case law, allowing users to easily locate other cases that discuss the same legal concept. The Key Number System is available on Westlaw and can be accessed by clicking on the corresponding key number hyperlinks in the right column.
Additionally, the "Shepardize - Narrow by this Headnote" feature on Westlaw allows users to find more cases that discuss the same point of law. This is similar to viewing the citing decisions for a case but provides a more narrow and refined Shepard's Report. The "More like this Headnote" function on Westlaw can also be used to find other headnotes similar to the particular headnote appearing in a case, allowing users to find other cases that pertain to the same point of law.
While headnotes are a valuable research tool, it is important to remember that they should not be cited directly in legal writing. Instead, they should be used to navigate to the relevant portion of the case law and extract the language from the opinion to be cited.
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Headnotes are not authoritative
Headnotes are summaries of a point of law that appear at the beginning of a case. They are written by editors at Westlaw and Lexis and are excellent research tools to help find other cases that address similar legal issues. However, headnotes are not authoritative and should not be cited in legal work.
While headnotes are useful for understanding the court's opinion, they are not considered law. They are written by editors and not the court, and therefore carry no authority. In other words, they are similar to Cliff Notes for a book—they provide a summary and breakdown of the legally relevant portions of a decision, but they are not the source material.
When citing a case, it is important to cite the actual text of the opinion written by the judge or justice. This can be done by clicking on the headnote, which will take you to the relevant part of the case that can be cited. The headnote itself is not what should be cited, as it is not a direct representation of the court's opinion.
Additionally, citing headnotes may not be well-received by peers, as they are not considered authoritative sources. In legal writing, it is crucial to rely on sources that carry authority and are widely accepted within the legal community. Headnotes, being written by editors, may not meet the standards of authoritative sources and may be subject to criticism if cited in legal work.
In conclusion, while headnotes are valuable tools for navigating case law and understanding the key points of a case, they are not authoritative and should not be cited in legal writing. Legal professionals should extract the relevant language from the case law that the headnote references and cite that instead.
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Frequently asked questions
No. Headnotes are not law. They are written by editors at West Law and Lexis and are not part of the actual text of a judicial opinion. They are meant to be used as a research tool to find other cases that address similar legal issues.
While reading through an opinion on West Law, you may encounter hyperlinks with numbers embedded throughout the text. By clicking on one of those links, you can view the corresponding West Law Headnote summarizing a point of law. To find other cases that cite this particular headnote, click on the "Cases that cite this headnote" link located below the one-sentence summary of the point of law.
Yes, you can use the West Key Number System. This is an indexing system devised for American case law, developed by West (now Thomson Reuters). The key number is a permanent number given to a specific point of a case law. By clicking on one of the key number hyperlinks that correspond with the headnote of interest, you can view other cases from within or across jurisdictions that address similar issues.
No. While it is recommended that you read the language of the case that a headnote references, headnotes are not authoritative and should not be cited in your work product.
