Keith Mack
Legal materials are divided into two categories: primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources are the actual law, including constitutions, court cases, statutes, and regulations. Secondary sources explain, critique, or help locate primary sources. A case is a primary source of law when it is a court decision or opinion handed down by a court. These are compiled in print volumes known as reporters and are arranged chronologically. They can be found in free online databases, such as Google Scholar, or in print case law resources.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of source | Primary source of law |
| Examples | Cases, opinions, court cases, case law |
| Issuing entity | Judicial sources, judiciary |
| Other sources | Constitutions, statutes, laws, orders, decisions, regulations |
| Use | State the actual law |
| Jurisdiction | Federal or state |
| Databases | Lexis Advance, Westlaw Next, Google Scholar |
Explore related products
$6.43 $25.99
What You'll Learn
Cases are a primary source of law
Case law sources can be very helpful in determining how a law has been interpreted and applied in the past and, therefore, how it might be treated in the future. The opinions issued in cases may provide a historical background to a topic and offer insight into the legal reasoning behind a judge's decision. Knowing how a particular legal issue has been treated by the court in the past can be very helpful in determining how a case may be treated in the future.
Court decisions from appellate-level courts are compiled in print volumes known as "reporters". Cases from Texas appellate courts can be found in the South Western Reporter and South Western Reporter – Texas Cases. Cases in reporters are arranged chronologically, so to find a case, you need to know the citation, which tells you the series, volume, and page number. There are some free, online case law resources such as Google Scholar, but the cases you can access through them are often somewhat limited.
In addition, since primary sources are produced by the government, many governments post their resources online. To find a relevant source, you can google the name of the branch of government and the type of source you're looking for (e.g. Palo Alto municipal code).
Writing Case Law Exams: A Step-by-Step Guide
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Court decisions and opinions
Court decisions can be found in free online databases such as Google Scholar, although the cases accessible through these platforms may be limited, and additional resources such as headnotes and digest numbers may be missing. Databases like Lexis Advance and Westlaw Next offer more comprehensive case law research capabilities, including keyword searching.
The opinions issued in cases can provide historical context and insight into the legal reasoning behind a judge's decision. They can also help predict how a similar case may be treated in the future. For example, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954) declared that state laws allowing separate public schools for whites and blacks were unconstitutional. This primary source of law set a precedent for future cases involving racial segregation in education.
In addition to court decisions and opinions, primary sources of law include constitutions, statutes, and administrative rules and regulations. These sources are issued by one of the three branches of government (legislative, judicial, or executive) at either the state or federal level.
Writing Effective Law Case Notes: A Guide
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Case law, dockets, and court rules
Primary sources of law are statutes, laws, orders, cases, decisions, and regulations issued by one of the three branches of government (legislative, judicial, or executive) at either the state or federal level. Judicial sources are issued by the judiciary and consist of opinions or case law, dockets, and court rules.
Case law sources can be very helpful in determining how a law has been interpreted and applied in the past and, therefore, how it might be treated in the future. The opinions issued in cases may provide historical background and insight into the legal reasoning behind a judge's decision. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954) was a landmark case in which the Court declared that state laws allowing for separate public schools for whites and blacks were unconstitutional. The actual case is primary law.
A docket is a "formal record in which a judge or court clerk briefly notes all the proceedings and filings in a court case". After a case is filed, the court assigns it a docket number, which is the court's case number or tracking number. The docket lists the judge, parties, and the attorneys of record, along with a summary of each document filed in the case, the date it was filed, and the court case number assigned to the document. A docket number may be composed of a number or letter indicating the court, a two-digit number to identify the year, the case type (either CV/cv for civil cases or CR/cr for criminal cases), a four- or five-digit case number, and the judge’s initials. For example, 1:21-cv-5678-MW is the docket number for the 5,678th civil case filed in the year 2021 and assigned to court number 1 and the Honorable Martha Washington. A given case may have distinct dockets with case events in multiple courts, each of which maintains its own docket system.
Many subscription legal research databases provide access to dockets and court filings, but often these features are "add-on" packages, meaning that not every subscription includes full access to these resources. Some databases that provide access to dockets include Bloomberg Law, Nexis Uni, Lex Machina, and Google Scholar.
Writing Family Law Case Names: A Simple Guide
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Primary sources are issued by the government
Primary sources of law are issued by the government, specifically by one of the three branches of government: the legislative, judicial, or executive. These sources are considered the actual law and include constitutions, court cases, statutes, and administrative rules and regulations.
Legislative sources are issued at the federal level by Congress and at the state level by representative bodies such as Houses, Assemblies, or Delegates. They consist of statutes, laws, codes, session laws, and legislative history. Legislative sources form the basis of primary law and are the most common type of primary source.
Judicial sources, on the other hand, are issued by the judiciary and consist of case law, dockets (case filings), and court rules. These sources are produced by the courts and outline the decisions and opinions of judges in interpreting and applying the law. Judicial sources are particularly important in understanding how laws are implemented and enforced in practice.
Executive sources, also known as administrative sources, are issued by the executive branch of the government. These sources are typically created by administrative agencies and may include regulations, orders, or directives that elaborate on or implement existing statutes. While executive sources are considered primary sources, they hold less weight than legislative or judicial sources and can be overridden by statutes or court decisions.
It is important to note that primary sources of law are publicly available, although they may be challenging to locate due to the vast number of government documents. These sources are essential for legal research and understanding the historical context and interpretation of the law.
Writing a Law Review: Crafting Case Comments
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Primary sources are laws, orders, decisions, or regulations
Primary sources of law are the laws themselves, in the form of constitutions, court cases, statutes, and administrative rules and regulations. They are issued by the legislative, judicial, or executive branches of government at either the state or federal level.
Constitutions are a primary source of law, as they are the foundational documents that outline the principles, structures, and powers of a government. They are typically created by a country's founding fathers or through a constitutional convention and can be amended over time.
Court cases, also known as case law, are another primary source of law. They refer to the decisions and opinions handed down by courts in response to specific disputes. These cases create a body of law that can be cited and used as precedent in future similar cases.
Statutes, or laws enacted by legislatures, are also considered primary sources. These are the written laws that carry out the principles and provisions outlined in the constitution. They are created through a legislative process, often involving both houses of a legislature, and can be amended or repealed over time.
Administrative rules and regulations are also primary sources of law. These are typically issued by executive branch agencies or administrative bodies and serve to elaborate on and carry out the directives laid out in statutes. While regulations are not equal in weight to statutes or court decisions, they provide the detailed instructions for implementing the law.
It is important to note that primary sources of law are distinct from secondary sources, which explain, critique, or help locate primary law. Secondary sources include resources such as legal dictionaries, encyclopedias, law reviews, and treatises. While they provide valuable context and analysis, they do not carry the same authority as primary sources, which represent the actual law.
Intriguing Law Cases: What Makes Them Interesting?
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
Primary sources of law are the laws themselves, in the form of constitutions, court cases, statutes, and administrative rules and regulations. They are issued by one of the three branches of government (legislative, judicial, or executive).
Yes, cases are considered primary sources of law. They are a type of judicial source, which also includes dockets (the filings in a case) and court rules.
Many governments post their primary sources of law online. You can also find them in legal databases, such as Lexis Advance and Westlaw Next, and in print volumes known as "reporters".
