Keith Mack
Case law, also called 'opinions' or 'decisions', is the body of law that is developed from judicial opinions or decisions over time. It is distinct from statutory law, which comes from legislative bodies, and administrative law, which comes from executive bodies. Case law research involves determining the case law that is binding or persuasive regarding a particular issue, and gathering and analysing the relevant case law. This can be done through commercial legal research databases, such as Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg, which supplement cases with headnotes, allowing for quick location of relevant cases. Additionally, free legal research options, such as Google or Bing, can be used as a starting point, although more comprehensive online research services designed specifically for the law, such as Westlaw, are also available.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | Case law is the body of law developed from judicial opinions or decisions over time. |
| Purpose | Case law is used to find support for a specific legal issue or decision. |
| Sources | Primary sources of law include case law, which are court opinions or decisions issued by federal or state courts. |
| Search Techniques | Case law search techniques include using commercial legal research databases, such as Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg, which supplement cases with headnotes. |
| Binding or Persuasive | Determining the case law that is binding or persuasive for a particular issue involves gathering and analyzing relevant case law and selecting the appropriate jurisdiction, time period, and level of court. |
| Precedent | Under the "doctrine of precedent," courts typically follow earlier decisions unless there is a compelling reason to deviate. |
| Hierarchy | In the U.S., the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court create binding precedent for all other federal courts and state courts on constitutional interpretation. |
| Publication | Decisions are published in print and electronic formats, including in reporters and online databases. |
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What You'll Learn
Case law defined
Case law, also called 'opinions' or 'decisions', refers to the body of law that is derived from the written resolution of disputes by judges. In other words, it is the law that has been developed from judicial opinions or decisions over time. It is distinct from statutory law, which is made by legislative bodies, and administrative law, which is made by executive bodies.
In the US legal system, case law represents the "doctrine of precedent", where a court adheres to prior decisions when similar issues arise in future litigation. This is also known as the Latin legal maxim of stare decisis, which means "to stand by decided matters". There are two types of stare decisis: vertical and horizontal. Vertical stare decisis refers to the decisions of higher courts in a jurisdiction creating binding precedent for lower courts, such as the US Supreme Court's decisions being binding on all federal courts and state courts for matters of constitutional interpretation. Horizontal stare decisis, on the other hand, refers to a court following its own prior decisions.
Legal research is a critical aspect of case law, as it involves identifying and applying relevant laws, including case law, to a specific legal issue or argument. Attorneys, lawyers, and law students all engage in legal research for various purposes. For example, attorneys may need to find case law to support their legal arguments in court filings, while lawyers may require it to provide accurate legal advice to clients.
There are numerous resources available for conducting case law research. Primary sources of law, such as court opinions or decisions, are essential. These can be found in reporters, which are serial print publications, as well as electronically through services like Westlaw, LexisNexis, and Bloomberg. Secondary sources, such as practice guides, legal articles, and treatises, are also valuable for understanding legal topics and narrowing down relevant cases. Case law databases allow for efficient searches by jurisdiction, time period, and level of court, and they utilise headnotes to quickly identify relevant cases based on specific language or discussions.
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Finding case law
Case law, also known as precedent or common law, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges deciding on issues before them. Depending on the relationship between the deciding court and the precedent, case law may be binding or merely persuasive.
There are several ways to find case law. Firstly, researchers can run a search for case summaries or select a jurisdiction to browse applicable laws. There are also free online resources, such as FindLaw, which offer a database of case law from the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, as well as several state supreme courts. This includes U.S. Supreme Court opinions, U.S. Federal Appellate Court opinions, and U.S. State Supreme, Appellate, and Trial Court opinions.
Decisions are also published in serial print publications called "reporters" and are available electronically. Researchers can refer to these reporters under "Federal Court Decisions" and "State Court Decisions".
Additionally, commercial legal research databases, including Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg, supplement cases with headnotes, which allow users to quickly locate subsequent cases that cite the specific language or discussion being searched. These databases also provide links to topics or Key Numbers, which can be used to browse or search for particular topics and locate other cases with relevant headnotes.
It is important to note that not all opinions from federal district and appeals courts are published in the official reporters. However, they may still be accessible through sources like LexisNexis, Westlaw, or West's Federal Appendix, even though they may not be considered precedential.
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Court opinions and decisions
In the US legal system, the doctrine of precedent dictates that a court must follow earlier decisions when the same points arise again in litigation. The decisions of the highest court in a jurisdiction create mandatory precedent that must be followed by lower courts. For example, the US Supreme Court creates binding precedent for all other federal courts and state courts on matters of constitutional interpretation.
When conducting legal research, it is important to identify the relevant legal problem and desired outcome to guide the research process. This includes determining the relevant jurisdiction, whether federal or state law, and selecting the appropriate case law database, jurisdiction, time period, and level of the court.
By reading subsequent citing cases, researchers can confirm that the original case remains "good law" and that its legal conclusions are still sound. This process involves filtering citing references by jurisdiction, treatment, depth of treatment, date, and keyword to focus on the most relevant cases.
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Precedent and stare decisis
Case law is the body of law that is derived from judicial opinions and decisions over time. It is distinct from statutory law, which is made by legislative bodies, and administrative law, which is made by executive bodies. Case law is an important source of law in common law legal systems, such as that of the United States.
In the US legal system, the doctrine of precedent, also known as stare decisis, is a foundational concept. The Latin phrase stare decisis means "to stand by things decided" or "let the decision stand". The doctrine of precedent holds that courts must follow previous decisions when the same points arise again in litigation. This means that judges are required to follow existing precedents, preventing bias and arbitrary decision-making.
The doctrine operates both horizontally and vertically. Vertical stare decisis refers to the idea that the decisions of higher courts take precedence over the decisions of lower courts. For example, the US Supreme Court creates binding precedent that all other federal courts must follow. Horizontal stare decisis, on the other hand, holds that prior decisions made by courts at the same appellate level should provide precedent for future cases heard by courts of the same level.
However, stare decisis is not a static doctrine and it may impede the general advancement of law. As society and its beliefs change, there must be some logical variation in the application of the law. For example, in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the US Supreme Court overturned the precedent of Plessy v. Ferguson (1893), ruling that racially segregated schools violated the Constitution.
In conducting case law research, it is important to determine the case law that is binding or persuasive on a particular issue. Commercial legal research databases, such as Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg, can be useful tools as they supplement cases with headnotes, which allow for the quick location of subsequent cases that cite the original case with respect to specific language or discussions.
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Primary and secondary sources
The materials used for legal research are generally divided into two broad categories: primary sources and secondary sources.
Primary Sources
Primary sources establish the law. They include cases, statutes, regulations, treaties, and constitutions. Relevant primary sources have the greatest influence on the outcome of any legal issue. Primary sources are considered the actual law. These sources include:
- Constitution (either federal or state)
- Statutes (laws enacted by legislatures)
- Municipal codes (enacted by local councils)
- Cases (opinions handed down by courts)
- Judicial decisions
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources explain the law but do not establish binding law. They include books and articles written about the law. Secondary sources can influence the creation and interpretation of the law, but they are not determinative. Secondary sources may restate the law, but they also discuss, analyse, describe, explain, or critique it. They are used to help locate primary sources of law, define legal words and phrases, or help in legal research. In short, anything that is more than the actual law is considered a secondary source. Examples of secondary sources include:
- Legal dictionaries
- Legal encyclopaedias and digests
- Law reviews and journals
- Legal treatises, nutshells, hornbooks, deskbooks
- Manuals and guides on how to practice law
- Case digests
- Commercial legal research databases
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Frequently asked questions
Case law is the body of law that has been developed from judicial opinions or decisions over time. It is one of the types of law, with statutory law and administrative law being the other two.
Research in case law can be done through primary and secondary sources. Primary sources refer to court opinions or decisions issued by federal or state courts. Secondary sources include practice guides, treatises, and legal articles.
Some tools that can be used to conduct research in case law include online research services such as Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg, and Google. Westlaw, for example, has artificial intelligence research features that can help make quick work of your research.
