Lesson 10.2: Legal Research and Finding the Law

Introduction

Welcome to Lesson 10.2 of Foundation Law! 🎓 In this lesson, we will explore the essential skills of legal research. Understanding how to find and interpret legal sources is crucial as you prepare for your independent research project.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Distinguish between primary and secondary legal sources.
• Find and update cases and legislation, including using legal databases.
• Check whether a case is still good law using citators.
• Evaluate the authority and currency of a source.
• Organise research and maintain accurate records for referencing.

H2: Understanding Legal Sources

Primary vs. Secondary Legal Sources

In legal research, it's important to differentiate between primary and secondary sources.

Primary Sources: These are the original documents of the law, such as statutes, regulations, and case law. For example:

• Cases: Judicial opinions from courts. For instance, the landmark case R v. Brown (1993) where the House of Lords addressed the legality of consensual harm.
• Legislation: Laws enacted by Parliament, such as the Human Rights Act 1998.

Secondary Sources: These provide commentary and analysis on the law, helping to interpret primary sources. Examples include:

• Textbooks
• Journal Articles
• Legal Encyclopedias like Halsbury's Laws of England

Finding Legal Sources

Legal Databases

One of the best ways to find legal cases and legislation is through legal databases. Here are some useful platforms:

• Westlaw: A comprehensive legal research tool providing access to case law, legislation, and legal journals.
• LexisNexis: Another powerful tool for finding a variety of legal resources, including law reviews and news articles.
• HeinOnline: Excellent for accessing historical legal documents and law journals.

Example of Using a Legal Database

1. Let's say you're looking for a case regarding negligence. In Westlaw, you can enter keywords like “negligence case” related to your jurisdiction and find relevant results.
2. You will also notice filters to narrow down your searches by dates, jurisdictions, and more.

H2: Ensuring Good Law

Checking If a Case is Good Law

It’s crucial to verify if a case is still good law before relying on it. This can be done using citators, tools that indicate the current status of a case.

For instance, in Westlaw and LexisNexis, you can check if a case has been upheld, overruled, or distinguished in subsequent cases. The symbols used to indicate the status of a case include:

• Green: Good law
• Yellow: Caution (understood but not overruled)
• Red: Negative treatment (overruled)

Example of Using a Citator

If you're examining the case Donoghue v. Stevenson (1932), inputting it in a citator would show you its treatment in later cases and whether it remains a valid precedent.

H2: Evaluating Legal Sources

Authority and Currency of a Source

When conducting legal research, consider both the authority and currency of your sources. A source's authority refers to its credibility, which is affected by:

• The author (is it written by an expert?)
• The publication (is it from a reputable journal?)

Currency pertains to how recent the information is. Laws change frequently, so verifying the date of legislation and case reports is critical. Using tools like Legislation.gov.uk can help you find the latest version of legislative texts.

H2: Organising Your Research

Keeping Accurate Records

An essential aspect of legal research is maintaining accurate records for referencing. An organized approach will help you keep track of all your sources effectively. Here’s a basic structure you can follow:

1. Record details: Author, title, publication date, and publisher.
2. Create summaries: Highlight important points from each source.
3. Reference management software: Tools like Zotero or EndNote can help manage references and citations easily.

Example of Organising Research

Suppose you collected information from books and legal databases. You should note down the full citation for each book and every case you researched, ensuring you can refer back to it when writing your project.

Conclusion

In Lesson 10.2, we discovered the fundamental skills involved in legal research. Understanding primary and secondary sources, utilizing legal databases, checking cases for good law, evaluating source authority, and organizing your research are essential skills that will help you excel in your independent project. Remember, thorough research is key to success in law! 🚀

Study Notes

• Distinguish primary and secondary legal sources.
• Use databases like Westlaw and LexisNexis for legal research.
• Always check if a case is still good law using citators.
• Evaluate the authority and currency of legal sources.
• Organize research and keep accurate records for referencing.