With the 2024 election in full swing, check out our resources for Presidential Documents.
HeinOnline US Presidential Library
HeinOnline Presidential Impeachment Library
HeinOnline John F. Kennedy Assassination Collection
Lexis Presidential Documents and Executive Orders
Westlaw Executive Office of the President
The Marx Markings Blog will be moving to https://law.uc.edu/education/library/marx-markings-blog.html. See our most recent blog post.
This week in the Law Library we’re wishing everyone good luck on the bar exam, reviewing more basic legal research skills for summer, and continuing to celebrate Disability Pride Month.
You’ve put the time in, you’ve studied hard. You’ve got this! We wish you all good luck!
Join us this Wednesday at 12:15pm as we talk about Law Library services for faculty as part of the Summer Faculty Workshop series — in person in Room 645 or via Zoom!
Previously, we looked at:
Initial steps to take when you get a summer research project
Start by identifying the resources available to you at your place of summer employment and ask questions. Develop a research plan. Read more about developing a research plan on our Research Strategy & Documentation guide.
Then you may need to do background research about your issue before jumping into primary sources such as statutes and case law. A good secondary source can explain the law around your issue and cite you to primary sources. It can save you a lot of time and effort! Learn more about researching in secondary sources in our Researching Secondary Sources Guide or watch our videos on finding and searching within the various secondary source types.
Researching statutes in annotated codes
If your issue is statutory, you want to use an annotated code. An annotated code is a great research tool because it offers editorial enhancements such as: (1) cross references to related statutes and regulations; (2) more detailed historical notes, secondary source references; (3) if it is a Thomson Reuters code you will get topic and key number references to help you find cases; and (3) the case annotations.
Once in an annotated code, use the statutory finding tools like indexes, tables of contents, parallel reference tables, and the popular names table to find the statutory sections you need.
Updating and validating statutes
Update and validate your statutes by making sure that you are working with the most current version of a statute when researching a current issue and using Shepards and KeyCite to validate your statute and to identify any pending legislation that may impact your statute.
Historical and Superseded Codes
You can research historical codes using HeinOnline, Govinfo.gov, Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, Lexis, and Westlaw. You can also compare statutes on Lexis and Westlaw and be sure and always check the effective dates of statutes.
Sometimes a researcher is asked to find statutes from multiple jurisdictions on a particular topic. Take advantage of compiled statutory surveys such as (1) Lexis and Westlaw 50-state surveys; (2) Subject Compilations of State Laws on HeinOnline; (3) State Law Charts on Bloomberg Law and Smart Charts on VitalLaw; and (4) National Conference of State Legislatures. Read more about statutory surveys in our 50-State Surveys Guide.
Each headnote in a case published in Westlaw is assigned a topic and key number. These topic and key numbers can be used to find more cases on the same subject. Click on the link for the topic and key number assigned to the headnote in which you are interested and Westlaw will run a search and bring up all cases in their system that have been classified under that topic and key number. To find other cases that cite a particular headnote, click on the “Cases that cite this headnote” link located below the headnote summary of the point of law. Cases that cite a headnote consist of the citing references that specifically address that particular point of law in the case.
Lexis headnotes are still organized by broad topics and then progressively subdivided by narrower subjects, but Lexis headnote subjects tend to be broader concepts than the Westlaw key numbers. Also, Lexis headnotes do not editorialize, they actually lift language straight from the text of the case. Find more cases on a topic by clicking on the topic links assigned to the headnote. In Lexis, the topic links are above the headnote. More Like This Headnote appears at the end of a headnote, and gives you the ability to find cases that have headnotes that closely match the language or meaning of a headnote in your case. To find more cases that discuss the same point of law, click “Shepardize – Narrow by this Headnote.” This will show you all cases that cite to this case that reference the same issue as that headnote.
Using Citators to Validate Cases and Find More Cases
There are two main case law citators to verify the status of your case – on LexisNexis, it is Shepards and on Westlaw it is Keycite. Keyciting and shepardizing are also a method for finding other cases and secondary sources relevant to your topic. There are differences between the citator symbols used by Westlaw and Lexis, but as a general rule, in either Westlaw or Lexis cases with a red flag or red stop sign may no longer be good law and should not be relied upon without doing further research. Similarly, cases with a yellow flag or yellow triangle should be used with caution because they may have been distinguished by other court rulings. Remember, that you need to take into account the jurisdiction of your case and the cases citing your case in order to determine if your case is still good law. Do not rely on the symbols completely.
This week we will briefly cover researching administrative law.
Any time you have a statutory issue, you may need to find any applicable administrative regulations and update those regulations. You will also want to consult administrative adjudications. Administrative agencies generate rules and regulations, much like a legislature generates statutes. These administrative rules and regulations help further interpret a statute. Additionally, agencies may conduct hearings and issue decisions concerning matters that fall under their jurisdiction, much like a court. Finally, agencies may also investigate and enforce violations.
Rules that are immediately effective are integrated into the “Electronic Code of Federal Regulations” also known as the e-CFR. The e‐CFR is an unofficial editorial compilation published by the Office of the Federal Register and the Government Printing Office. It is the most up-to-date version of the CFR.
The official publication of Federal rules is the Code of Federal Regulations that is published annually by the Government Printing Office. The CFR is divided into 50 subject matter titles. Each of the 50 titles are republished each year on a staggered, quarterly basis. Titles 1-16 are revised as of January 1, titles 17-27 are revised as of April 1, Titles 28-41 are revised as of July 1, and Titles 42-50 are revised as of October 1. Each title is divided into chapters usually bearing the name of the issuing agency. At the back of each CFR volume is an Alphabetical List of Agencies Appearing in the CFR, showing the title and chapter where an agency’s regulations are codified. Each chapter is further subdivided into parts which cover specific regulatory areas. Large parts may be subdivided into subparts; all parts are organized in sections, and most citations to the CFR will be provided at the section level.
So how do you find regulations? If you are following the research process, hopefully your secondary source would have given you some citations to regulations when talking about your issue. For example, if we were researching a Fair Labor Standards Act issue of overtime for outside sales employees, we would find references to the applicable regulations in the secondary source, FLSA Employee Exemption Handbook.
Your annotated code also will often refer you to relevant CFR sections. In Westlaw codes, you can find this under Context and Analysis. In Lexis Codes, it is under Research References.
If you are using online sources on Lexis or Westlaw, you can just jump to the hyperlinked CFR citations. If using a print secondary source or code, once you have a citation to a specific CFR section, you can retrieve the section by citation in Lexis and Westlaw just like you would any other document. You can also retrieve it by citation in HeinOnline and you can retrieve it by citation for free at the e-CFR or govinfo.gov.
If you don’t have a citation from a secondary source or the annotated code, you might also want to look at finding regulations by subject. The CFR has an index. You can access this index on Govinfo.gov and on HeinOnline. Lexis and Westlaw also have a CFR Index. Note that it is not the same index as the one that the Government Printing Office provides. To access the index on Westlaw, simply go to the CFR, look off to the right under Tools and Resources, and select the CFR Index. To access the index on Lexis, begin typing CFR Index in the big search box. When using either the GPO Index or the indexes on Lexis or Westlaw, one helpful hint is to start by looking under the agency or sub-agency. Remember that you can also do keyword searching for regulations. When searching administrative regulations on Lexis or Westlaw, you can add a little precision to your search by using fields and segments.
Administrative law in the states operates similarly to the federal system, although there will be some differences in terminology, agencies and agency structures, and rulemaking requirements. State legislatures give state agencies the power to create administrative law just like Congress empowers federal agencies. Once you know the state jurisdiction that controls, learn the state law that applies to regulations. This means finding the enabling acts for state agencies and the administrative procedure acts that govern agency process. In Ohio, for example, the Administrative Procedure Act is found in Ohio Rev. Code §§ 119.01 to 119.14. An additional abbreviated rulemaking provision, that does not require notice and comment, is at Ohio Rev. Code § 111.15.
Most states have a state publication similar to the Federal Register (but not necessarily published daily) and that can be called a register, bulletin, or journal. Most states also have an administrative code. A good resource to find state registers and state codes is the website of the Administrative Codes and Registers (ACR) Section of the National Association of Secretaries of State. They link to each state’s “register,” code, and manual.
In Ohio, when an agency intends to adopt a rule, the agency gives public notice of its intention to adopt the rule in the online Register of Ohio at least 30 days before its scheduled hearing on the proposed rule. At least 65 days before adopting the rule, the agency files the notice, the proposed rule, and a rule summary and fiscal analysis with the Secretary of State and the Legislative Service Commission. The agency also files the notice, proposed rule, and rule summary and fiscal analysis with the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review for legislative review. The agency holds a public hearing on the proposed rule. Sixty-six days after filing the proposed rule, and if the time for legislative review has expired, the agency may adopt the proposed rule and file it in final form. The final rule is published in the Register of Ohio and the Administrative Code.
Ohio also has a print publication called The Ohio Monthly Record which gives notice to the public of repealed rules and proposed rules and publishes new and amended rules in chronological order on a monthly basis. The Ohio Administrative Code is divided into chapters, alphabetically, by agency.
Regulations “adopted by reference” are not contained in the Ohio Administrative Code. You must locate the text in other documents. An example of this would be the building code, which incorporates the Ohio Building Code by reference. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission and Ohio Secretary of State can provide the text of the regulations adopted by reference.
You can find more information on researching administrative law in our Federal Administrative Law guide, Ohio Legal Research Guide – Administrative Sources, and our administrative law videos.
Disability Pride Flag. A black flag with a lightning bolt of blue, yellow, white, red, and green. Source: Ann Magill/Public Domain
Disability Pride Month is an annual worldwide observance holiday during the month of July. It promotes awareness of disability as an identity, a community, a culture & the positive pride felt by disabled people. It directly challenges systematic ableism and discrimination. President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990 and in July of that same year, the first Disability Pride Day was celebrated in Boston.
This month, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights invites you to take part in the #BeCounted campaign. The #BeCounted campaign encourages lawyers with disabilities across the country to add themselves to the ABA’s U.S. map.
Using an autoethnographic approach, as well as multiple first-person accounts from disabled writers, artists, and scholars, Jan Doolittle Wilson describes how becoming disabled is to forge a new consciousness and a radically new way of viewing the world. In Becoming Disabled, Wilson examines disability in ways that challenge dominant discourses and systems that shape and reproduce disability stigma and discrimination. It is to create alternative meanings that understand disability as a valuable human variation, that embrace human interdependency, and that recognize the necessity of social supports for individual flourishing and happiness. From her own disability view of the world, Wilson critiques the disabling impact of language, media, medical practices, educational systems, neoliberalism, mothering ideals, and other systemic barriers. And she offers a powerful vision of a society in which all forms of human diversity are included and celebrated and one in which we are better able to care for ourselves and each other.
This book critically engages with the social, political and ethical implications of support for people with disability to be fully included in society. The authors examine contemporary issues of quality and safeguarding in disability services, translating research and practice wisdom into foundational knowledge.
This important reference work maps the terrain of disability across the world by providing an overview of issues, concerns and developments in the domains of society, culture, medicine, law, policy, justice, education, economics, and science and technology. It is a truly inclusive volume bringing together perspectives from researchers, activists, professionals, service providers, international development experts and policymakers based in the global North and South, and it particularly focuses on the voices of the principal stakeholders—disabled persons themselves.
Visible protests reflect both continuity and change. This text illustrates how protest around longstanding issues and grievances is punctuated by movement dynamics as well as broader cultural and institutional environments. The disability movement is an example of how activist networks and groups strategically adapt to opportunity and threat, linking protest waves to the development of issue politics. The text examines sixty years of protest across numerous issue areas that matter for disability including social welfare, discrimination, transportation, healthcare, and media portrayals. Situating visible protest in this way provides a more nuanced picture of cycles of contention as they relate to political and organizational processes, strategies and tactics, and short-and-long-term outcomes. It also provides clues about why protest ebbs and flows, when and how protest matters, who it matters for, and for what.
Available in the Langsam Stacks HV1568 .S55 2019, The Disability Justice Primer offers concrete suggestions for moving beyond the socialization of ableism, such as mobilizing against police violence, how to commit to mixed ability organizing, and access suggestions for events. Skin, Tooth, and Bone offers analysis, history and context for the growing Disability Justice Movement. The Second Edition includes the addition of a section on Audism and Deafhood written and edited by members of the D/deaf community, and a Call to Action from Survivors of Environmental Injury, as well as disability justice timelines, an extensive glossary, and a resource list for learning more.
This week in the Law Library we’re looking at more bar exam resources, reviewing more basic legal research skills for summer, continuing to celebrate Disability Pride Month, and previewing Ohio Supreme Court oral arguments.
Congratulations! You have made it through law school but now the bar exam looms. Don’t worry, the Law Library’s got your back. When you’ve caught your breath and you’re ready to start your bar studying, we have resources that can help. Check out our Bar Exam Research Guide.
The July 2024 bar examination will be administered at the Roberts Centre, 123 Gano Road, Wilmington, Ohio July 30-31, 2024. The Holiday Inn Roberts Centre room block opens on May 14, 2024, at 11 am. Learn more at: Ohio Bar Exam
The Bar Exam is not a sprint, it’s a marathon so pace yourself! You can see the previous week’s featured bar exam resources on our July 15, July 1, June 24, June 17, June 10, June 3, May 28, and May 21. Check out this week’s Bar Exam Resource highlights below on what to do this last week before the bar exam.
What to Do the Week Before the Bar Exam (And What NOT to do…), JD Advising
Lifestyle Tips for Bar Prep: Week Before the Bar, Helix Bar Review
The Bar Exam is a Week Away – Now What?, Pass the Bar
The Week Before the Bar Exam: Top Tips, Kaplan Test Prep
Kerriann Stout, Don’t Forget To Do These 5 Things The Week Before The Bar Exam, Above the Law
Previously, we looked at:
Initial steps to take when you get a summer research project
Start by identifying the resources available to you at your place of summer employment and ask questions. Develop a research plan. Read more about developing a research plan on our Research Strategy & Documentation guide.
Then you may need to do background research about your issue before jumping into primary sources such as statutes and case law. A good secondary source can explain the law around your issue and cite you to primary sources. It can save you a lot of time and effort! Learn more about researching in secondary sources in our Researching Secondary Sources Guide or watch our videos on finding and searching within the various secondary source types.
Researching statutes in annotated codes
If your issue is statutory, you want to use an annotated code. An annotated code is a great research tool because it offers editorial enhancements such as: (1) cross references to related statutes and regulations; (2) more detailed historical notes, secondary source references; (3) if it is a Thomson Reuters code you will get topic and key number references to help you find cases; and (3) the case annotations.
Once in an annotated code, use the statutory finding tools like indexes, tables of contents, parallel reference tables, and the popular names table to find the statutory sections you need.
Updating and validating statutes
Update and validate your statutes by making sure that you are working with the most current version of a statute when researching a current issue and using Shepards and KeyCite to validate your statute and to identify any pending legislation that may impact your statute.
Historical and Superseded Codes
You can research historical codes using HeinOnline, Govinfo.gov, Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, Lexis, and Westlaw. You can also compare statutes on Lexis and Westlaw and be sure and always check the effective dates of statutes.
Sometimes a researcher is asked to find statutes from multiple jurisdictions on a particular topic. Take advantage of compiled statutory surveys such as (1) Lexis and Westlaw 50-state surveys; (2) Subject Compilations of State Laws on HeinOnline; (3) State Law Charts on Bloomberg Law and Smart Charts on VitalLaw; and (4) National Conference of State Legislatures. Read more about statutory surveys in our 50-State Surveys Guide.
Each headnote in a case published in Westlaw is assigned a topic and key number. These topic and key numbers can be used to find more cases on the same subject. Click on the link for the topic and key number assigned to the headnote in which you are interested and Westlaw will run a search and bring up all cases in their system that have been classified under that topic and key number. To find other cases that cite a particular headnote, click on the “Cases that cite this headnote” link located below the headnote summary of the point of law. Cases that cite a headnote consist of the citing references that specifically address that particular point of law in the case.
Lexis headnotes are still organized by broad topics and then progressively subdivided by narrower subjects, but Lexis headnote subjects tend to be broader concepts than the Westlaw key numbers. Also, Lexis headnotes do not editorialize, they actually lift language straight from the text of the case. Find more cases on a topic by clicking on the topic links assigned to the headnote. In Lexis, the topic links are above the headnote. More Like This Headnote appears at the end of a headnote, and gives you the ability to find cases that have headnotes that closely match the language or meaning of a headnote in your case. To find more cases that discuss the same point of law, click “Shepardize – Narrow by this Headnote.” This will show you all cases that cite to this case that reference the same issue as that headnote.
This week we will look at using citators for case law research and validation.
There are two main case law citators to verify the status of your case – on LexisNexis, it is Shepards and on Westlaw it is Keycite. Keyciting and shepardizing are also a method for finding other cases and secondary sources relevant to your topic. There are differences between the citator symbols used by Westlaw and Lexis, but as a general rule, in either Westlaw or Lexis cases with a red flag or red stop sign may no longer be good law and should not be relied upon without doing further research. Similarly, cases with a yellow flag or yellow triangle should be used with caution because they may have been distinguished by other court rulings. Remember, that you need to take into account the jurisdiction of your case and the cases citing your case in order to determine if your case is still good law. Do not rely on the symbols completely. There have been many instances where KeyCite and Shepards will give you different symbols for a case. Read the cases to make your own determination as to the citing case’s impact on your case.
When looking at a Shepard’s or KeyCite report, the most relevant symbol is the one before the case name/citation that you are Shepardizing or KeyCiting. The symbols before the other cases retrieved in the report indicate whether the cases that relied on your decision are still good law but they are not the symbol for your case.
The red Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain strong negative history or treatment of your case (for example, overruled by or reversed).
The red Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain strong negative treatment of the section (for example, the section may have been found to be unconstitutional or void).
The orange Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that the citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain treatment that questions the continuing validity or precedential value of your case because of intervening circumstances, including judicial or legislative overruling
The yellow Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain history or treatment that may have a significant negative impact on your case (for example, limited or criticized by).
The green Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain history or treatment that has a positive impact on your case (for example, affirmed or followed by).
The blue “A” Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain treatment of your case that is neither positive nor negative (for example, explained).
The blue “I” Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references are available in the Shepard’s® Citations Service for your case, but the references do not have history or treatment analysis (for example, the references are law review citations).
Indicates a document is no longer good law for at least one point of law.
Indicates a document has been overruled in part but not completely.
Indicates a document has some negative treatment
Indicates a document has been appealed to the US Courts of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court (excluding appeals originating from agencies).
Indicates a document may no longer be good for at least one point of law based on its reliance on an overruled or otherwise invalid prior decision.
Don’t forget that you can always find out more about researching cases in our Researching Cases Guide or watch our videos on cases.
Disability Pride Flag. A black flag with a lightning bolt of blue, yellow, white, red, and green. Source: Ann Magill/Public Domain
Disability Pride Month is an annual worldwide observance holiday during the month of July. It promotes awareness of disability as an identity, a community, a culture & the positive pride felt by disabled people. It directly challenges systematic ableism and discrimination. President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990 and in July of that same year, the first Disability Pride Day was celebrated in Boston.
This month, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights invites you to take part in the #BeCounted campaign. The #BeCounted campaign encourages lawyers with disabilities across the country to add themselves to the ABA’s U.S. map.
Although progress has been made around equality for many marginalized groups, people with disabilities are still massively underrepresented in organizations’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. People with disabilities make up at least 15% of the world’s population yet are still too often overlooked. This book explains the potential of disabled employees, how to create a culture of inclusion, and, in the process, help people with disabilities become proud contributors.
Available to law students through the West Academic subscription, the second edition of Disability Law and Policy provides an updated overview of the major themes and insights in disability law and serves as a compelling compendium of stories about how our legal system has responded to the needs of impacted individuals. It also charts significant concerns about the welfare of people with disabilities that have been raised by the turbulent years of the pandemic and the rapid developments of technologies that are not always accessible to all who need to use them. In the thirty-plus years since the 1990 enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, huge strides have been made in protecting and improving the rights of people with disabilities to have equal access to all aspects of the worlds around them, both physical and virtual. But these worlds are still all-too-often designed and built without considering the fact that nearly every human being has experienced, or will experience, at least a period of “disability” during their lifetime that makes accessing everyday constructs of our society difficult or impossible. So the work continues, led both by long-term advocates and people who were not yet born when the ADA was signed into law.
This book explores the concept of “occupation” in disability well beyond traditional clinical formulations of disability: it considers disability not in terms of pathology or impairment, but as a range of unique social identities and experiences that are shaped by visible or invisible diagnoses/impairments, socio-cultural perceptions and environmental barriers and offers innovative ideas on how to apply theoretical training to real world contexts. Inspired by disability justice and “Disability Occupy Wall Street / Decolonize Disability” movements in the US and related movements abroad, this book builds on politically engaged critical approaches to disability that intersect occupational therapy, disability studies and anthropology.
The Palgrave Handbook of Disability and Communication covers a broad spectrum of topics related to how we perceive and understand disability and the language, constructs, constraints and communication behavior that shape disability discourse within society. The essays and original research presented in this volume address important matters of disability identity and intersectionality, broader cultural narratives and representation, institutional constructs and constraints, and points related to disability justice, advocacy, and public policy. In doing so, this book brings together a diverse group of over 40 international scholars to address timely problems and to promote disability justice by interrogating the way people communicate not only to people with disabilities, but also how we communicate about disability, and how people express themselves through their disabled identity.
Available to UC law students through the LexisNexis Digital Library, Understanding Disability Law discusses important statutory and constitutional issues relating to disability discrimination. It provides analysis of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Fair Housing Act Amendments, and other laws as they relate to the controversial issues of disability rights. The book discusses the leading cases on each of the major topics of disability law and suggests ways of thinking about unresolved questions and debates over legal policy. The fourth edition adds new information on every important topic. It includes thorough discussion of the Supreme Court’s Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller ruling about emotional distress damages in ADA, Section 504, and ACA cases, as well as the Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools decision concerning exhaustion of administrative remedies in special education cases. It provides new sources on the intersection of race and disability and on accommodations in family unification services for parents with disabilities.
You can view the live stream of oral arguments on the Court’s website or see them after the arguments take place in the Ohio Channel archives.
State v. Miree & State v. Duncan – whether a trial court is required to apply the amended Stand Your Ground Law, which eliminated the duty to retreat for a self-defense claim, in instructing the jury on a self-defense claim when the alleged crime occurred before the effective date of the amendments. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview
In the Matter of the Letter of Notification Application of Columbia Gas of Ohio Inc. for the Ford Street Pipeline Project – whether the Ohio Power Siting Board’s Board’s automatic approval of Columbia Gas’s accelerated application was unlawful and unreasonable because the Board improperly deferred to Columba Gas and failed to determine that the Project’s impacts satisfy Ohio Rev. Code sec. 4906.10(A)(2),(3). Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview
State v. Kyles – whether the prosecution must prove that a dog or cat was cared for or was under somebody’s physical control in order to meet the definition of a companion animal for a conviction of felony cruelty to animals under Ohio Rev. Code sec. 959.131. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview
State v. Dunn – whether evidence that a juvenile lives in a residence and was present when the drug trafficking was discovered is enough to support a conviction for trafficking in the “vicinity of a juvenile.” Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview
State v. Riley – whether a trial court commits an error when it immediately adopts the proposed judgment entry of one party without affording the other party a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview
Est. of Cook v. Montville Twp. – whether under Ohio Rev. Code 2744.02, the Montville Township is immune from civil liability for the death of a motorist traveling on a county road who was struck by a falling tree partially situated on parkland owned by the township. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview
State v. Smith – whether statements made to police by a domestic violence victim in an ambulance are admissible as nontestimonial statements made to meet an ongoing emergency or if they were testimonial in nature and thus hearsay. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview
State v. Kennedy – whether a sentencing court can grant judicial release on prison terms imposed by different courts or only for the prison term imposed by that court. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview
July 17 is National Lottery Day! Hopefully you will get lucky and need our Banking Law Resources.
Bloomberg Banking & Finance Practice Center
Lexis Banking & Financial Services Resources
Lexis Practical Guidance Finance Law Resources
VitalLaw Banking & Consumer Finance Law
Westlaw Finance & Banking Resources
Westlaw Practical Law Finance Resources
This week in the Law Library we’re looking at more bar exam resources, reviewing more basic legal research skills for summer, and celebrating Disability Pride Month.
Congratulations! You have made it through law school but now the bar exam looms. Don’t worry, the Law Library’s got your back. When you’ve caught your breath and you’re ready to start your bar studying, we have resources that can help. Check out our Bar Exam Research Guide.
The July 2024 bar examination will be administered at the Roberts Centre, 123 Gano Road, Wilmington, Ohio July 30-31, 2024. The Holiday Inn Roberts Centre room block opens on May 14, 2024, at 11 am. Learn more at: Ohio Bar Exam
The Bar Exam is not a sprint, it’s a marathon so pace yourself! You can see the previous week’s featured bar exam resources on our July 1, June 24, June 17, June 10, June 3, May 28, and May 21. Check out this week’s Bar Exam Resource highlights below on what to do two weeks before the bar exam.
Ameribar, It’s Two Weeks Before the Bar Exam. Help!
Shelley Awe, Bar Exam Tips for Two Weeks Out, Vault (Feb. 8, 2021)
Bar Exam Mind, Bar Exam Schedule: The Final Two Weeks
Bar Exam Toolbox, You Have Two Weeks of Bar Prep Remaining, Have You Completed This Checklist?
JD Advising, How to Make a Study Schedule the Last Two Weeks of Bar Exam Prep
Previously, we looked at:
Initial steps to take when you get a summer research project
Start by identifying the resources available to you at your place of summer employment and ask questions. Develop a research plan. Read more about developing a research plan on our Research Strategy & Documentation guide.
Then you may need to do background research about your issue before jumping into primary sources such as statutes and case law. A good secondary source can explain the law around your issue and cite you to primary sources. It can save you a lot of time and effort! Learn more about researching in secondary sources in our Researching Secondary Sources Guide or watch our videos on finding and searching within the various secondary source types.
Researching statutes in annotated codes
If your issue is statutory, you want to use an annotated code. An annotated code is a great research tool because it offers editorial enhancements such as: (1) cross references to related statutes and regulations; (2) more detailed historical notes, secondary source references; (3) if it is a Thomson Reuters code you will get topic and key number references to help you find cases; and (3) the case annotations.
Once in an annotated code, use the statutory finding tools like indexes, tables of contents, parallel reference tables, and the popular names table to find the statutory sections you need.
Updating and validating statutes
Update and validate your statutes by making sure that you are working with the most current version of a statute when researching a current issue and using Shepards and KeyCite to validate your statute and to identify any pending legislation that may impact your statute.
Historical and Superseded Codes
You can research historical codes using HeinOnline, Govinfo.gov, Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, Lexis, and Westlaw. You can also compare statutes on Lexis and Westlaw and be sure and always check the effective dates of statutes.
Sometimes a researcher is asked to find statutes from multiple jurisdictions on a particular topic. Take advantage of compiled statutory surveys such as (1) Lexis and Westlaw 50-state surveys; (2) Subject Compilations of State Laws on HeinOnline; (3) State Law Charts on Bloomberg Law and Smart Charts on VitalLaw; and (4) National Conference of State Legislatures. Read more about statutory surveys in our 50-State Surveys Guide.
This week we will begin covering how to find cases.
Headnotes are summaries of the issues in a case. They are not actually part of the opinion. Each headnote is numbered. You can click on the headnote number and be taken to the place within the opinion where the issue of the headnote is discussed. Headnotes are tools that can be used for research but they are not part of the actual case itself. You should never cite to a headnote and always read the opinion and do not rely on the headnote.
Each headnote in a case published in Westlaw is assigned a topic and key number. These topic and key numbers can be used to find more cases on the same subject. For example, if we had a headnote that was assigned the topic of Damages and the key number of 57.21 and we want to find more cases that talk about what is needed to prove a claim of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, we can use the topic of Damages and the key number of 57.21 and look online to find more cases that discuss this same thing. If you want to see the topic and key numbers in Westlaw headnotes, you may have to click the grid view link at the top of where the headnotes begin. The key number assigned to a particular headnote is always the last and narrowest key number assigned. Click on the link for the topic and key number and Westlaw will run a search and bring up all cases in their system that have been classified under that topic and key number. Note that you may need to change your jurisdiction for the search because the system keeps the last jurisdiction chosen.
To find other cases that cite a particular headnote, click on the “Cases that cite this headnote” link located below the headnote summary of the point of law. Cases that cite a headnote consist of the citing references that specifically address that particular point of law in the case. Because cases may address many different issues, this can be a quick way to find the most relevant cases citing your case for the particular issue covered by that headnote.
Lexis headnotes are still organized by broad topics and then progressively subdivided by narrower subjects, but Lexis headnote subjects tend to be broader concepts than the Westlaw key numbers. Also, Lexis headnotes do not editorialize, they actually lift language straight from the text of the case. We can find more cases on a topic by clicking on the topic links assigned to the headnote. In Lexis, the topic links are above the headnote. If we want a broader search, we can use the topic intermediate levels, for example, we could search Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress rather than the specific Elements beneath that. A search on any intermediate level will bring up results for all the more specific levels below it.
More Like This Headnote appears at the end of a headnote, and gives you the ability to find cases that have headnotes that closely match the language or meaning of a headnote in your case.
To find more cases that discuss the same point of law, click “Shepardize – Narrow by this Headnote.” This will show you all cases that cite to this case that reference the same issue as that headnote.
Don’t forget that you can always find out more about researching cases in our Researching Cases Guide or watch our videos on finding cases.
Disability Pride Flag. A black flag with a lightning bolt of blue, yellow, white, red, and green. Source: Ann Magill/Public Domain
Disability Pride Month is an annual worldwide observance holiday during the month of July. It promotes awareness of disability as an identity, a community, a culture & the positive pride felt by disabled people. It directly challenges systematic ableism and discrimination. President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990 and in July of that same year, the first Disability Pride Day was celebrated in Boston.
This month, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights invites you to take part in the #BeCounted campaign. The #BeCounted campaign encourages lawyers with disabilities across the country to add themselves to the ABA’s U.S. map.
Disability rights are civil rights. From voting to parking, the ADA is a law that protects people with disabilities in many areas of public life. From answers to common questions to official legal documents, ADA.gov has everything you need to understand your rights and responsibilities under the ADA.
The Disability History Museum is a virtual project that aims to foster a deeper understanding about how changing cultural values, notions of identity, laws and policies have shaped and influenced the experience of people with disabilities, their families and their communities over time.
This research guide provides an overview of relevant laws and regulations related to disability rights. It provides resources from the federal government and non-profit organizations that work toward advancing the rights of people with disabilities. The guide is by no means exhaustive, however it offers a extensive guidance on resources for performing legal research on this subject, as well as information from leading advocates and government entities with missions to protect those with disabilities from discrimination.
The Museum of disABILITY History is dedicated to advancing the understanding, acceptance and independence of people with disabilities. The Museum’s exhibits, collections, archives and educational programs create awareness and a platform for dialogue and discovery.
People with disabilities have been present throughout American history, but rarely appear in textbooks or shared public memories. This online exhibition helps us understand the American experience and reveals how complicated history really is.
This week in the Law Library we’re celebrating July 4th, looking at more bar exam resources, reviewing more basic legal research skills for summer, and celebrating Disability Pride Month.
The Law Library will be closed July 4, 2024 to celebrate Independence Day. Law students and faculty will still have their 24/7 access. All of our online resources are also still available 24/7!
Congratulations! You have made it through law school but now the bar exam looms. Don’t worry, the Law Library’s got your back. When you’ve caught your breath and you’re ready to start your bar studying, we have resources that can help. Check out our Bar Exam Research Guide.
The July 2024 bar examination will be administered at the Roberts Centre, 123 Gano Road, Wilmington, Ohio July 30-31, 2024. The Holiday Inn Roberts Centre room block opens on May 14, 2024, at 11 am. Learn more at: Ohio Bar Exam
The Bar Exam is not a sprint, it’s a marathon so pace yourself! Check out this week’s Bar Exam Resource highlights below.
Available via the West Academic study aid subscription, this text identifies the reading strategies used by expert legal readers and presents the strategies in a systematic sequence. The second edition adds chapters that address reading on screens and techniques for reading bar prep materials. The second edition also has a seventeen part video series with PowerPoint slides. Each video introduces a reading strategy, provides helpful tips, includes a short student exercise, and gives students the opportunity to self-assess their proficiency.
Available via the West Academic study aid subscription, this fourth edition (expanded with new questions, new answers, and new explanations) encompasses material reflecting all Civil Procedure Rule amendments through December 2021, along with applicable new case law through February 2022. This multiple choice practice book is designed for: (a) bar exam takers, who are preparing to take the MBE multiple choice bar exam, and (b) 1L law students, who are preparing to take their course examinations. This practice book offers practical, easy-to-follow advice on multiple choice exam-taking strategies, clear suggestions on effective multiple choice practicing techniques, and a robust set of Civil Procedure multiple choice practice questions with answers and explanations (designed to simulate MBE-style questions). Tables help users decode the tested-topic for each practice question.
Bar Exam Toolbox, Bar Exam 101
A collection of the Bar Exam Toolbox favorite posts in different topic areas, along with links to lots more content. From when to start studying to detailed tips for the bar exam essays.
Taking practice bar exams is an extremely important part of efficiently studying. Not only does it identify your strengths and weaknesses, but it also helps you practice your test-taking strategies and improve your mental stamina. Working practice exams into your study schedule is critical to bar exam success. This article gives you 23 key tips on how to take a practice bar exam so that you squeeze the most possible benefit out of the time you spend.
This is a step-by-step approach on how to study and prepare for the bar exam.
You can see the previous week’s featured bar exam resources on our June 24, June 17, June 10, May 28, and May 21 posts.
Previously, we looked at:
Initial steps to take when you get a summer research project
Start by identifying the resources available to you at your place of summer employment and ask questions. Develop a research plan. Read more about developing a research plan on our Research Strategy & Documentation guide.
Then you may need to do background research about your issue before jumping into primary sources such as statutes and case law. A good secondary source can explain the law around your issue and cite you to primary sources. It can save you a lot of time and effort! Learn more about researching in secondary sources in our Researching Secondary Sources Guide or watch our videos on finding and searching within the various secondary source types.
Researching statutes in annotated codes
If your issue is statutory, you want to use an annotated code. An annotated code is a great research tool because it offers editorial enhancements such as: (1) cross references to related statutes and regulations; (2) more detailed historical notes, secondary source references; (3) if it is a Thomson Reuters code you will get topic and key number references to help you find cases; and (3) the case annotations.
Once in an annotated code, use the statutory finding tools like indexes, tables of contents, parallel reference tables, and the popular names table to find the statutory sections you need.
Updating and validating statutes
Update and validate your statutes by making sure that you are working with the most current version of a statute when researching a current issue and using Shepards and KeyCite to validate your statute and to identify any pending legislation that may impact your statute.
Historical and Superseded Codes
You can research historical codes using HeinOnline, Govinfo.gov, Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, Lexis, and Westlaw. You can also compare statutes on Lexis and Westlaw and be sure and always check the effective dates of statutes.
This week we will cover statutory surveys.
Sometimes a researcher is asked to find statutes from multiple jurisdictions on a particular topic. If someone had already done all or part of the work for you, why not take advantage of that? That’s where a statutory survey can come in. Surveys can be very informative guides, but likely will need to be updated and verified before placing final reliance upon them.
Lexis and Westlaw both have 50-state surveys. You can search or browse these surveys. The surveys are on selected subjects and you will definitely want to verify statutes you will be using.
The State Law Comparison Tool in Lexis Practice Advisor allows you to efficiently compare laws across multiple states for a variety of practice areas and topics. To produce a comparison document, start by selecting the “Practical Guidance” icon located on the left-hand side of the Lexis+ homepage. Then click the State Law Comparison Tool link on the right. You can then select your practice area, topic, jurisdiction, and question.
Westlaw also has a service called Jurisdictional Surveys. Start with the citation of a statute you know, index terms that describe your topical target, or from a predefined topic page. The result list is a curated list of statutory sections that uses algorithms to account for varying terminology across all jurisdictions.
Another place you can find a state code survey is in a publication called Subject Compilations of State Laws. This is an annual publication that identifies and describes multistate surveys that have been published since the 1960s in various types of sources, including books, articles, government documents, and websites. The series now includes over 20 volumes, with new volumes being added every year. Unfortunately, the volumes are not cumulative, so you need to consult each one if you want to find surveys on a certain topic from all time periods since the 1960s.
The publication gives you a citation to the survey. It does not give you the full-text of the survey. Still, it is an excellent way to find a treatise or law review where someone has done a survey. It is much more comprehensive subject-wise than the Lexis and Westlaw state surveys.
This publication is now searchable online through HeinOnline.
Bloomberg Law has a chart builder that you can use to create custom state law surveys. The Chart Builder feature is under the “Practitioner Tools” tab. Bloomberg Law organizes the charts into 9 broad practice areas: Banking & Consumer Finance, Bankruptcy, Blue Sky/Securities, Corporate, Data Security & Privacy, Health Care, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, and Tax. Each practice area has multiple subjects within it.
Once you find your desired subject, select the jurisdiction(s) and topic(s) you are interested in and create the chart.
Additionally, some of the Practice Centers on Bloomberg Law also let you build state law charts, reports and track developments.
VitalLaw also has smart charts that you can use to create custom state law surveys. Access all of the smart charts through the Practical Content tab.
One organization that compiles high quality surveys on a wide variety of topics is the National Conference of State Legislatures. They are much better on reporting legislation as opposed to codified statutes, but you can still find surveys on a wide variety of topics. Some of their resources are for members only but much of it is available to the public.
In addition to these sources, keep in mind that many organizations and associations may conduct code surveys. Just be aware that it is often harder to tell how up to date such a source is and you don’t know who compiled it or how accurate it is.
Don’t forget that you can always find out more about researching statutes in our Researching Statutes Guide or watch our videos on finding and searching within annotated codes.
Disability Pride Flag. A black flag with a lightning bolt of blue, yellow, white, red, and green. Source: Ann Magill/Public Domain
Disability Pride Month is an annual worldwide observance holiday during the month of July. It promotes awareness of disability as an identity, a community, a culture & the positive pride felt by disabled people. It directly challenges systematic ableism and discrimination. President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990 and in July of that same year, the first Disability Pride Day was celebrated in Boston.
This month, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights invites you to take part in the #BeCounted campaign. The #BeCounted campaign encourages lawyers with disabilities across the country to add themselves to the ABA’s U.S. map.
The ABA Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council hosts a 21-Day Disability Equity Habit-Building Challenge syllabus in honor of Disability Pride Month. ABA members and non-members, including non-lawyers, are invited to participate in this Disability Equity Habit-Building Challenge©. Its goal is to assist each of us to become more aware and engaged in the quest for disability equity, and specifically to learn more about the members of the disability community, many of whom are from other marginalized communities, as well as barriers, biases, stereotypes, and discrimination they encounter in everyday life.
Between 15-20% of the US population is neurodiverse. Neurodiversity is getting lots of attention, with more and more employers recognizing the benefits of diversity of thought and tapping into this talent pool. This panel of experts—including neurodivergent attorneys—discusses what neurodivergent means for employers and the workplace, the unique skills and abilities that accompany it, and what businesses should be doing about it. The panelists address the business case for hiring neurodivergent lawyers, provide best practices for recruiting, hiring, and retaining neurodivergent lawyers, share their initiatives and lessons they have learned along the way, and discuss what a neuroinclusive workplace looks like.
The American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights has created this resource to increase awareness of implicit biases, both in general and in particular with regard to persons with disabilities, and to offer techniques to help mitigate these biases. We begin with an overview of implicit bias, in particular what is implicit bias, where do such biases originate, how can we measure them, why are they harmful, and how can we mitigate them. This is followed by a series of questions and scenarios that will allow you to examine your implicit biases about persons with disabilities.
The American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights and the Law School Admission Council created the following video, featuring disabled lawyers and law students as well as law school professionals, discussing why disability diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to the legal profession and why employers should recruit, hire, retain, and advance this untapped talent pool.
This guide explores concepts of disability justice and accessibility. Topics include physical, cognitive, intellectual, and mental disabilities; accessibility, broadly defined; ableism in education; and intersections of ableism with other systems of oppression.