How to Conduct Legal Research
Most successful trial lawyers can tell you that you can't win without good legal research. The old lawyer's motto, "Don't ask any question you don't already know the answer to" applies to research as well as to cross examination. Good legal research consists of finding all written or case law that applies to a given issue, a challenging task due to the sheer volume of information. Your task is to separate the relevant information from the material that has no bearing on your case. Fortunately, for those who haven't the time or space to subscribe to statutes, revisions, histories and court decisions in print, there are some simple ways to find the information to prepare a convincing case, should you have the job.
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Instructions
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Begin by analyzing the charge or details of the action. Identify which law is in question. Read the law and identify the elements, or requirements. If a law concerning speeding is at issue, elements might include exceeding a posted speed limit or exceeding a speed safe for conditions, two very different ideas. Perhaps there is also an element of intent--whether or not the law was broken on purpose--another important distinction. Most laws are written so that they can be fairly easily understood and the checklist of things that have to be proved is fairly short.
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Find any cross references. Many laws refer to other laws. Track down all of these references--and any references they make--so that you have a complete idea of what the first law says. There may be definitions or processes that must be met before the elements of the law in question can be proven. Depending on the case and charges in question, this can be a fairly complex process.
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Check legislative histories. These histories are contained in annotated statutes, the type of publication made periodically by states and the federal government, which, in addition to laws that have been added or amended, include the historical development of each law as well as any case law affecting it. These histories are a good place to start to find information about court cases that have refined or interpreted the meaning of your law.
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Search for court cases that have a bearing on your law or case. Federal, or U.S., law will only be tried in federal courts but state laws will start in state courts and (perhaps) end up in the federal appellate courts. Start on the same level (state or federal) as the law was written. Municipal, county and town courts are part of the state court systems and cases beginning in these courts go through the state appellate and supreme courts. Only a certain number of appeals cases are published (non-published cases are available but cannot be used as precedent) and can be cited in research.
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Double-check to make sure you've found current, relevant information. Although the most current case interpretation generally rules, older cases may have set precedents that affect your case. You won't know until you've read them all. Again, note citations and legislative histories for everything so you can follow through.
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Don't ignore law journals and bar publications. Check the official web site of your state's bar association for legal discourse regarding current issues and cases for any help on your issue. Odds are, someone else may be involved in a similar issue to yours and is sharing information on it with fellow legal professionals. Some state bar websites are also great sources of links to other information, too.
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Never give up. Take a nap, go to the beach for the afternoon and come back fresh but never believe that you're finished. After a thousand years of common law and two centuries of legislative and case law, there's always something else to find. The questions to ask are 1) which element does it address, 2) what does it say, and 3) what else does it track back (or forward) to?
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Tips & Warnings
Learn the jargon. Findlaw has a complete basic glossary as well as a worthwhile section on understanding legal citation, a skill necessary for reading and taking notes to be used later.
Find a good general source of law concept information. Sites like Findlaw, the "lectric Law Library or nolo.com are good for this.
You may have a public library that has a set of law school American Law and Procedure books, textbooks that outline the concepts and history of American law. They usually run 15 to 20 volumes and have a wealth of general information that will help you understand how the law works and organize it under general topics like contract, tort or criminal law. They also cite specific court cases that have set precedent and may have a bearing on your law. The only drawback to these texts is that they are often quite old and case citations might not be up to date. The concepts outlined in them, however, are timeless (for the most part) and make them worth curling up with in a comfy reference room chair away from the hypnotic computer screen for an hour or so.
Find (and bookmark) good index sites. Findlaw has a complete set of links for federal and state laws and cases. The federal court system has a site that provides links for all federal courts, including special courts like those for taxes, armed forces appeals and immigration cases. Many law schools and state law libraries develop and maintain web sites that link to sources that their patrons need for reference. Generally speaking, you shouldn't have to pay to find information. There are enough publicly-funded sites to use. Occasionally, sites like PACER, the federal public access site for court electronic records, will have a per page fee but most information on sites like these is generally available with a little more searching.
Take complete notes, double-checking as you go and before leaving a source. Trying to retrace your steps to get a citation (or having it thrown out because of incomplete or incorrect information) takes longer than working carefully the first time.
Remember that the law doesn't tell us what's "right" or moral. It tells us what's legal--in bits and pieces. And that the answer to what's legal depends on the initiative and persistence of the reader-researcher as well as the talent of the advocate and the intelligence of the judge.
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