How to Ask a Legal Question Properly
Asking a legal question is something that you can do by following four steps. First, state the question in clear terms. Next, locate the statute or legal code that relates to the question. Then read the statute carefully to determine its meaning. Finally, locate cases that interpret the statute. By the time you have done these four steps, your initial question may have been shaped by your reading of the statute and your research of cases.
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Instructions
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How To Ask a Legal Question Properly
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Formulate your legal question. You should ask in plain terms what you are interested in knowing. It should be something clearly stated such as, "Can I build a boat slip on my property, and if so do I have to acquire a license from the state or pay any fees?"
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Go to a law library to find a book or use an online source to find the statute that governs your question. The book or online source you are seeking will have a title that starts with the state name and then is followed by "Compiled Laws" or "Compiled Statutes." For example, in Illinois you would use "Illinois Compiled Statutes." If using a book, you will want to look through the index for your subject. For the boat slip question you would want to look for property law or boat slip law. If using an online source, you can enter keyword searches on your subject.
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Read the statute carefully to determine what it means. It may state clearly that a homeowner may build a boat slip on his or her property and that the homeowner must file a form with the state and pay a fee of $100.
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Review previous cases. If the wording of the law is very clear, you will have not only formulated your question you may have your answer. But if the statute is not clear or the issue is extremely complex, then it is necessary to review cases. Some statutory law books will list cases interpreting the statute. But if your source does not list cases, you will need to do a keyword search. One source you can use is lexisONE which has cases from every state. Just type the case name or keyword, select the proper state, and then hit search to show cases on your issue. Read the cases to see how they interpret the statute. By the time you have completed these steps your initial question may have changed from, "Can I build a boat slip on my property?" to "What steps do I take to have my property rezoned so that I can build a boat slip?"
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Tips & Warnings
Completing these steps is helpful even if you plan to hire an attorney because you will know what you are seeking and therefore save time and money. Because attorneys typically charge $200 an hour or more, time spent trying to determine what you want to know can be expensive for you.
