Secondary Sources: Commentary About the Law

1
Secondary SourcesCommentary About the Law
2
Types of Secondary Authority

• -Encyclopedias (state and national)
• -Treatises
• -Legal Periodicals
• -American Law Reports (ALR Annotations)
• -Restatements
• -Uniform Laws
• -Some practice materials

3
Encyclopedias

• They are multi-volume sets arranged by topic
  which provide a general overview of the current
  state of the law.

4
Encyclopedias

• There are two types of legal encyclopedias
• 1. National Encyclopedias
• 2. State Encyclopedias

5

National Encyclopedias
American Jurisprudence 2d
AmJur2d
Corpus Juris Secundum - CJS
6
American Jurisprudence 2d
AmJur2d

• a non-critical textual statement of substantive
  and procedural law arranged in over 430 topics.

7
Corpus Juris Secundum - CJS

• Originally -A complete restatement of the entire
  American Law as developed by all reported cases.
  
• Today -A Contemporary Statement of American Law
  as derived from cases and legislation.
• www.westlaw.com

8
State Encyclopedias

• Georgia Jurisprudence (Georgia Jur)
• Georgia Encyclopedia of the Law
• Florida Jurisprudence (Fla Jur)
• Michies Jurisprudence (Va. W.Va.)
• New York Jurisprudence
• Strongs North Carolina Index
• Tennessee Jurisprudence (Tenn Jur)
• Caution Not all states have an encyclopedia!

9
Georgia Encyclopedias

• Georgia Jurisprudence Ga Jur
• Encyclopedia of Georgia Law - (recently became
  defunct so you may still see citations.)

10
Hypothetical

• A developer in North Macon has purchases a large
  tract of land in Bibb County with the intention
  of building an upscale mall. He had the land
  surveyed and discovered several wet spots. He
  plans to fill those areas to build a parking lot.
  Most of the wet spots are less than one quarter
  on an acre, but one is over 2 acres. He has asked
  your firm to assist him with any permits he may
  need. Determine which statutes regulate wetlands
  in Georgia and on a Federal level.

11
Why are state encyclopedias more helpful when
researching a state law issue?

• 1. The court decisions and statutes are state
  specific.
• 2. The citations to primary authority are more up
  to date than in a national encyclopedia and are
  from the controlling jurisdiction.

12
Treatises

• A treatise is a well accepted tome on a specific
  are of law. It provides in depth treatment of
  single subject. They may be national or state
  specific.

13
Treatises

• Look for
• Coverage Does it cite primary authority?
• Currency Has it been updated recently?
• Credibility Is the book cited in textbooks, kept
  on reserve, cited by a court, published in
  multiple editions?
• Organization Books that follow an outline are
  not treatises!

14
Not Treatises

• Casebooks, Textbooks
• Study Aides
• Continuing Legal Education (CLE) materials
• Institutes, Seminars

15
Finding Treatises

• Check LawCat
• 2. Browse the shelf
• 3. Check the reserve desk
• 4. Use references from other secondary sources
• 5. Ask an expert librarian, professor,
  practitioner
• 6. Index to Legal Periodicals and Books
• 7. IndexMaster, Lexis, Westlaw

16
Demo Lets use LawCat and look for a treatise
on our issue.

• http//www.law.mercer.edu/library/index.cfm

17
Legal Periodicals

• Law reviews or law journals
• Commercial journals
• Bar journals
• Legal newspapers
• Newsletters

18
Legal Periodicals

• Look for
• 1. Coverage - Thorough treatment of specific
  issue
• 2. Currency When was the periodical published?
• 3. Credibility - Authoritative if scholarly
  article by expert
• 4. Quality
• 5. Persuasiveness
• May address new, undeveloped areas
• May address areas where there is a conflict of
  authority
• Policy discussions

19
Finding Legal Periodicals

• Index to Periodicals Books
• 2. Current Law Index
• 3. LegalTrac

20
Demo Lets use LegalTrac together as we search
for a periodical article that discusses our
issue.http//www.law.mercer.edu/library/
21
Summary What are the two main reasons to use
secondary sources?

• 1. For background information about an unfamiliar
  area of law
• 2.To find references to primary, mandatory
  authority

22
Self Quiz Question One

• You are looking for law review articles that
  discuss Bowers v. Hardwick, a Supreme Court case
  that was overruled by the Court. Which of the
  following sources or tools will you use?
• a. IndexMaster
• b. Legal Trac
• c. Federal Digest
• d. LawCat

23
Self Quiz Question Two

• You are researching an issue that has not been
  addressed in Georgia. You want to find primary
  persuasive authority from other jurisdictions.
  Which of the following sources or tools will you
  use?
• a. Georgia Encyclopedia of Law
• b. AmJur2d
• c. Words and Phrases
• d. LegalTrac

24
Self Quiz Question Three

• You are trying to locate a treatise on
  Environmental Law. Which of the following
  resources would you use?
• a. LawCat
• b. Ask a professor
• c. Indexmaster
• d. Index to Legal Periodicals and Books

25
Self Quiz Question Four

• The most recent edition of Corpus Juris Secundum
  may be found in
• Mercers Law Library
• Westlaw
• Lexis
• Legal Trac

26
Self Quiz Question One

• You are looking for law review articles that
  discuss Bowers v. Hardwick, a Supreme Court case
  that was overruled by the Court. Which of the
  following sources or tools will you use?
• a. IndexMaster
• b. Legal Trac
• c. Federal Digest
• d. LawCat

27
Self Quiz Question Two

• You are researching an issue that has not been
  addressed in Georgia. You want to find primary
  persuasive authority from other jurisdictions.
  Which of the following sources or tools will you
  use?
• a. Georgia Encyclopedia of Law
• b. AmJur2d
• c. Words and Phrases
• d. LegalTrac

28
Self Quiz Question Three

• You are trying to locate a treatise on
  Environmental Law. Which of the following
  resources would you use?
• a. LawCat
• b. Ask a professor
• c. Indexmaster
• d. Index to Legal Periodicals and Books

29
Self Quiz Question Four

• The most recent edition of Corpus Juris Secundum
  may be found in
• Mercers Law Library
• Westlaw
• Lexis
• Legal Trac

30
Enjoy your Weekend!