what does it mean if your case is referred to a research attorney of the court

Criminal defense attorneys (private and court-appointed) research the facts, investigate the case against their clients, and try to negotiate deals with their adversaries (prosecutors). These deals might include reduced bail, reduced charges, and reduced sentences.

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When do lawyers need to conduct legal research?

Feb 15, 2017 · Legal research is generally the process of finding an answer to a legal question or checking for legal precedent that can be cited in a brief or at trial. Sometimes, legal research can help determine whether a legal issue is a "case of first impression" that is unregulated or lacks legal precedent.

What is legal research?

Mar 18, 2016 · If your attorney is conducting research he is not learning at your expense he is using his skills , to apply current case law to your case, looking for recent decisions based on facts similar to yours. As attorneys we are also required to take continuing education classes. Those are not charged to the client.

How to refer to a case in a printed law report?

Jul 21, 2021 · The case name is the abbreviated title, or style of cause, of a decision. The case name is derived from the style of cause, which includes the full names of the parties and their roles in the proceeding. The case name provides a concise way of referring to a case for all purposes and for all time.

What cases are subject to review by an appeals court?

Feb 18, 2022 · The only way you can know if your case is still good law is to validate your research. "Validating" your case research means to run your case through a citator service to see if there are subsequent legal authorities that invalidate your case and then reading those cases that negatively impact your case.

What does the legal research process include?

What does research mean in law?

Why do lawyers refer to other cases?

What do you mean by legal research discuss the characteristics of good legal research and explain its objectives?

Why do lawyers do legal research?

Why is legal research important?

What do you mean by legal research discuss about its significance for law students lawyers and judges?

What is mono disciplinary legal research?

What are the relevant factors in identifying the research problem?

What is legal research?

Essentially, it means that legal research is the process you use to identify and find the laws—including statutes, regulations, and court opinions—that apply to the facts of your case. In most instances, the purpose of legal research is to find support for a specific legal issue or decision. For example, attorneys must conduct legal research ...

What is case law?

Case law, which are court opinions/decisions issued by federal or state courts. Statutes, including legislation passed by both the U.S. Congress and state lawmakers. Regulations, including those issued by either federal or state agencies. Constitutions, both federal and state.

What is a headnote in Westlaw?

For example, in Westlaw, most cases contain headnotes that summarize each of the case's important legal issues. These headnotes are also assigned a Key Number based on the topic associated with that legal issue.

Why do we need secondary sources?

Because secondary sources provide you with a thorough overview of legal topics, meaning you don't have to start your research from scratch. After secondary sources, you can move on to primary sources of law.

Jim Mullenix

My Dad was a doctor, and we often had the same conversation about the relative exact nature of medicine, and science in general, versus the relative inexact nature of law.

Ben Rothman

If your attorney didn't research, he could make a big boo-boo, and you'd really end up paying.

Rixon Charles Rafter III

Laws are constantly changing, court decisions that set precedents are constantly changing, and each set of facts must be compared to the law, No two cases are alike, it's simply not sufficient to memorize and move on, in fact, to do so could be malpractice...

Bryan Robert Smith

Your doctor does charge you for time to research the procedure. He just doesn't itemize it on your bill. If you think that any competent attorney "knows the law" by carrying it all around in his or her head, I don't know what to tell you, except that your opinion of the complexities of the law aren't based on the considerations of the real world.

Kelvin P. Green

Most of us try to stay up on the law. How do you know the doctor doesn't charge you for the time to learn a procedure? If they spent time and money be assured they are figuring out how to cover the cost...have you looked at the number of laws? The number of cases that courts deal with and decisions issued.

Jay Scott Finnecy

The only thing lawyers have to sell is their time. If research must be conducted, you pay for the time.

What is the case name?

Case Name. The case name is the abbreviated title, or style of cause, of a decision. The case name is derived from the style of cause, which includes the full names of the parties and their roles in the proceeding. The case name provides a concise way of referring to a case for all purposes and for all time.

Do you have to include the jurisdiction and court in a citation?

If this information is not obvious from elsewhere in the citation, you must include it in parentheses.

What does sub nom mean in law?

Sub nom is short for sub nomine, which means ‘under the name.’ Sometimes the same case is reported under different names in different law reports, or will be given a different name at different stages. Use the case name given in the reporter being cited. If both reporters are being cited, introduce the case using the phrase ‘ sub nom .’

Do you add the year of the decision in parentheses?

If the year of the decision is not indicated in the first listed reference to where you can find the case, then you must add it in parentheses after the style of cause.

What is the history of a case?

At times, it will be important to let the reader know the full history of a case. Even though it is called “history, ” it refers to what happened earlier and later to a particular case. For example, if you are discussing a case from the British Columbia Court of Appeal, you may want to let the reader know where to find the trial level decision as well as that the case went to the Supreme Court of Canada. Further, you will want to let the reader know if the Court of Appeal decision is affirming/reversing the earlier decision and whether the Court of Appeal decision was affirmed/reversed by the Supreme Court of Canada.

When to use subsequent history?

Use subsequent history if you are discussing the decision of a case that has since gone to a higher court level. Signal the treatment by aff’d for affirmed or rev’d for reversed. The signals always refer back to the earliest decision cited.

When to use prior history?

Use prior history if you are discussing the decision of the highest court the case has reached and want to refer to the lower court decisions. Signal the treatment by aff’g for affirming or rev’g for reversing.

What does a red flag mean in court?

A red flag, as in the above sample, means a case is no longer good for at least one point of law. A yellow flag means that a case has some negative treatment but has not been reversed or overruled. A blue striped flag means that a case has been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals or to the U.S. Supreme Court.

How to determine validity of a case?

To determine the validity of your case, you must review those cases that offer negative treatment of your case. There are several types of negative treatment. Cases that have been reversed, overruled, or superseded are no longer good law and typically should not be relied upon. However, sometimes cases are simply reversed/overruled/superseded in ...

What is key citation?

Also, Key Cite provides a report of all the instances that a case has been treated negatively in other courts. When you pull up a case in Westlaw, there are tabs that appear immediately under the case title that give you information about the case history, negative treatment by other cases, and citing references.

What is a keycite?

KeyCite® is the citator in Westlaw. KeyCite, quite literally, flags cases that are not good law. Also, Key Cite provides a report of all the instances that a case has been treated negatively in other courts.

Is it best to cite a non-binding case?

While it is always best to cite to controlling authority, sometimes it can be useful to cite to non-binding cases as relevant persuasive authority. For example, if there is little or no binding authority for your issue in your jurisdiction, you may want to cite to on-point cases outside of your jurisdiction.

Is the Supreme Court binding?

For the substance of the state law issue, decisions of the state supreme court would be binding, even though you are in federal court. Decisions of the state court of appeals may also be useful, but the federal courts might treat that as persuasive authority.

What is the 9th circuit court?

For example, the 9th Circuit is the federal circuit court for California, ...

Which circuit is the 9th circuit?

For example, the 9th Circuit is the federal circuit court for California, and the Central District of California is the federal district court for Los Angeles.

What is mandatory authority?

Mandatory Authority. Courts are required to follow the decisions of higher courts in the same jurisdiction. Accordingly, cases which are both (1) from a higher court, and (2) in the same jurisdiction are considered mandatory authority.

What is a headnote in a case?

Headnotes are short, one- to two-sentence summaries of different aspects or issues of a case. They are found before the actual text of the decision begins. They are not part of the decision; they are an editorial enhancement provided by the legal research service.

What is an official reporter?

Official Reporters are governmentally approved publications which reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. Many states still publish their own reporters. The official reporter is the reporter that should be cited when submitting documents to the court in that jurisdiction.

What does the 2D and 3D in the title mean?

Important: the "2d" and "3d" in the title do not indicate the appellate district from which the decision came. They merely indicate a re-start to the numbering of the volumes in each series.

What is the purpose of a headnote?

Headnotes serve three main purposes: They identify the rules of law in the decision. They act as a "Table of Contents" to the case. Online, the hyperlinked number found in each headnote will bring you to the point in the decision where the discussion of that issue appears.

Can a prosecutor file charges against a suspect?

Prosecutors can file charges on all crimes for which the police arrested a suspect, can file charges that are more or less severe than the charges leveled by the police, or can decide not to file any charges at all. ( U.S. v. Batchelder, U.S. Sup. Ct. 1979.)

What is an arrest report?

Arrest reports summarize the events leading up to arrests and provide numerous other details, such as dates, time, location, weather conditions, and witnesses' names and addresses. Arrest reports are almost always one-sided.

What happens when an appeals court reverses a trial court decision?

Once an appeals court has made its decision, the opportunity for further appeals is limited. As the number of parties filing appeals has risen substantially, the state and federal court systems have implemented changes in an effort to keep up.

What is an appeal in court?

An appeal is a review of the trial court's application of the law. There is no jury in an appeal, nor do the lawyers present witnesses or, typically, other forms of evidence. The court will accept the facts as they were revealed in the trial court, unless a factual finding is clearly against the weight of the evidence. Thank you for subscribing!

What is the purpose of an appeals court?

Most civil and criminal decisions of a state or federal trial court (as well as administrative decisions by agencies) are subject to review by an appeals court. Whether the appeal concerns a judge's order or a jury's verdict, an appeals court reviews what happened in prior proceedings for any errors of law.

Do you have to have a jury in an appeal?

There is no jury in an appeal , nor do the lawyers present witnesses or, typically, other forms of evidence. The court will accept the facts as they were revealed in the trial court, unless a factual finding is clearly against the weight of the evidence. Thank you for subscribing!

What is the difference between a trial and an appeal?

Another difference between a trial and an appeal is the number of judges involved. A single judge presides over a trial. An appeal, however, is heard by several judges at once. How many depends on the jurisdiction. At the initial appeals court level, courts may have from three to a few dozen judges. Yet on the larger courts, the full number of ...

How many judges are there in an appeals court?

How many depends on the jurisdiction. At the initial appeals court level, courts may have from three to a few dozen judges. Yet on the larger courts, the full number of judges seldom hear claims together. Instead, appeals are typically heard by panels, often comprised of three judges.

What is an appellate brief?

Appellate Briefs. The main form of persuasion on appeal is the written appellate brief, filed by counsel for each party. With this brief, the party that lost in the trial court will argue that the trial judge incorrectly applied the law. The party that won below will argue that the trial court's decision was correct.