when an attorney researches a case is in recorded anywhere

How do I research court records?

Jul 20, 2009 · You can, however, go to www.mncourts.gov then click on access to trial court records, accept the license agreement, then click on criminal/traffic court records, then search by lawyer name. This will show you a list of cases the attorney has handled in the trial courts going back to when the court began making these records available online.

How do I research case law?

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 ...

Why do I need to research court records?

Jan 15, 2020 · It is to your benefit to thoroughly research an attorney's disciplinary history. You should take into account any previous discipline taken and the circumstances surrounding the discipline. The following state links will help you learn whether an attorney is currently eligible to practice law or has been disciplined in the past.

When do lawyers need to conduct legal research?

Mar 27, 2016 · Similarly, if you're researching a legal issue, you want to limit your research to the relevant state or geographic area, and to relatively recent cases. Although it may be interesting, you probably won't get much value from a case decided 100 years ago.

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 do you need to know before you start looking for a law?

Before you start looking for laws and court opinions, you first need to define the scope of your legal research project. There are several key questions you can use to help do this.

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.

How to research civil cases?

Civil cases typically begin with a dispute, so researching case law begins by spotting the legal issues raised by the facts surrounding the dispute. At this stage, consider everything at face-value, and don't discount anything as not relevant.

Who is Jennifer Mueller?

Jennifer Mueller is an in-house legal expert at wikiHow. Jennifer reviews, fact-checks, and evaluates wikiHow's legal content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. She received her JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006.

What is a fiduciary relationship?

For example, some parties have a fiduciary relationship, which means one party owes the other a higher standard of care. Financial advisors and home-care providers are examples of professionals who have a fiduciary duty to their clients. A contractual relationship is another type of relationship that may be present.

What is contractual relationship?

A contractual relationship is another type of relationship that may be present. If the parties signed a contract, that document likely defines their relationship and their duties to one another. ...

Is the Supreme Court ruling binding?

A U.S. Supreme Court case is binding on all lower courts, but an appellate court decision is only binding within its own district. Outside of that territory, these cases are referred to as "persuasive" authority, meaning a court in another district may consider them is not bound to follow them.

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.

Where are court records stored?

Contact the clerk of the court that heard the case. Physical records of recent court cases typically are housed in the courthouse where the case was heard. The clerk will be able to tell you what records are stored on site, and whether any fees are charged for retrieving court records.

How to find court records?

1. Identify the parties. To research court records, you must know the legal names of the parties to the case you want to find. The names you need to know will depend on the type of research you're doing. For example, if you want court records for everyone who has sued a particular company, you will need to know the correct legal name of the company.

What is procedural history?

The procedural history of the Supreme Court's opinion also will have information about the different courts that handled the case. The same is true for state appellate court decisions. The type of case also may provide some clues as to which court heard the case.

Where are bankruptcy cases heard?

For example, bankruptcy cases are only heard in federal bankruptcy courts. Many states have separate courts for family law cases or juvenile cases. You can go to the website for the state court system to learn more about how that state's courts are organized and the types of cases each court hears.

Who is Jennifer Mueller?

Jennifer Mueller is an in-house legal expert at wikiHow. Jennifer reviews, fact-checks, and evaluates wikiHow's legal content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. She received her JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006.

What is case law?

Case law. "Case law" is all of the previous decisions made by judges. It is created by judges in their rulings when they write their decisions and give the reasoning behind them. These decisions are often called "opinions" and, in them, judges often cite precedents from other cases and statutes that influenced their decisions.

What is the legal precedent?

This is called "legal precedent" and is central to legal analysis and rulings. State trial courts (superior courts) do not publish opinions, so their decisions are not generally used as "legal precedent.". The bulk of published opinions come from state and federal appellate courts and the Supreme Court.

How does precedent work?

A court gives legal precedent more or less weight depending on a number of factors: 1 Most important is whether the precedent is "on point." Does it deal with a circumstance identical or very similar to the circumstance in your case? 2 Second, when and where was the precedent decided? A recent decision by the same appellate court that oversees the trial court where your case is being heard will be given great weight. 3 Next in importance is recent precedent by appellate courts for other areas (of the state or of the U.S.) whose law is the same as the law that your court follows. 4 The least weight is given to precedent that comes from cases where the circumstances were different from your case, from older cases that have since been contradicted, or from cases in geographical areas or courts that have law that is considerably different from the law in the court your case is in.

What is the federal court system?

The federal court system includes the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts.

What is case law?

Case law--also called 'opinions' or 'decisions '--comes from the written resolution of the issues in dispute, and is written by a judge or judges. It is not a jury verdict. (Juries decide facts; judges decide law.) Cases come from courts: trial courts, intermediate appellate courts, and appellate court of last resort, ...

Where do opinions come from?

On the state level reported, or published, opinions generally come from the appellate courts, not the trial courts. On the federal level, some trial court (District Court) cases are reported. But, in a jury trial, there is nothing to “report” except a verdict.

Is the Supreme Court ruling binding?

A decision by the United States Supreme Court is binding precedent in all courts. For example, a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit would not be binding on the United States Supreme Court or courts from another circuit. However, it would be binding in all lower courts of the 4th Circuit (Maryland, North Carolina, ...

Step 1

Go to your local criminal courthouse and ask for a listing of recent cases in which the attorney has represented a defendant. While many jurisdictions have case records online, that is not the case in every state or municipality.

Step 2

File an open records request with the public defender's office or local court. If the attorney is a public defender, then his office has a duty to release information regarding every case he has defended while working there and even has to release performance reviews.

Step 3

Call the local bar association and ask for the any records on file related to your attorney. The bar association will have information on disciplinary actions and complaints filed by prior clients.

What is a case cited to Federal Reporter?

Cases cited to Federal Reporter will have an extra element in the citation to identify the court. Unlike the United States Reports, Supreme Court Reporter, and Lawyer's Edition, which only publishes cases from the Supreme Court of the United States, the Federal Reporter publishes cases from several different courts. Therefore, cases published in these reporters include an element in the parentheses to identify the court that rendered the decision.

Why do we use case citations?

Case citations allow a researcher to find a case quickly and easily. Similiar to statutory citations, all case citations follow the same structured format. This enables researchers to clearly identify the parts of a citation and where to locate the case.

What is case law?

Case law is the collection of reported cases that form the body of law withing a given jurisdiction. It is based upon judicial opinions by various courts, which may set future precedent.

How many circuit courts are there in the US?

There are 11 circuit court of appeals, plus 1 federal circuit court of appeals. United States District Courts. Trial courts which deal with violations of federal criminal law, disputes regarding federal laws or treaties, and some cases involving residents of different states. The following link provides a map and additional information on ...

What is an appellate court?

An appellate court will hear appeals from parties seeking to change the result of the case heard at the trial court. An appellate court will not answer questions of fact, meaning they will not review the evidence in a case. Instead, the appellate court rules on questions of law, which means it considers legal issues.

Do you need a case citation for a research paper?

A researcher will not always have a case citation when they begin their research. Often times a researcher will have an issue or topic that are looking for case law on. Without a case citation, a researcher would have a daunting challenge trying to go straight to a case reporter and locate a case on their topic.

What is the federal court system?

Federal Court System. The federal court system is made up of the following courts, excluding the specialized courts: Court. Description. The Supreme Court of the United States. Most of the cases heard are appeals from lower courts and cases from state supreme courts which involve a point of federal law.