Secondary Sources in General
Law Reviews and Journals
Finding Law Reviews and Journals at Quinney
American Law Reports
Books and Treatises
Secondary Sources in General
As you may recall from the beginning of the tutorial, the universe of legal materials can be broken down into two distinct categories: Primary Sources and Secondary Sources.
Primary Sources in Relation to Secondary Sources
Primary sources are "The Law" and they include constitutions, statutes, court opinions and rules & regulations on both the state and federal levels. Secondary Sources are all the things that help to find "The Law" and explain "The Law".
Purpose and Functions of Secondary Sources
It is often tempting for a legal researcher to try and jump straight to the Primary Sources when approaching a legal issue. This can often be a time consuming mistake. When you think of the shear volume of new cases, statutes and regulations published every day, it seems a bit foolhardy to jump into the ocean of legal materials unprepared.
Function One: Explanation and Analysis
Secondary Sources give a researcher a leg up in two ways. First, even though you may already know the statute, case or regulation you want to research, a Secondary Source can help parse-out the resource for you, often in much simpler terms than the original case, statute or regulation. The Secondary Source will give an explanation and analysis that will enhance not only your understanding of the Primary Source, but all the issues and controversies surrounding it. In addition, a Secondary Source will give the citations to the documents that were used in the analysis so you can read them for yourself and perhaps use them to support your own analysis.
Function Two: Pointer to Primary Sources
Often you may find yourself going into your research blind, you have no idea what statutes, cases and regulations are controlling and no idea where to start looking. A Secondary Source can help point you in the right direction quickly and easily. An article or treatise on a particular area of law will lay out all of the basics for you. The legal issue will be analyzed and cited, making the job of finding and understanding the Primary Sources on your topic significantly easier.
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Law Reviews and Journals
Law Reviews and Law Journals are the main outlets of scholarly writing in the law school community. Law professors and law students are prolific writers on almost any imaginable legal topic and the articles often focus on new or emerging issues in the legal profession. The articles will generally approach a topic from a particular viewpoint, give the opposing view as well, then explain why the other side has it all wrong. If you are researching a controverial issue and hoping to find both sides of the controversy, law reviews and journals should be your first stop.
Secret Key to Law Review Articles: Footnotes
Every law school in the country has at least one law review or journal, some schools have a number of them. It is quite prestiguous in the law school world to work on the school's law review and the student editors are in the top tier of their class. What these editors do is to painstakingly review each article to ensure that all of the information discussed in the article is correctly cited to its proper source. These citations are contained in the article's Footnotes. What this means to you as a researcher is that the Footnotes to a law review article are going to be a goldmine of information. They will lead you to the leading cases, statutes, regulations and other Secondary Sources on your topic.
To see an example of a law review article click here
Deciphering a Law Review Citation
The article in the example above would be cited as follows:
Adam R. Long, Keeping Mud Off the Bench, The First Amendment and Regulation of Candidates' False or Midleading Statements in Judicial Elections, 51 Duke L. J. 781 (2001).
After the author and title of the article comes the volume which in this case is 51. Next is the name of the journal, Duke L (short for law) and J (short for journal) followed by the page number on which the article starts 781.
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Finding Law Reviews and Journals at Quinney
Print Resources
Law Reviews and Journals are located on the second floor of the library on the East facing wall. They are in straight alphabetical order and are not marked with a call number. For example, if you are looking for the University of Texas Law Review you would look under U not T.
To see a map of the Quinney Library click here. (Look on the second floor for Periodicals).
Electronic Resources
Up until quite recently it was very difficult to find full text law review articles electronically without paying for an expensive subscription database. The Research page from the Quinney Law Library's homepage has several links for full text sources of law review and journal articles.
LexisNexis has articles from a large number of law reviews and journals on their Academic Universe database. To access Academic Universe however, you must be on a computer which is connected to University of Utah network or have the University as your proxy server if you are off campus. Hein-on-Line is also a good resource for full text electronic versions of law review and journal articles. At presentHein-on-Line's coverage is a little spotty, but ther are continually adding more journals to their database and eventually hope to have the full runs of all major law reviews and journals.
Click here to go directly to Quinney's Law Review links. [You can also access these links by going to www.law.utah.edu/library and clicking on Research from the initial rollover menu and then clicking on Secondary & Other Sources under Legal Periodicals you'll see Full Text]
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American Law Reports
American Law Reports are another very useful resource for legal researchers. The American Law Reports series (commonly refered to as the ALR) contains articles which have in-depth discussions on various legal topics. Unlike Law Review articles which tend to take on a controversial issue and discuss the legal theories surrounding that issue, ALR articles discuss a legal issue not by examining legal theory in the abstract, but rather by examining the cases that have weighed in on an aspect of that legal issue.
Main Funtion of ALR
ALR articles are a good way to get a feel for the state of the law in a particular jurisdiction as well as a convenient way to compare how different jurisdictions have treated the same issue. For example, you could compare how two different states treat common law marriage, or how the different Circuit Courts on the Federal level have come down on work place discrimination based on age.
Other Features of the ALR
While the ALR articles focus primarily on case law, they do give references to relevant statutes and regulations that are discussed within the cases. ALR articles on related topics will also be listed along with other relevant secondary sources. Because of the wealth of information available all in one place, it is often well worth a researcher's time to check and see if there is an on-point ALR article for the topic being researched.
Deciphering an ALR citation
The following is an example of an ALR citation: Liability of Dog Owner for Injuries Sustained by Person Frightened by Dog, 30 A.L.R. 4th 986 (1984)
After the Title of the article is volume in which you'll need to look. In this case the article is in volume 30, the volume number is followed by the ALR series. [There are presently 5 ALR series for state cases and one for federal cases. The naming convention is as follows: A.L.R., A.L.R. 2nd, A.L.R.3rd, A.L.R. 4th, A.L.R.5th and A.L.R. Fed. The series are in chronological order with A.L.R 5th being the most recent] The last number in the page number on which the article begins 986 and the final reference is to the year in which the article was published 1984.
An ALR Heads Up
Because the ALR focuses on case law and case law is constantly changing, researchers should be aware that when using the older ALR series (1st, 2nd & 3rd) that it is likely that new cases have come out since the publication of the article which could have a significant effect on the cases cited. It is always best to choose an article from a newer series over an older one and to check the authority of any cases on which you plan to rely.
Finding American Law Reports articles at Quinney
The American Law Reports set is located on the shelviing unit just to the right of the Genearl Practice Alcove. The shelving unit is clearly marked with an American Law Reports sign. There is a comprehensive multi-volume hard bound index as well an abridged paperback Quick Index that covers ALR 2nd through ALR 5th and ALR Fed.
To see a map of the Quinney Library click here. (Look to the rear right of the tree in the middle of the diagram).
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Books and Treatises
Legal Encyclopedias
Legal Encyclopedias are a lot like regular encyclopedias, they are multi-volume sets which cover the gamut of the American Legal system. Just as with general encyclopedias, legal encyclopedias are a good place to start your research especially if you are new to an area of law.
Functions and properties of Legal Encyclopedias
Legal Encyclopedia entries give a brief overview of an issue and give citations to relevant cases, statutes and regulations. One of the problems with Legal Encyclopedias is that they try to cover the laws of the entire country so the entries tend to be overly general. Another problem is that the case law and statutes cited get out of date quickly, even considering that they are updated with pocketparts and supplements. If you are just looking for a quick overview or a jumping off point for you research, however, Legal Encyclopedias can be very useful.
National Legal Encyclopedias
There are two main Legal Encyclopedias that are nationwide in scope: American Jurisprudence (commonly referred to as Am. Jur.) and Corpus Juris Secundum (commonly known as C.J.S). They are roughly equivalent and tend to contain quite a bit of overlap, therefore it is customary to use one or the other when doing research, but not both.
State Encyclopedias
Many states have an encyclopedia that serve as a general overview of the laws of that particular state. State encyclopedias will often include samples forms and other materials useful for practitioners.
[Note: Utah does not have a state specific legal encyclopedia]
Encyclopedia Citations
The following are exmaple of citations to American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum:
32 Am. Jur. 2d False Imprisonment § 1 (1995 & Supp. 2002)
35 C.J.S. False Imprisonment § 2 (1999)
When reading Legal Encyclopedia citations, the first number is the volume followed by the name of the encyclopedia, next comes the general subject matter of the particular entry, then comes the number of the section being cited to (always remember to distinguish between a section number and a page number by keeping an eye out for the section symbol §) and finally the year of the main volume and the year of the pocketpart or supplement if applicable.
Finding Legal Encyclopedias at Quinney
American Jurisprudence (Green) and Corpus Juris Secundum (Blue) are located in the General Practice Alcove in the Quinney Law Library near the public computers. Each set has a comprehensive subject matter index.
To see a map of the Quinney Library click here. (Look just behind and to the right of the tree in the middle of the diagram).
Nutshells
When you are doing research in an area of law in which you are not familiar, Nutshells can also be an execellent starting point. Like the name implies, Nutshells try to cover the basics of an area of law in a concise and easy to understand manner. Topics run the gamut from AIDs Law in a Nutshell to White Collar Crime in a Nutshell. In addition to providing an overview of the law, Nutshells cite to pertinent statutes and regulations as well as the leading cases. Law students often find Nutshells invaluable when studying for comprehensive exams.
Nutshell can be found by searching on the Quinney Law Library's Catalog. [Hint: Put the word Nutshell in the title field of your search]
Hornbooks
Hornbooks are a more scholarly version of the Nutshell. Hornbooks originally started out as a study tool for law students, but have mutated over the years into something quite differnt. A Hornbook would be appropriate for a researcher who has a basic understanding of the area of law in which she is working, but needs to have a fuller understanding of the topic. Instead of just trying to cover the absolute basics like a Nutshell, Hornbooks go into a more in-depth analysis and explain the various nuances of that area of law. Hornbooks will give citations to the pertinent statutes, regulations and case law.
Hornbooks are found by searching on the Quinney Law Library's Catalog. [Hint: Include the word Hornbook in the title field when you are searching]
Treatises
Treatises give the most detailed analysis of the legal secondary sources and come in two formats, Monographs and Looseleaf Sets. Treatises tend to isolate a particular subset of law in a more general area and then dissect that subset in great detail. For example, the Criminal Law Hornbook may have a page or two discussing asset forfeiture, but for an in-depth analysis you would want to take a look at The Law of Asset Forfeiture, by Jimmy Gurule and Sandra Guerra.
Monographs
Treatises in the monograph format normally consist of a main volume which is supplemented with either a pocket-part inserted into the back of the book or a separately bound paperback supplement.
Monographs would be found by searching on the Quinney Law Library's Catalog.
Looseleaf Sets
Treatises in the Looseleaf format are generally found in three ring binders which are updated with a system called "Looseleaf filing" which involves taking out pages which have gone out of date and replacing them with new pages. Looseleaf sets are often used by practitioners to keep abreast of the changes in a specialized area of law.
Looseleaf sets are found by searching the Quinney Law Library's Catalog and keeping an eye out for the words updated or looseleaf in the bibliographic record.
Click here to see the bibliographic record for a Criminal Defense Looseleaf
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