The American Legal System(chapter 2)

1、CHAPTER 2Legal ResearchHow to use legal materials:What do you need to know? How to choose the right resource to answer your question Where to find the resources you needKinds of law Primary law Statutory law Case law (common law) Administrative law Secondary law Writings about lawStatutory law(成文法 )

2、: made in Congressand state legislatures(立法机关) Federal government United States Congress Two houses Senate and House of Representatives State legislatures Example: Illinois General Assembly (一种立法组织，尤指美国一州之立法机关) Frequently, but not necessarily, bicameral(两个议院的)Where common law is made:The U. S. court

3、 system Federal Courts Supreme Court (联邦最高法院) United States Courts of Appeals (formerly Circuit Courts of Appeal)(上诉法院) U.S. District Courts (美国联邦地方法院) State Courts Highest (court of last resort)上诉审的最高法院 Intermediate court of appeal上诉审的中级法院 Trial court (初审法院 ) Administrative law: The executive branc

4、h President or governor establishes a governmental agency Statute provides agency with regulatory authorityTypes of secondary materials Treatises(专题论文), “hornbooks”(入门书), “nutshells”(简明读本) Legal encyclopedias(百科全书) (American Jurisprudence 2d, Corpus Juris(法典大全) Law journals American Law Reports (ALR

5、) “Looseleaf” (活页)services Law databasesWhere and how to find secondary law materials Law Library webpage Library catalog law databases reference and research guides finding law by topicWhere and how to find secondary materials (2) Legal Trac for law journals HeinOnline(美国法律期刊全文数据库美国法律期刊全文数据库 ) Lexi

6、sNexis Academic Universe(LexisNexis Academic 学术大全是由美国图书馆界专家委员会设计、并由专业图书馆员做资源收录评估和筛选、专为学术图书馆提供服务的专业信息资源系统。该信息资源收录了6100多种全文资源，包括新闻、报纸、期刊、出版物、特色数据库系统和来自其他大型信息供应商的信息资源，涉及全球新闻、商业、法律、医学以及参考资料等领域。 ) LexisNexis WestlawWhere common law is found What is a case reporter? What is meant by a jurisdiction? What i

7、s a citation(文献资料出处)? What is a parallel citation(平等引用)?Parts of a citation Name of case (parties) Volume Name of case reporter Page where case begins Court (if unclear from name of case reporter) Year of decisionExample: Parallel citationsRichmond Newspapers, Inc. v Virginia448U.S.(United States Re

8、ports(判例汇编)555(1980)100S.Ct.(Supreme Court Reporter)2814(1980)65L.Ed. 2d(U.S. Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition 2d)973(1980)Volume numberCase reporterPage numberYear of decisionExample 2: Parallel citationsBrugger v Joseph Academy, Inc.202Ill. 2d(Illinois Reports 2d)435(2002)781N.E. 2d(North Ea

9、stern Reporter 2d)269(2002)172Ed. Law Rep.(Education Law Reporter)269(2002)VolumeReporter NamePageYearWhat does a case look like? Names of Parties Plaintiff, Defendant Appellant, Appellee Syllabus(判决理由概要 ) Headnotes(判词提要) Opinion(s)(判决意见) Majority, concurring(同意), dissenting(不同意)Types of OpinionsnMajority PluralitynConcurringn DissentingOnline in WestlawOnline in LexisNexisOnline in LexisNexis Academic UniverseOnline free access How to find cases in print By citation By using a digest By using secondary sources Treatises American Law Reports Law jour