Introduction
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Hypothetical Assignment
- Shepard’s Summary
- Filter your Shepard's Report
- Custom Restrictions
- Narrow your results with FOCUS™
- Shepard’s Table of Authorities
Perhaps the most important task in any legal research assignment is ensuring that the primary authority you are relying upon is still good law.
- Research Tip: Why is good law important?
Following the doctrine of stare decisis, legal researchers cite to cases in support of their arguments to convince the court that the issues or facts presented in their cases should be decided in the same way as earlier cases.
Legal researchers also argue that the facts or issues presented in their cases are sufficiently different to warrant different treatment based on precedential facts.
This reliance on precedent means that you need to be sure that the authority you cite is still good law.
In other words, you need to make sure that cases have not been reversed on appeal or overruled by more recent cases, and that statutes have not been repealed or found unconstitutional.
Shepard’s® Citations Service helps you quickly validate your research
and ensure that you have good law. With Shepard’s, you will:
- Determine the current status of a case, statute, or other legal authority.
- Locate the most recent decisions.
- Find decisions involving legal or factual issues similar to your case.
- Find statute annotations and law review articles that have cited your case.
- Spot weaknesses in your opponent's case.
LexisNexis’ editorial process ensures that the most accurate and current citation history of a case is available.
Citing cases with treatment information are incorporated into Shepard’s within 24 hours of decision.
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