Legal Research, Writing, And AnalysisEssay Preview: Legal Research, Writing, And AnalysisReport this essayIn this essay we will discuss the process of legal research, writing, and analysis. The subject matter will be presented in a clear, concise and objective manner. The textbook that we will be referencing is “Gilbert Law Summaries: Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis” 10th ed, BarBri Group, 2006.
The US court system consists of a trial court, an appellate court, and a supreme or high court. The trial court is the first to hear the facts of a case and has original jurisdiction. The appellate court hears cases whose resolution is disputed by the losing party in the trial court. The supreme or high court hears cases whose outcome is disputed by the losing party in the appellate court. The supreme or high court chooses which cases warrant a hearing. The federal and the state court system have the same basic structure. Each consists of a trial court, an appellate court, and a supreme or high court. The Federal Court of Appeals has thirteen (13) circuits which cover most states except the District of Columbia. The federal system also has specialty courts such as the Court of Federal Claims and the United States Tax Court.
The Supreme Court has three sets of high court opinions. The majority, the high court majority, and the majority dissenting from the majority opinion are divided up among the other seven members of the supreme court. For example, the supreme court majority will hold that a person who is seeking a hearing because he/she was wrongly convicted of the crime is entitled to a hearing under section 941(c)(1)(E) of the Federal Tort Claims Act. The majority will hold that a person who was erroneously convicted is entitled to the same hearing with respect to other persons under section 943(d)(3) of the FTC Act. The majority will hold that a person who was wrongly convicted of the crime is a valid “person of interest” under section 941(c)(1)(E) of the FTC Act. The majority will hold that a person who was wrongly convicted of a crime is a valid “civil or criminal rights claim” under section 943(d)(3)(D) of the FTC Act.
The highest court of appeals consists of two (2) panel decisions and three (3) case reviews. The circuit court review will give a final ruling of all appeals at a decision of the courts presiding. A case review panel considers whether the decision could be reversed or reversed by a majority of the federal appellate court. The final judgment of the case review panel comes in the form of a written oral argument which may be presented at a panel or by oral argument on the merits of the merits of the case. The panel members present their opinions separately from the Federal appellate court review.
At the end of the four-year term the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court holds a hearing in its own name, if the court was not already convened. The decision of the Supreme Court is final, or it is deemed binding by the U.S. supreme court.(1)
In the United States, every American is entitled to the hearing of a lower court judge. Every citizen of the United States shall be entitled to the hearing of a lower court judge. At the request of a lower court, the court shall hear a case. The case shall decide by a majority vote of the U.S. Supreme Court. This procedure is known as a plurality decision.
In addition to the process of an appeals court and the hearing of this lower court, there are other issues on which this Court of Appeals determines its order of hearing. See §§ 704-754(m)(1)(A) and 704-756(l)(1)(B) of the FTC Act.
The trial court, the trial court appeals, and trial court appellate panels of the United States are federal and state courts of common pleas who hold the same jurisdiction as the administrative or judicial review panels of local and state courts and of the court of appeals.
In the United States, an appeals court must be convened by a majority or unanimous decision of the Supreme Court. The Court may have any two judges who hold the same degree of judicial independence, usually the District Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, as well as four justices of the Peace. See the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
The Supreme Court has three sets of high court opinions. The majority, the high court majority, and the majority dissenting from the majority opinion are divided up among the other seven members of the supreme court. For example, the supreme court majority will hold that a person who is seeking a hearing because he/she was wrongly convicted of the crime is entitled to a hearing under section 941(c)(1)(E) of the Federal Tort Claims Act. The majority will hold that a person who was erroneously convicted is entitled to the same hearing with respect to other persons under section 943(d)(3) of the FTC Act. The majority will hold that a person who was wrongly convicted of the crime is a valid “person of interest” under section 941(c)(1)(E) of the FTC Act. The majority will hold that a person who was wrongly convicted of a crime is a valid “civil or criminal rights claim” under section 943(d)(3)(D) of the FTC Act.
The highest court of appeals consists of two (2) panel decisions and three (3) case reviews. The circuit court review will give a final ruling of all appeals at a decision of the courts presiding. A case review panel considers whether the decision could be reversed or reversed by a majority of the federal appellate court. The final judgment of the case review panel comes in the form of a written oral argument which may be presented at a panel or by oral argument on the merits of the merits of the case. The panel members present their opinions separately from the Federal appellate court review.
At the end of the four-year term the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court holds a hearing in its own name, if the court was not already convened. The decision of the Supreme Court is final, or it is deemed binding by the U.S. supreme court.(1)
In the United States, every American is entitled to the hearing of a lower court judge. Every citizen of the United States shall be entitled to the hearing of a lower court judge. At the request of a lower court, the court shall hear a case. The case shall decide by a majority vote of the U.S. Supreme Court. This procedure is known as a plurality decision.
In addition to the process of an appeals court and the hearing of this lower court, there are other issues on which this Court of Appeals determines its order of hearing. See §§ 704-754(m)(1)(A) and 704-756(l)(1)(B) of the FTC Act.
The trial court, the trial court appeals, and trial court appellate panels of the United States are federal and state courts of common pleas who hold the same jurisdiction as the administrative or judicial review panels of local and state courts and of the court of appeals.
In the United States, an appeals court must be convened by a majority or unanimous decision of the Supreme Court. The Court may have any two judges who hold the same degree of judicial independence, usually the District Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, as well as four justices of the Peace. See the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
An important point to keep in mind is that all binding decisions are initiated at the highest court at either the federal or state level. These decisions are precedent only in the jurisdiction where the court presides. Stare decisis refers to the practice of the courts adhering to previously rendered decisions. This is especially true involving United States Supreme Court decisions that have binding authority on both the federal and the state courts. Remember that court decisions in the same jurisdiction only have persuasive authority which is not binding.
When a federal or a state appellate or supreme court issues an opinion that opinion is recorded in writing. The text in which the opinion is recorded is called a reporter. A reporter can be published officially or unofficially. Official reporters are those that are authorized to be published by the government. Unofficial reporters are published by private companies. Thompson West company is the primary reporter for federal and state cases. Supreme Court cases are recorded officially in the “United States Reports.” Unofficially, federal cases are reported in the “Supreme Court Reporter,” “United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition,” and the “United States Law Week.” Advance sheets supplement the reporters with recent case information. The federal appellate court has no official reporter. Federal appellate decisions can be found in the “Federal Reporter” and prior to 1880 in “Federal Cases.” The “Federal Supplement” publishes federal district court decisions. Some specialty courts publish official reporters. Courts that deal with bankruptcy, federal rules or military law (among others) have unofficial reporters. State case reporters are mostly unofficial. Most use Thompson West s regional reporter which includes advance sheets.
Headnotes are summaries of cases setting forth principles of law. In the Thompson West system similar points of law are indicated by a key number that will match another key number to cases with similar points of law. Remember that headnotes are dicta and not precedent. Make sure you read each case if you have any uncertainty while reading the headnotes. Looseleaf materials are published for specialized areas of case law such as tax law. Looseleaf materials also contain statutory and administrative agency decisions.
A citation is the legal equivalent of a road map. Citations have a specific format. Each reporter has its own accepted abbreviation. The Association of Legal Writing Directors “ALWD Citation Manual,” and “The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation” are the two main manuals for citing legal sources. LexisNexis utilizes Shepards Citations for the purpose of reporting the most current judicial decisions. Shepards Citations are most valuable once you have established precedent and are researching the history of a case. Shepards also cites secondary sources. You should always utilize Shepards to keep yourself abreast of any new citations, alerts, parallel citations, affirmations, reversals or modifications to your case.