Purdue LS204 2020 MAY Unit 2 Discussion Latest

LS204 Legal Research and Writing

Unit 2 Discussion

Exploring Case Law

This week we are going to jump right into Westlaw and locate case from any state’s highest court. Please go to the Library link which is located in the Academic Tools. Once selected you will be taken to the Library. Please select Westlaw Campus Research to be connected to our school’s Westlaw access page. Because Westlaw is a paid service, we do not have individual access but student research access through the school library. You will be taken to the main search page for Westlaw.

Select the Cases folder and see the many jurisdictions of cases listed. Notice the U.S. Supreme Court is the first court listed. Listed below are the additional jurisdictions including all the states. Select a state from the list and search for a case from that state’s highest court. Take your time reading through the case to see if you can determine what happened to bring the case before the courts. Take time to read it a second and third time. Court opinions contain much information and take some practice reading, so it can be expected that you will want to read a case more than one time.

After you have explored Westlaw and found a case to share, answer the following questions based on your selected case.

What steps did you take in locating your case? (Where did you go in Westlaw? What were your search terms? Did you include any restrictions on your returns? How did you narrow to your choice?)

Who are the parties in your case? What court decided your case?

Give a brief summary (1 paragraph) about what happened to bring this case before the courts. Look for the key facts that describe what happened leading up to the court case.

What legal question was being asked of the court in this case?

What was the conclusion of the court as to this legal question?

What were the key reasons the court gave for reaching this decision?

What is the Bluebook citation for this case? How did you know?