Taught by the librarians at the RWU Law Library, this class offers an Introduction to Legal Research for first year law students.

1. Hit a Grand Slam with Legal
Research

2. Presented and Created by the
Librarians at RWU Law Library:
• Nan Balliot
• Emilie Benoit
• Stephanie Edwards
• Lucinda Harrison-Cox
• Kathleen MacAndrew
• Heather McHenry
• Raquel M. Ortiz

3. Clicker Setup: Channel 8

4. What’s Your Favorite Baseball Team?
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
3. Neither – that
rivalry is so last
century.
4. I’d rather be 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
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5. Who cares?
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5. How Do You Start Your Research?
1. Google
2. An Online Database
3. A Book Index
4. Smart people –
colleagues,
professors, 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
reference librarians
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6. Would You Rather?

7. Our Hypothetical
• Frannie Fan was sitting at
left field for a game of her
beloved Scranton Red
Bisons when she was hit
by a foul ball hit by visiting
DH Joseph Hyundai.
• What cause of action, if
any, does Frannie have
against the baseball teams
or the park owner?

8. Which of these questions involves
research?
1. What does Pa. R. Civ. Pro. R. 1035 say
about motions for summary judgment?
2. What is the case at 871 A.2d 304?
3. Find the Pennsylvania Commonwealth
Court decision Pakett v. The Phillies, L.P.
4. How many days does a defendant
have to answer a complaint in the
Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas?
5. Does a baseball player on the visiting
team owe a duty of care to a person
attending the game?
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6. All of the above
7. None of the above
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9. Find: A Tool at Your Disposal
Find the Pennsylvania
Commonwealth Court
decision
Pakett v. The Phillies, L.P.

12. From Single to Homerun:
One Known Source
• Find discussion
• Find similar sources
• Find other authority
Pakett v. The Phillies, L.P.,
871 A.2d 304
(Pa. Cmwlth. 2005).

13. 871 A.2d 304

15. Westlaw: Keycite - Citing References
Liability to spectator at baseball
game who is hit by ball or injured
as result of other hazard of
game, 91 A.L.R.3d 24
Cause of Action for Injury to
Sports Spectator,
20 Causes of Action 2d § 361

16. 4 West’s Pennsylvania Practice § 16.7,
Activities associated with inherent risks
CJS Entertainment and Amusement;
Sports § 134, Baseball and Softball
Games
Discussed in:
McMahon v. Pleasant Valley West Ass'n, 952 A.2d 731 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2008)
Crespin v. Albuquerque Baseball Club, LLC, 216 P.3d 827 (N.M. App. 2009)

17. Lexis: Shepardize
• It’s No Game: The Practice and Process of the
Law in Baseball, and Vice Versa, 20 Seton Hall
J. Sports & Ent. L. 249 (2010)
• Flying Objects: Arena Liability for Fan Injuries
in Hockey and Other Sports, 15 Sports Law. J.
115 (2008)
• Defenses, 48 Pennsylvania Law Encyclopedia
§6

18. Lexis.com: Issue Analysis
Elements of Actionable Negligence,
In General 57A Am Jur 2d Negligence
§ 71
Actions Involving Baseball, 26-130
Personal Injury--
Actions, Defenses, Damages §
130.11

19. Your Teammates: At Home and Away
401-254-4547 LawLibraryHelp@rwu.edu
http://law.rwu.edu/lawlibrary

20. Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Primary Sources Secondary Sources
• Statements of the Law • Interpretation of the Law
• Government Issued • Written by Experts and
Others
• Controlling or Binding • (May be) Persuasive
Authority Authority

21. Examples of Primary & Secondary Sources
Primary Sources Secondary Sources
• Laws or statutes • Encyclopedias
• Court opinions • American Law Reports
• Rules and regulations (ALR)
• Executive orders and • Treatises
proclamations • Practice Materials
• Law Reviews

22. Would You Rather?

23. Why Use Secondary Sources?
• Money
• Background
– Controlling jurisdiction
– Controlling authorities
• Find citations
• Find search keywords

24. Encyclopedias
National coverage:
 American Jurisprudence
2d [Am. Jur. 2d]
 Corpus Juris Secundum
[C.J.S.]
State coverage:
 New York Jurisprudence 2d
 Witkin’s Summary of California Law

25. First Pitch: Index
• Term?
– Baseball

26. Term: Baseball
Topic & Section:
• Enter § 76

27. Topic & Section: Enter § 76
• Table of Abbreviations
• Enter = Entertainment and Sports Law

28. Entertainment and Sports
Law § 76

29. Always Check
the Pocket Part!
• A pocket part may be labeled a
“cumulative supplement.”
• It will be located in the back of
the volume partially in a
“pocket.”
• If a pocket part becomes too
large it may be replaced by a free
standing cumulative supplement.

30. Useful encyclopedia features:
 Table of Contents

31. Useful encyclopedia features:
 Table of Contents
 Correlation Table

32. Useful encyclopedia features:
 Table of Contents
 Correlation Table
 Volume Index

33. Online Availability:
Lexis
 Am. Jur. 2d
 States:
Cal., Fla., Ill., Mich., N.Y.,
Ohio, Pa., Tenn., Tex., Va.
/W.Va.
Westlaw
 Am. Jur. 2d
 C.J.S.
 States: Cal., Fla., Ind.,
Md., Ohio, Pa., Tex.

34. American Law Reports

38. Citations to Other Sources

39. Annotation Index

40. Table of Jurisdictions
Represented

41. Pocket Part!

43. Online Availability

44. Treatises
Index
American Law of Torts (Speiser et al.) Table of Contents
Table of Cases
Table of Statutes
Pocket Part
Online Availability
Fundamentals of Sports Law
Harper, James, & Gray on Torts
Essentials of Sports Law

45. Practice Materials

46. Massachusetts Practice

52. Law Reviews & Law Journals

55. Primary Sources: Statutes
Constitution
Legislature Judiciary Executive
Regulations,
Administrative
Statutes Case Law
Decisions,
Executive Orders

56. Unannotated Code
Text
History

57. Annotated Code
Text
Secondary
Source
Citations
History

58. More
Secondary
Source
Citations
Annotations

59. Another Question
• Must Franny file her
claim within a certain
amount of time after
the accident?

62. Purdon’s Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes Annotated

63. General Index

64. Injuries to person caused by wrongful
act, neglect, unlawful violence or
negligence , 42 Pa.C.S.A. 5524
Personal injuries, 42 Pa.C.S.A. 5524

66.  History (continued)
 Law review articles
 West Topics and Key
Numbers
 CJS encyclopedia topics
and sections

67.  State-specific encyclopedia
 Forms
 Treatises and Practice Aids

68.  Notes of Decisions

70.  Pocket Part!

71.  Amendments to the statute
 More annotations

72. Online Availability

73. Online Availability

74. Primary Sources
Constitution
Legislature Judiciary Executive
Regulations,
Administrative
Statutes Case Law
Decisions,
Executive Orders

75. Case Law
• What if we did
not have one
good case like
this one?

76. Reporters

79. The DH: The Digest
Case Headnote Digest

80. Which Digest?

81. Atlantic Digest, 2d Series

82. Descriptive Word
Index

83. Pocket Part!

89. Headnotes & Citations

91. Pocket Part!

93. Table of Cases

94. Updating
• Lexis.com
• Lexis Advance
• Classic Westlaw
• Westlaw Next

95. Triple Play: The Internet

96.  Incomplete
 NO headnotes
 NO digest
 Limited full text searching
 NO Updating!

97. Digest: Online Availability

98. Cases: Online Availability

100. Print, Online or Both?

101. Would You Rather?

102. If you are asked to research an area of law
unfamiliar to you, would you choose:
1. Print Treatise
2. Database
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103. Benefits of Print
• Borrow/Lend
• Unlimited Use/Time
• Less Expensive
• Authoritative & Preferred
• Compare & Browse
• Excellent Starting Point

104. If you want to update your
research, which would you choose:
1. Print Treatise
2. Database
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105. Limitations of Print
• Time Intensive (Maybe)
• Currency
• Not Document Ready
• Starting Point Only

106. Benefits of Electronic Format
• Flexible
• Faster
• Constantly Updated
• Multiple Output Formats
• 24/7 Access & Customer Support
• Great for Some “Find” Questions

107. What is the Greatest Drawback of
Online Research?
1. Privacy
2. Irrelevant results
3. Too much
Information
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108. Limitations of Electronic Format
• Expensive
• Current Coverage Mostly
• Licensing Restrictions
• Caveats for Internet Research
• Irrelevant Results

109. When Do You

110. The night before the
paper/memo/brief is due?
1. Yes
2. Sometimes
3. No
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111. When you’ve looked at all of the
sources you learned in class?
1. Yes
2. Sometimes
3. No
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112. When you’ve found the absolute
out-of-the park answer?
1. Yes
2. Sometimes
3. No
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113. When you are consistently seeing
the same sources repeat?
1. Yes
2. Sometimes
3. No
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114. Stages for a Winning Game Plan
Research
Write
Critique
Research some more (if necessary)
Edit
At each stage -- Update your sources!

115. Training Camp Equipment:
Library Resources
• WebCatalog
• LibTours
• Study Aids
• Time Savers
• CVN Law School
• CALI Lessons
• eLangdell eBooks

116. WebCatalog:
http://law.rwu.edu/library/webcatalog

117. Contents

118. Search Modes

125. LibTours

126. Study Aids

128. Library » Digital Resources »

129. First Year Lessons - Torts
• Assumption of Risk
Other Lessons:
• How to Prepare for the
Study of Torts (PodCast)
• Advice to a 1L From a
Law Professor (PodCast)

130. Stolen Bases
• Secondary Sources RULE!
• Indexes & Tables of Contents
• Always check pocket parts/supplements
AND/OR update your research online.
• Ask A Librarian!

131. Don’t forget to sign the attendance
sheets!
Please evaluate this session
on our Class Webpage
http://lawguides.rwu.edu/ILR