How do you key cite cases, etc.?
Paralegal in training.
Answers:
It's a bit confusing, but:
The above is something that's generally correct, and certainly works if your office uses Westlaw, which incorporates the key cite system. But while Westlaw is widely used, it isn't universal, and its key cite system is not generally used.
For any memo to a court or to any outside agency one should use the citation format found in the Blue Book... except if your state has its own citation format (as New York's does), in which case if and only if the document is going to a court in the state system, you use the citation format that the state has adopted.
When lawyers and law professors refer to "cases," they typically mean the written opinions of appellate court judges. Although "the law" includes cases, statutes, administrative rules and decisions, local ordinances and other documents, most of your law school education will involve studying appellate court decisions. Opinions from appeals courts can be crucial to under standing a given legal issue because such opinions are binding on lower courts deciding similar issues in the future. Accordingly, appellate court opinions are usually published in print, online or both.
WHERE DO I FIND CASES?
The National Reporter System®
Published cases can be found in the volumes of West’s National Reporter System. This system consists of three main subdivisions:
state court reporters, divided into seven regional reporter series (e.g., North Western Reporter®)
federal court reporters—Federal Supplement® (primarily U.S. district courts), Federal Reporter® (U.S. courts of appeals) and Supreme Court Reporter® (U.S. Supreme Court)
special federal court reporters—Bankruptcy Reporter® Federal Rules Decisions®, Military Justice Reporter®, Federal Claims Reporter™ and Veterans Appeals Reporter™
You can find cases on particular topics by using the digests of a particular jurisdiction or court, such as West’s Michigan Digest or West’s United States Supreme Court Digest®.
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