Representing! Finding Cases and Statutes Using Free Resources
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This legal research guide assists self-represented civil litigants in finding primary legal resources, such as statutes and appellate cases, which are essential for effective representation. Through a case study of Byron v. Simone, it outlines the process of identifying legal issues, formulating questions, and utilizing free resources like Google Scholar and legal websites to find relevant statutes and cases. The guide emphasizes the importance of substantiating legal arguments with authoritative resources.
![Byron searches CORNELL (LII)
➤ Byron scrolls to the bottom:
1. Finds “Ohio” in the list of states, and clicks on it
2. Clicks “2013 Ohio Revised Code (ORC)”.
3. Finds “Title [53] LIII REAL PROPERTY”, and clicks
4. Clicks “Chapter 5321 LANDLORDS AND TENANTS”
5. Finds statute “5321.04 Landlord Obligations”
Byron adds “Real Property” and ”5321.04” to his list of
keywords.
16](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/representing-180916094806/85/Representing-Finding-Cases-and-Statutes-Using-Free-Resources-16-320.jpg)
Representing! Finding Cases and Statutes Using Free Resources
- 1. Finding Cases and Statutes Using Free Resources A Legal Research Guide For Self-Represented Civil Litigants REPRESENTING! BYRON SIMONEV.
- 2. Primary LEGAL RESOURCES ๏ Statutes, codes, and rules. ๏ Appellate cases Primary legal sources are important because they are “authoritative”. Judges must rely on them to make decisions. Primary legal sources are 2
- 3. Secondary SOURCES ๏ Legal research guides ๏ Legal dictionaries, encyclopedipas, and citation guides ๏ Other: Google, Wikipedia, etc. (for finding keywords) Secondary legal resources include These resources help you find primary sources, define terms, find keywords, provide insight into procedure, cite sources, etc. 3
- 4. The key to EFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION The key to effective self-representation is locating the laws you need to repesent yourself. 4
- 5. The case of BYRON v. SIMONE Byron signed a one-year lease with Simone for an Ohio apartment. Nine months after taking occupancy, he was late on a payment. Six days later, Byron returned from work to find himself locked out of his apartment. Byron 5
- 6. Simone replaced the apartment door locks one day when Byron was at work. She refused to allow him to collect his belongings, insisting that he first pay the delinquent rent and the cost of redecorating. The case of BYRON v. SIMONE Simone 6
- 7. When he paid and gained access to the garage where Simone stored his belongings, Byron discovered that some items were missing. He sued Simone for the value of the missing items. The case of BYRON v. SIMONE 7
- 8. ๏ Identify the Legal Issues ๏ Create Keywords ๏ Search for Cases ๏ Evaluate the Results Series of SEARCH STEPS Byron and Simone each ➤ 8
- 9. Byron and Simone IDENTIFY ISSUES ➤ Byron and Simone identify the legal issues. What alleged actions caused harm? Issues might include breach of contract, failure to pay a debt, etc. They formulate their issues into questions that must be answered by a court. 9
- 10. Issue: Byron believes that Simone unlawfully entered his property and removed his belongings. Question: Does a late payment of rent mean the rights to belongings are relinquished? Byron IDENTIFIES HIS QUESTION What question must be answered by a court? 10
- 11. Issues: Simone feels that by not paying rent on time, Byron broke the the contract. Question: If I lock someone out for late payment of rent, am I responsible for his belongings? Simone IDENTIFIES HER QUESTION What question must be answered by a court? 11
- 12. To find keywords ๏Byron uses terms from the issues and questions in the case ๏Conducts a web search on Wikipedia and Google ๏Uses a law encyclopedia Byron’s Keyword Results: tenant, landlord, possessions, theft, contract, apartment lease, rental, quiet enjoyment Byron SELECTS KEYWORDS ➤ 12
- 13. Simone SELECTS KEYWORDS ➤ To find keywords ๏Simone uses terms in the complaint ๏Simone uses a law dictionary Simone Keyword Results: property abandonment, tenant, landlord, self help eviction, breach of contract, wrongful holdover 13
- 14. Search TIP Update your keywords as the search progresses.➤ TIP 14
- 15. Byron and Simone SEARCH FOR STATUTES Sites like Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (LII) and Justia organize statutes in a central place. ➤ https://www.law.cornell.edu/ https://law.justia.com/ 15
- 16. Byron searches CORNELL (LII) ➤ Byron scrolls to the bottom: 1. Finds “Ohio” in the list of states, and clicks on it 2. Clicks “2013 Ohio Revised Code (ORC)”. 3. Finds “Title [53] LIII REAL PROPERTY”, and clicks 4. Clicks “Chapter 5321 LANDLORDS AND TENANTS” 5. Finds statute “5321.04 Landlord Obligations” Byron adds “Real Property” and ”5321.04” to his list of keywords. 16
- 17. Simone searches on JUSTIA ➤ On Justia, Simone 1. Clicks “Ohio” from the list of states 2. Clicks “2013 Ohio Revised Code” 3. Clicks “Real Property” under “General Provisions” 4. Clicks “LANDLORDS AND TENANTS” 5. Reads statute “5321.03 Action for Possession by Landlord” Simone adds the phrase “tenant in default of rent” from the statute and “5321.03” to her keywords. 17
- 18. Byron and Simone USE GOOGLE SCHOLAR ➤ Select “Case Law” Click “Select courts”. Your state will appear, but you can select a different jurisdiction 18 https://scholar.google.com/
- 19. Byron and Simone SEARCH FOR CASES ➤ Byron and Simone do quick searches, updating their keywords as they go along. 19 https://scholar.google.com/
- 20. Initial KEYWORDS Beginning keyword: 5321.04 Results: A list of cases with “5321.04” highlighted ➤ Beginning keyword: tenant in default of rent Results: Cases with “tenant”, “default” and “rent” highlighted Byron’s Initial Search Simone’s Initial Search 20
- 21. Byron's results on GOOGLE SCHOLAR Byron’s first keyword 21
- 22. Options on the GOOGLE SIDEBAR Change jurisdiction Create a Google alert to get relevant cases sent via e-mail Narrow the search by date Byron can… Sort by relevance 22
- 23. Simone's results on GOOGLE SCHOLAR Simon’s first keyword 23
- 24. Options for CASE HISTORY Simone can… Click "Cited by" to get cases that cite the one she’s viewing. Click "How Cited" to see which words from the case she’s viewing have been used in other cases. Click “Related articles" to see cases similar to a chosen one24
- 25. When to STOP SEARCHING ➤ When Byron and Simone begin to see the same cases over and over, they STOP to evaluate them. 25
- 26. Byron EVALUATES HIS CASES Evaluation 1. Byron jots down notes about each case. 2. Discards cases with very different facts from his. 3. Byron prioritizes cases ๏ that answer his question, ๏ that are cited repeatedly, ๏ that have facts similar to his, and ๏ where the court ruled for the person in his position. Results Byron has 8 cases in his library that meet his criteria. The 8 cases answer the questions he had at the beginning of his search. The cases give him all he needs to support his claim. 26
- 27. Simon EVALUATES HER CASES Evaluation 1. Simon writes notes about each case. 2. She discards cases with very different facts from hers. 3. She prioritizes cases ๏ that answer her question, ๏ that are cited repeatedly, ๏ that have facts similar to her, and ๏ cases where the court ruled in favor of the person in her position. Results Simone has 11 cases in her library. Three are about civil procedure. The landlord/tenant cases are weak. However, she discovers that Byron filed his case a day after the due date. She keeps the 4 strongest landlord/tenant cases and looks for others that support the due date issue. 27
- 28. Byron and Simone IDENTIFY ISSUES ➤ Byron and Simone eventually find the cases and statutes they need to support or oppose a claim, counterclaim or affirmative defense. 28
- 29. It’s important to support your legal arguments with legal authorities. For more tools for self- representation visit us at www.courtroom5.com The LAST WORD 29