Legal Research Using Digests

Summary

Legal digests are secondary sources useful for finding case law, but primary sources like cases or statutes should be cited directly. Effective use of digests requires topic names and Key Numbers. Start with recent digests for current case law. The American Digest System organizes case law summaries in decennial digests. West updates its digest system with new topics and Key Numbers. West/Thomson Reuters is a major, but not the only, publisher of digests. A.L.R. Annotations should be updated for current information. For 5th Amendment research, use newer Federal Reporter volumes. The Topic Approach and Table of Cases Approach are strategies for locating topics and Key Numbers. Legal digests like Bankruptcy Digest are organized case law summaries. A.L.R.S significance is in its annotations, not just case publication.

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To effectively use a digest, one needs both a topic name and a Key Number. True False
The statement "To effectively use a digest, one needs both a topic name and a Key Number" is generally True. Digests are organized by topic names and Key Numbers, which help researchers locate relevant case law efficiently.
When using digests and looking for cases, researchers should start with older digests and then end with newer ones. True False
The statement "When using digests and looking for cases, researchers should start with older digests and then end with newer ones" is generally False. Researchers typically start with the most recent digests to ensure they are capturing the current and most applicable case law, and then move backward if needed.
The American Digest System comprises sets of books that each cover ten-year periods called Question Blank * of *
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The American Digest System comprises sets of books that each cover ten-year periods called "decennial digests." These are organized collections of case law summaries that help legal researchers locate relevant cases over specific time periods. Let me know if you have any more questions about legal research!
To keep up with developing areas of law, West continues to add topic names and Key Numbers to its digest system. True False
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The statement "To keep up with developing areas of law, West continues to add topic names and Key Numbers to its digest system" is generally True. West's digest system is regularly updated to include new topics and Key Numbers, allowing researchers to access current legal developments efficiently. If you have more questions, feel free to ask!
West/Thomson Reuters is the only publisher of digests. True False
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The statement "West/Thomson Reuters is the only publisher of digests" is generally False. While West/Thomson Reuters is a major publisher of legal digests, there are other publishers and resources that also provide digest-like legal research tools. Let me know if you have any more questions!
A.L.R. annotations should always be updated. True False
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The statement "A.L.R. annotations should always be updated" is generally True. Annotations in the American Law Reports (A.L.R.) are periodically updated to reflect new legal developments and interpretations, ensuring that legal researchers have access to the most current information. If you have more questions, feel free to ask!
Assume that you are conducting research about the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and hope to find as many relevant First Circuit cases as possible. The best set of books to begin your search would be the newer volumes of the
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When researching the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and looking for relevant First Circuit cases, the best set of books to start with would be the newer volumes of the Federal Reporter, which include recent decisions from the U.S. Courts of Appeals, including the First Circuit. If you have more questions, feel free to ask!
One of the four strategies that may be used to locate a topic and Key Number that calls for you to bypass the general idea and go directly to the appropriate title is called Descriptive Word Approach Topic Approach Table of Cases Approach "One Good Case" Approach
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The strategy you're referring to is the "Topic Approach." This method allows researchers to go directly to the relevant title in a legal digest or index, bypassing the need for a general idea or description. If you have more questions about legal research, feel free to ask!
Another of the four strategies to use to locate a topic and Key Number may be used if you already know the name of a case, allowing you to look it up alphabetically. This strategy is known as the Descriptive Word Approach Topic Approach Table of Cases Approach "One Good Case" Approach
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The strategy you're referring to is the "Table of Cases Approach." This method allows you to look up cases alphabetically when you already know the name of the case. If you have more questions about legal research, feel free to ask!
Bankruptcy Digest, Military Justice Digest, and the Education Law Digest are examples of
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Bankruptcy Digest, Military Justice Digest, and the Education Law Digest are examples of legal digests. Legal digests are organized collections of case law summaries that help researchers locate relevant cases based on topics and Key Numbers. They serve as secondary sources in legal research.
The significance of American Law Reports (A.L.R.) is that it publishes cases, and not because of the annotations that are included. True False
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The statement "The significance of American Law Reports (A.L.R.) is that it publishes cases, and not because of the annotations that are included" is generally False. The significance of A.L.R. lies in its detailed annotations, which analyze and summarize case law, rather than just publishing cases.