Oklahoma Legal Research
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page iii Oklahoma Legal Research Darin K. Fox Darla W. Jackson Courtney L. Selby Suzanne E. Rowe, Series Editor Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page iv Copyright 2013 Carolina Academic Press All Rights Reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fox, Darin K. Oklahoma legal research / Darin K. Fox, Darla Jackson, Courtney Selby. pages cm. -- (Legal research series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61163-134-0 (alk. paper) 1. Legal research--Oklahoma. I. Jackson, Darla. II. Selby, Courtney. III. Title. KFO1275.F69 2013 340.072'0766--dc23 2013014907 Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, North Carolina 27701 Telephone (919) 489-7486 Fax (919) 493-5668 www.cap-press.com Printed in the United States of America. Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page v Dedicated to Albert O. Brecht, my mentor and friend. —D.K.F. and to Richard E. Ducey, with gratitude and love. —C.L.S. and to family (Nathan, Jacob, and Scott), my inspiration and support. —D.W.J. Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page vi Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page vii Summary of Contents Contents ix List of Tables and Figures xix Series Note xxv Preface and Acknowledgments xxvii Chapter 1 · The Research Process and Legal Analysis 3 Chapter 2 · Online Legal Research 15 Chapter 3 · Secondary Sources 37 Chapter 4 · The Constitution 65 Chapter 5 · Judicial Opinions 77 Chapter 6 · Researching Judicial Opinions 109 Chapter 7 · Statutory Research 129 Chapter 8 · Legislative Process and Legislative History Research 155 Chapter 9 · Oklahoma Administrative Law 181 Chapter 10 · Researching Tribal Law 205 Chapter 11 · Updating Legal Authority with Citators 227 vii Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page viii viii Summary of Contents Chapter 12 · Research Strategies and Organization 245 Appendix A · Legal Citation 261 About the Authors 279 Index 281 Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page ix Contents Chapter 1 · The Research Process and Legal Analysis 3 I. Oklahoma Legal Research 3 II. The Intersection of Legal Research and Legal Analysis 3 III. Types of Legal Authority 4 IV. Overview of the Research Process 7 A. Frame the Questions and Develop Search Terms 9 B. Identify, Prioritize, and Consult Relevant Sources 11 1. Secondary Sources 11 2. Primary Authorities 12 C. Expand and Update 12 D. Make Sure Your Research Is Responsive to the Questions Presented 13 E. Know When to Stop 13 V. Organization of This Book 14 Chapter 2 · Online Legal Research 15 I. Introduction 15 II. Developing an Effective Online Search 15 A. Generating Search Terms 16 B. Types of Online Searches 17 1. Natural Language Searching 17 a. How Natural Language Search Engines Work 18 b. Relevancy versus Thoroughness 18 ix Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page x x Contents c. Mandatory Search Terms 19 2. Terms and Connectors Searching 19 a. Key Uses of Terms and Connectors Searching 20 b. Field Searching 22 3. Online Tables of Contents and Indexes 22 III. Types of Online Legal Research Services 23 A. Commercial Research Services 24 1. Westlaw (WestlawNext and Westlaw Classic) and Lexis (Lexis Advance and Lexis) 24 2. WestlawNext and Lexis Advance 26 3. Bloomberg Law 27 4. HeinOnline 27 5. Fastcase, Casemaker, and VersusLaw 28 6. Loislaw 29 7. Google Scholar 29 B. Public Research Services 30 1. Oklahoma State Court Network (OSCN) 30 2. Oklahoma State Legislature Website 32 3. Oklahoma Secretary of State Website 33 4. Legal Information Institute 34 IV. Appendix: Where to Find Oklahoma Law 34 Chapter 3 · Secondary Sources 37 I. Introduction 37 II. Legal Encyclopedias 38 A. National Legal Encyclopedias 38 B. State Legal Encyclopedias 39 III. Legal Treatises 40 A. How to Locate and Evaluate Treatises 40 B. State versus National Treatises 44 C. Checking the Currency of a Treatise 45 D. Nutshells and Hornbooks 47 E. Looseleaf Treatises 47 Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page xi Contents xi IV. Law Journals and Law Reviews 48 A. Types of Law Journals 49 B. Finding Law Review Articles by Citation 50 C. Finding Law Review Articles by Keyword 50 1. HeinOnline 51 2. LegalTrac and Index to Legal Periodicals 51 3. Law Journals on Westlaw and Lexis 52 4. Google Scholar 53 5. Bar Journals 53 V. American Law Reports 55 VI. Form Books 57 A. Oklahoma Form Books 58 B. National Form Book Sets 60 VII. Continuing Legal Education Materials 60 VIII . Restatements 62 Chapter 4 · The Constitution 65 I. Introduction 65 II. Sources for Accessing the Oklahoma Constitution 68 A. The Constitution in the Oklahoma Statutes 68 B. The Constitution in West’s Oklahoma Statutes Annotated 70 C. Free Online Access to the Oklahoma Constitution 71 D. The Constitution on Lexis and Westlaw 71 III. Amendments to the Oklahoma Constitution 72 IV. Research Questions Related to the Oklahoma Constitution 73 V. State versus Federal Constitutions 75 Chapter 5 · Judicial Opinions 77 I. Court Systems 78 A. Oklahoma Courts 78 B. Federal Courts 80 Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page xii xii Contents II. Citation to and the Precedential Value of Published and Unpublished Judicial Opinions in Oklahoma Courts 83 A. Oklahoma Supreme Court and Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals Decisions 83 B. Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Decisions 86 III. Citation to and the Precedential Value of Unpublished Judicial Opinions in Federal Courts 87 IV. Trial Court Opinions 87 A. Oklahoma Trial Court Decisions 88 B. Federal Trial Court Opinions 91 V. Publication of Oklahoma Appellate Cases 92 A. Slip Opinions 92 B. Advance Sheets 94 C. Print Reporters for Oklahoma Cases 94 VI. Publication of Federal Cases 96 VII. Composition of a Case 97 VIII. Strategies for Reading and Analyzing Cases 104 A. Procedural Terminology 104 B. Reading Cases 105 C. Case Analysis 106 Chapter 6 · Researching Judicial Opinions 109 I. Retrieving Court Opinion by Citation 110 II. Searching for Court Opinions by Keyword 112 A. Searching for a Specific Phrase or Term of Art 113 B. Searching for Specific Names or Facts 113 C. Conducting a Natural Language Search for Court Opinions 115 III. Searching for Court Opinions by Subject Matter 117 A. West’s American Digest and Key Number System B. Using West Topic and Key Number System to Find Cases by Subject 120 Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page xiii Contents xiii C. Using West Digests in Print 122 D. Finding Cases by Topic on Lexis Advance and Lexis 124 IV. Unpublished Cases 127 V. Citators and Case Law 127 Chapter 7 · Statutory Research 129 I. Introduction 129 II. Legislative Enactments — Individual and Collections 131 A. Individual Enactment 131 1. In Print 131 2. Available Online 131 B. Codified Statutes 131 C. Session Laws 132 D. Historical Statutory Compilations 134 E. Annotated Statutes 134 III. Methods of Statutory Research 135 A. Using Codes in Print 136 B. Using Online Codes 137 1. Bloomberg Law 138 2. Fastcase 140 3. Oklahoma State Court Network (OSCN) 140 4. Statutes on Lexis and Lexis Advance 141 a. Get a Document with a Citation on Lexis 141 b. Keyword Searching for Statutes on Lexis and Lexis Advance 142 5. Statutes on Westlaw and WestlawNext 146 a. Find by Citation on Westlaw Classic and WestlawNext 146 b. Keyword Searching for Statutes on Westlaw Classic and WestlawNext 146 IV. Federal Statutory Research 150 A. Slip Laws 150 B. Session Laws/Statutes at Large 150 C. Codified Statutes 151 Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page xiv xiv Contents D. Annotated Code Sources 151 V. Appendix 7 State of Oklahoma & Oklahoma and Indian Territory Statutory Compilations 152 Chapter 8 · Legislative Process and Legislative History Research 155 I. Introduction 155 II. Defining Legislative History and Its Use in Oklahoma Courts 156 A. Defining Legislative History in Oklahoma 156 B. Use of Legislative History in Oklahoma Courts 156 III. Oklahoma Legislature and the Legislative Process 158 A. Oklahoma Legislature 158 B. Legislative Process 159 IV. Locating Oklahoma Legislative History Materials 161 A. Bill Chronologies 162 B. House and Senate Journals 162 C. Bills Files —Bill Text 164 D. Committee Reports 166 E. Floor Debates, Proceedings and Votes 166 F. Other Documents 167 1. Fiscal Impact Statements 167 2. Gubernatorial Action on Measures 168 3. New and Other Unofficial Legislative Information Sources 169 V. Researching the Legislative History of Codified Laws 171 A. Identifying the Relevant Session Law 171 B. Identify the Bill Number for Each Session Law 172 VI. Tracking Bills 173 A. Using the Oklahoma Legislature System 174 B. Using WestlawNext and LexisNexis 175 VII. Conclusions Regarding Oklahoma Legislative History Research 175 Fox et al 00 fmt auto _Layout 1 8/8/13 11:08 AM Page xv Contents xv VIII. Federal Legislative History Research 176 A. Federal Legislative Process and Publication 176 B. Sources of Federal Legislative History 177 1. Committee Reports and Hearings 177 2. Floor Debates 177 3. Compiled Legislative History 179 4. Online Sources for Federal Legislative History 179 Chapter 9 · Oklahoma Administrative Law 181 I. Introduction 181 II. Locating Statutory or Constitutional Provisions Creating an Agency or Granting an Agency Authority to Act 184 III.