alternatives to lexis & westlaw prof. carolyn broering-jacobs’ legal writing class feb. 2011
TRANSCRIPT
Stripped down versions of Lexis/WL
• Casemaker –Free w/ free student OSBA membership
• Fastcase – Free w/ Cleve bar membership.
• Lois Law – C-M has, CLL has
• Versus Law – Free to Law students
Access to Low Cost Databases
Library Website, Electronic Resources Page.
Casemaker: ohiobar.org. Free with FREE student membership to the Ohio State Bar Association OR Librarians can sign you in
Fastcase – fastcase.com.
Stripped Down Versions of Lexis/WL
What does Lexis/Westlaw have these do not? Editorial features – headnotes, annotations Practice Books (except Loislaw) Law Review articles Better search mechanisms and coverage
Stripped Down Versions of Lexis and Westlaw
Casemaker – best coverage for Ohio. Odd search syntax
Fastcase – Natural Language, Visual Charts Loislaw - Best terms and connectors, field
searching. Treatises. Alert searches. VersusLaw – Cheapest, worst coverage
ContentsUnannoStatutes
Casesw/oHeadnotes
Unanno
Regs
“Shepard’s –Like
Feature”
Other
Loislaw Yes Yes –
Ohio unreported
1997-
Yes Yes Treatises, Forms, Public Records
(depends on plan)
Casemaker
Yes Yes –
Ohio unreported 1981-, All Ohio Misc.
Yes Yes Some Jurisdictions - Jury Instruc., Jury Verdicts,
More
Contents
UnannoStatutes
Casesw/oHeadnotes
Unanno
Regs
“Shepard’s –Like
Feature”
Fastcase Internet links for 8 states
Fed App 1925-, Ohio 1950 -, Ohio unreported 2000-.Coverage
Mostly Internet
Links
Yes
Versuslaw
See help, Content/Features
Fed if pay more, no state
Ohio 1950 -. Ohio unreported 1995 -.
Older Fed District More $
Fed if pay more, no State
Yes
Searching
Boolean Natural Language
Fields Search databases together
Loislaw Yes - near2 No Yes Yes
Casemaker Yes - w/n, w/sent, w/para
No Yes Fed together, State together
Searching
Boolean Natural Language
Fields Search databases together
Fastcase Yes - w/n Yes Date, cite look-up only
Yes
Versus Law
Yes - w/n Yes default connector is ADJ
4 fields, see help
For addtl fee
• Issue= Whether in Ohio, two people can marry if they are the opposite sex because one person had gender reassignment surgery, and that person’s birth certificate was amended to reflect the sex change?
• Search = “birth certificate” (transsexual, transgender, “sex change”) marri*
Casemaker Session
Part of Research Certificate Seminars Wednesday, 3/2, 3pm-4pm Register by emailing Laura Ray
• “birth certificate” AND (transgender OR transsexual OR “sex change”) AND marri*
• Natural language – birth certificate marriage transsexual
Fastcase Webinar
Thursday, 3/24, 4:30pm-5:30pm –– LB Room 208 or remotely via your own computer
Contact Laura Ray to register
Primary & Secondary – Specific Subjects
BNA CCH RIA Checkpoint See Electronic Resources page for links.
NOT low cost, but not charged back to clients
BNA Current Awareness
Articles, cases May contain past 12 years ex. U.S. Law Week/Supreme Court Today ;
Daily Labor Report (DLR expensive!). Sign up for BNA Current Awareness Services
BNA Libraries
Cases, statutes, regs Practice books Forms
ex. Labor and Employment Law Library , Intellectual Property Library or ABA/BNA lawyers' manual on professional conduct
CCH Intelliconnect
• Both Primary and Secondary Sources• Topics Covered:
AntitrustBanking Corporate GovernanceHealth Care and Medicaid/Medicare Labor & Employment, PensionsSecurities
CCH
Boolean searching, w/n etc. Federated Searching Indexes Current awareness emails –
Sign up Instructions Known for their fifty state charts
Benefits of Low Cost Databases Over Free Internet
Better Search Mechanisms CoverageMay be more current Trustworthiness Aggregated Info – One stop shopping
What’s on the Free Web
All US Supreme Court Cases Reported Federal Appellate from 1882 Some Unreported Fed App, Fed District State cases: reported – 1950. unreported -
early-mid nineties
What’s on the Free Web, cont’d
Statutes & Regulations- federal and states Municipal Ordinances Law Review Articles Forms Dockets, Briefs & Pleadings
LOTS more!
Start with a Good Internet Portal
From the Library Home Page – Legal Research on the Web
Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) FindLaw ALSO (American Law Sources Online) Other Portals
Use LEGAL Search Engines
Cornell University Legal Research Engine LexisWeb
List of Search Legal Engines
Case law
Google Scholar – state reported 1950-, fed circuit/ district 1923-
Ohio Supreme Court Legal Research Workstation - Case Law
Google Advanced Operators
AROUND –ex. constitution AROUND(5) "home rule“
~ searches for synonyms and related words ex. ~constitutionality - searches for constitutional, unconstitutional, etc.
* placeholder for a word. Ex. sexual * abuse picks up “sexual misconduct abuse”, “sexual child abuse”, etc.
Web Sites to Know
Thomas.gov – Federal Legislative History FDSys - Fed’l Govt. PACER – Federal Court dockets Martindale Hubbell Law Digest