Criminal Procedure Research ProjectWestlaw

Instructions:• 1. Find out what the legal issue is in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961) (see textbook).

This is what you see when youfirst open WestlawNext!

The search box is designed like Googlefor simplicity.

24/7 assistance

Since we know the case citation (367 U.S. 643)we can simply type that in the search field.

Or: type in the case name.

When you type in the case name, you will retrieve the case, and also any cases that have cited (referred to) Mapp v. Ohio.

There are advantages to each approach.

In addition to case law, Westlaw provides law reviews and secondary sources which

INTERPRET Mapp v. Ohio and can help you identify the legal issue in the case.

These articles can also help you determine key words and search terms

you should use when searching for cases in the state you have chosen.

Instructions:• 2. Obtain your appropriate key word terms and issues from

Mapp v. Ohio. Using these terms, search for cases in the state that you have chosen.

Let’s look at the actual case.

These are parallel citations which means same case, found in different sources. Professor

Pesca gave you the U.S. Supreme Court official citation

(367 U.S. 643).

81 S. Ct. 1684 is the SAME case, Mapp v. Ohio, in a West case

reporter.

This is the prior history of the case,

which describes what courts heard the case prior to it coming before the

U.S. Supreme Court.

West Headnotes are brief summaries of

the main legal issues and points of law and

in the case.

Headnotes are not part of the Court’s

official decision; they are written by West attorney-editors to

help with case interpretation.

Very useful!

Westlaw tells you how many cases have “cited” a particular headnote. For example, 953 cases have referred back to

Mapp v. Ohio for this particular point of law!

Let’s go live and take a look at Mapp v. Ohio.

Look at the depth and complexity of this case. It is a pivotal, very famous United States Supreme Court case.

You can see where attorney-editor Headnotes would assist with case interpretation.

From anywhere in Westlaw, you can access the main scree by clicking on WestlawNext.

So what happens when we run the search Mapp v. Ohio on the main screen? Remember,

before we searched from “Cases.”

The case

The ConstitutionalAmendment (IV)

Secondary sources

to help youunderstand the

case

Instructions:• 2. Obtain your appropriate key word terms and issues from

Mapp v. Ohio. Using these terms, search for cases in the state that you have chosen.

Secondary Sources!In addition to the case itself, check law reviews and ALR

(American Law Reports).

Which search terms do I use? What are the legal issues…?

Back to the main screen (click on WestlawNext)

Using these terms……search for cases in the state that you have chosen.

Some courts located in New Jersey (and in all of the United States) are federal courts, which is why you see both Federal and State court listings under New Jersey (and with every state). It may seem confusing at first,

but it is the U.S. court structure.

Here, you want to choose All New Jersey State Cases.

In general, you will search these courts most often.

Note the search results are

displayed in “relevance” order.

You can sort by date or “most cited” as

well.

Think about this: “Most cited” means subsequent (later) cases have referred back to these cases most frequently.

Instructions:• 3. Print out the list of cases and citations that match your

key words and terms.

To print, click on the arrow just to the right of the

envelope icon.

Your options are: Email, Print, Download or send to a

Kindle.

Choose Print.

Heads up! You do NOT want to print the full text of each case!

The instructions read, “Print out the list of cases and citations that match your key words and

terms.”

Instructions:• 4. Read through the cases and find a case that deals with

the same issue that is in Mapp v. Ohio.

Your challenge now is to find a case that most closely deals with the same issue that is in Mapp v. Ohio, is reasonably current (though a pivotal case

may be very old), and is still good law.

Is the case still good law?

•Is the case I am looking at still good law?

• While viewing a case with a KeyCite flag, click the flag (if there IS one).• No flag = no negative treatment (so far)• Yellow = CAUTION• Red = CASE HAS BEEN OVERRULED – DO NOT USE

No flag = good law so far - Yellow flag = caution – Red flag = no longer good law (has been overruled, overturned)

Click on the flag for specific negative history.

Just because there is no flag…• … does not mean this is the best case!

• A case like Roe v. Wade – (Supreme Court of the United States January 22, 1973 - 410 U.S. 113)

• a very famous U.S. Supreme Court case in the 1970s, has a yellow flag because some courts have not agreed with certain aspects of the Court’s ruling – but this case has been cited over 22,000 times!

• If later cases have ‘cited’ to (referred to) a case thousands of times, even if there is some negative treatment, this case is still good law, and very, very important!

• Bottom line: don’t be afraid of cases with yellow flags!

Let’s say we decide this is the case that deals closely with the issue in Mapp v. Ohio. How did we decide this?

Remember those “Headnotes”

described earlier.

Headnotes are brief summaries of the

legal issue(s) in the case, written by

Westlaw attorney-editors.

To understand and effectively BRIEF the case,

you have to read the case,

not just the headnotes. The opinion,

written by the judge, contains the facts, the

issue(s) before the court, the

court’s holding and rationale.

To print, click on the arrow

just to the right of the envelope

icon.

The print screen defaults to term

highlighting, including headnotes and dual column printing (see

next slide).

Dual column layout