10 Easy Steps to Legal Research

1. Check with your nearest library, such as a local public library or county law library, for the availability and location of a legal information collection in your area.

2. Know your facts
   • What is the subject
   • What has happened: who, what, when, where, why and how

3. Classify the problem
   • Is it under state or federal jurisdiction
   • Is it a civil or criminal case

4. Be familiar with the organization of the judicial system
   • Federal: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or District or Bankruptcy Courts
   • State: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or trial level courts, e.g. Superior or District Courts
   • Administrative tribunals

5. Select the appropriate background search
   • Legal dictionaries are helpful in defining terminology used in similar cases
   • Legal encyclopedias give an overview of the subject

6. Use indexes to find an exact page or to find information on a particular subject

7. Use primary sources
   • Statutes or acts passed by U.S. Congress or state legislatures
   • Rulings, decisions or opinions of courts
   • Regulations of state and federal agencies

8. Use secondary sources
   • Treatises
   • Law Reviews
   • Looseleaf services

9. Check for the most current information
   • Newest edition
   • Most recent supplement
   • Pocket parts

10. Use citators to find a table of subsequent cases citing to the original case for further history and treatment in the courts