To perform legal research in print, you can use either reporters or digests.
REPORTERS
Reporters are best if you know what case you’re looking for and have a citation. Cases in reporters are published chronologically and organized by jurisdiction.
Some examples include:
Federal Reporter (F.)
Federal Reporter, Second Series (F.2d.)
California Reports, Third Series (Cal. 3d.)
North Western Reporter (N.W.)
If you have a case citation, it will look like this:
Sometimes you will only see this: 84 Cal.App.4th 335, but that is enough information to locate what you need. Once you have the citation, all you have to do is go to the correct reporter, volume, and page number. Every reported (published) case has a unique citation. As long as you have the citation, you can find any case published in a standard case reporter.[1]
DIGESTS
Digests can also be used to find cases; they are like a subject index and outline of case law. They contain summaries of legal issues, and the summaries are assigned a topic. The topics are further divided into subtopics, and these are assigned a West “Key Number.” Digests are arranged alphabetically by topic and key number. There are different types of digests, either for jurisdictions (federal/region/state), or subjects (bankruptcy).
Some examples of digests:
West’s Federal Practice Digest 4th
West’s California Digest 2d
Use the steps below to help you find cases.
~ If you do not have a topic or case:
- Look at the Descriptive Word Index. They are found at the end of the digest set.
- Look up all the possible terms you can think of related to your issue. Follow up on all cross references and check the index volume’s pocket part for new index headings. (*Pocket parts are paper supplements located at the back of the book or soft-bound books placed next to the hard cover volume).
- Note the topic and key number for your terms that are listed in the index subject headings, e.g., Adop 1
- Select the appropriate digest volume that contains your topic, e.g., Adoption
- Look up the topic and key number in the subject volumes.
- Look at the topic outline at the beginning of the topic to find related topics and key numbers.
- Use the topic and key number to locate relevant case summaries and their citations in the pages following the topic outline.
- For later cases, see the same topic and key numbers in the pocket part.
~ If you do not have a relevant case but are familiar with the topic:
- Select the volume of the digest that contains your topic, e.g., Adoption
- Consult the topic outline at the beginning of your topic.
- Review subjects included and excluded and the outline of key numbers.
- Note the topic and key numbers that appear relevant, e.g., Adop 1
- Use the topic and key numbers to locate relevant case summaries and their citations in the pages following the topic outline.
- For later cases, see the same topic and key numbers in the pocket part.
~ If you already have one good case and want to find more like it:
- Read the headnotes at the beginning of the case and identify those most relevant to your issue.
- Note the topic and key number assigned to the headnote, e.g., Adop 1
- Go to the appropriate West digest for your jurisdiction and find the volume containing your topic and key number.
- Find relevant case summaries for your topic and key number in the pages following the topic outline.
- Skim the summary paragraphs to determine which cases to pursue.
- Note the case citations under the paragraphs. Use the court and date abbreviations to target appropriate cases.
- Go back to the topic outline and look for related topics and key numbers.
- For later cases, see the same topic and key numbers in the pocket part.[2]
[1] S. Elias, Legal Research, 2015 Ed., Nolo Press.
[2] Information taken from: http://law.indiana.libguides.com/c.php?g=19822&p=112473