Chapter 11  Case Law

Every legal decision sets a precedent for all similar matters that come after it.  Quite often, and more lately than in the past, a law is written with an element of vagueness about it.  Does the law apply or not apply?  When the court makes a determination in regard to the question, that decision can be used when a similar situation comes up again, as long as somebody knows about it and cites the prior case in court.  That's how case law works.

Case law is created by the higher courts, the Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court, as well as federal court and federal Court of Appeals.  When a decision is made in regard to an issue it is seldom changed.  There are more changes to a states statutes than there are to case law.  Because of this a case law citation book is a highly valued commodity that never goes out of date.  The best commercially available case law citation book is the Georgetown Law Journal (G.L.J.).  Out of all the case law books out there, it provides the most bang for the buck.  You can't live without it and it's so reasonably priced at $10 in the year 2008.

The federal courts are divided into judicial districts, which encompass more than one state.  Case law from a particular judicial district is valid as law with that district right down to the superior courts and is refered to by attorney’s as having dicta.  Case law from outside your judicial district does not carry the weight of law, but it can be used for guidance in a ruling.  There are some people who believe that using case law from judicial districts outside their own or from federal courts is ineffective.  This is simply not true.  Federal courts always supersede state courts.  Check for case law about a subject within your judicial district first, but if you can't find one you can use case law from another district usually without any problems.

To begin case law research you pick an event you feel was wrong in your trial and not in your favor.  You then read case law in the area it pertains to such as due process etc. looking for something that fits your issue.  When you find one you use it.  Simple as that.

You do not need a huge book full of case law to fight your case.  You do not need a ton of case law to back up an argument.  In every case a small notebook is all that need to defend yourself on your second trial.  It is best to have your cite book with you on your second trial because the areas the prosecutor violated once, he will be likely to violate again.  Having the statutes and case law with you can stop him dead in his tracks.  Even better is to have your Frankenstein Document with you as well for obvious reasons.  These two documents give you a spear and a shield with which to fight again.  A small number of good case law's, used well is better than a large number of good case law's used poorly.

As you examine case law you discover that two or more case laws can be combined to back up a larger issue and than raised by the two smaller case laws.  For example, you can cite the violation of a state law in your trial and then use Lambright v Lewis to establish a violation of due process which is guaranteed to get you a new trial.  However it is not a good idea to combine two claims into one argument.  Doing so can result in a valid argument being denied because it includes an invalid claim with a valid one.  Because they are both part of the same argument and not addressed as separate issues the entire argument will be denied.  The courts ofcourse, will not educate you on your mistake.  The law works like locks and keys.  Without the right key the lock won't open.  Many times a key will go into the lock, but the key won't turn.  Drafting motions and other court documents operates exactly the same way.  In many cases you may have the right idea, but because you didn't express something in the document that needed to be addressed no success was obtained.  This is why it is best to use motions that have worked for others, rather than venture off creating your own documents.  Once you become a member of a legal club, you should have access to documents that have worked for people in the past and be allowed to copy them.

How to Read a Case Law Citation

Knowing how to read and write case citations is an important skill for everyone studying criminal justice. The figure below and the comments that follow may help with your understanding of the basic elements. Those of you going on to law school will become aware of greater complexity than is shown here. But this level of understanding is sufficient for most of us.

Above are the parts of a standard case citation. The citation tells us that a case called Furman versus Georgia was decided in 1972 and can be found in Volume 408 of the United States Reports, starting on page 238.

Some Variations

• When using a direct quote from the case, it is important to provide the specific page on which that quote is found. In that case, the citation would have the page added as follows:

Furman v Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 240 (1972)
OR
Furman v Georgia, 408 U.S. at 240 (1972)

• Because federal appeals courts (circuit courts) are found in one of twelve different districts, the specific district is typically added as follows:

Cooper v Pate, 382 F.2d 443 (7th Cir. 1967)

• Ninety-four federal district courts are spread throughout the country (there is at least one in every state and the more populated states have as many as four). The specific district should be identified:

Howard v United States, 864 F.Supp. 1019 (D. Colo. 1994)

Case Name
There are typically two names for a case. Usually, the first name identifies who is bringing the court action and the second name is the person against whom action is being brought. In a criminal law case action is almost always brought by the state (e.g., People or State) against a person (e.g., Joe) as in People v Joe or State v Joe.
However, the “defendant” may not always stay the same. In the Furman v Georgia case, Furman was originally the defendant in a murder case being prosecuted in Georgia. However, Furman appealed his conviction and in doing so he became the person taking action against the state.

Year
This is the year in which the decision was delivered by the court. It may not be (and in appellate cases, probably isn’t) the year in which the case was heard.

Name of Reporter
A “reporter” is a multi-volume publication where court decisions are found. The full name and abbreviations for the reporters you are most likely to encounter as undergraduates are:

Volume Number and Beginning Page
Without knowing what volume of the reporter to look in, and what page the case starts on, it would be very difficult to track the case down. Not impossible, however, as you can use the table of cases in digests like West’s United States Supreme Court Digest or, for very recent cases, U.S. Law Week. Similar digests exist for other federal and state cases.

The information for this handout was gleaned from several sources. Especially useful were, Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law, by Elias and Levinkind, and from Ferdico’s Criminal Procedure for the Criminal Justice Professional.

A STRING CITATION is one that contains multiple case law citations that each say essentially the same thing. See example below:

US v. Cooks, 52 F.3d 101 (5th Cir. 1995)
Giglia v. US, 405 US 150, 31 L.Ed.2d 104, 92 S.Ct. 763 (1972)
Napue v. Illinois, 360 US 264, 2 LEM 1217, 79 S.Ct. 1173 (1959)
1) Where the government fails to disclose evidence of any understanding or agreement as to future prosecution of a key government witness, due process may require reversal of the conviction ... also ... the government has a duty to disclose such understandings for they directly affect the credibility of the witness. This duty of disclosure is even more important where the witness provides the key testimony against the accused.

When creating a string citation the order of the cases in the string go from the highest court to the lowest following this example:

US Supreme Court
Circuit Court of Appeals
Federal District Court
State Supreme Court
State Appellate Court
State Superior Court
International Courts

NOTICE: All case law citations in this book conform to the Blue Book Citation Format.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

AMENDMENT 1:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

AMENDMENT 2:
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

AMENDMENT 3:
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time or war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

AMENDMENT 4:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

AMENDMENT 5:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

AMENDMENT 6:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

AMENDMENT 7:
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of common law.

AMENDMENT 8:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

AMENDMENT 9:
The enumeration in the Constitution, or certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

AMENDMENT 10:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

AMENDMENT 11:
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity. commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

AMENDMENT 13:
Section 1: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT 14:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Case Law Table Of
Contents

Click on a chapter to go there.

Abreviations

For questions or comments about this web site contact: jcoghill2@cox.net