Digests are organized (1) by (2) and, within each topic, (3) by (4)
- alphabetically
- topic
- chronologically
- key number
2 Federal digests
- United States Supreme Court Digest
2. Federal Practice Digest (appeals and district courts)
3 electronic sources of federal cases
- Lexis
- Westlaw
- Web (various websites)
A key number digest is made up of which five main parts?
- topic analysis section for each topic
- case headnotes section for each topic
- a table of cases, listing cases by name and reporter citation
- words and phrases table
- descriptive word index
In a digest, cases discussing the same point of law are classified under the same (1) and (2)
- topic
2. key number
Where to go if not finding cases in your state on your topic (5)
- neighboring states
- Federal cases
- US Supreme Court cases
- Encyclopedic treatment of topic (Corpus Juris Secundum)
- articles discussing case law (American Law Reports)
3 methods for searching in digests
- topic method (find key numbers by topics)
- descriptive word method (find key numbers using words, synonyms)
- table of cases method (find key number using case name)
7 categories of law in West’s digest system
- persons
- property
- contracts
- torts
- crimes
- remedies
- government
The topic analysis found at the beginning of each topic in digests is an (1) of the topic
- expanded outline
When reorganization of topics is required, key number (1) are prepared for subsequent pocket parts and recompiled volumes
- translation tables
5 categories into which descriptive words tend to fall
- parties
- places/things
- basis of action or issue
- defense
- relief sought
4 things a table of cases listing provides
- title
- parallel citations to other reporters
- history of the case (affirmed, reversed, etc.)
- topics and key numbers under which it is classified
There is also a (1) table of cases to assist if you know only one name
defendant-plaintiff
In legal writing, a specific legal authority or other source
citation
5 parts of a legal citation
- author
- name of authority/source
- info about where info can be found within source
- publisher
- date
For formatting, use (1) when possible for a more professional look
full justification
4 auto settings in word processors that may need to be deactivated/changed for citation
- spacing after periods
- automatic ordinal superscript (inconsistent with “2d” etc.)
- automatic replacement of words and symbols
- automatic hyperlinks
In formatting citations, (1) and (2) should not be mixed within a paper. Underline only the (3)–not commas or spaces
- underlining
- italics
- word/phrase
8 things that should be italicized in a citation
- introductory signals (see)
- internal cross-references (supra, infra)
- case names
- phrases indicating subsequent/prior history (aff’d)
- titles of most documents
- topics or titles in legal encyclopedia entries
- names of internet sites
- shorts forms (id, supra)
Italicise punctuation located (1), but not (2), other italicized material. Do not italicize (3) of case names, etc. De-italicize (4). Italics for (5) should not be overused.
- within
- following
- possessive endings
- stuff that would be italicized, contained within an entire italicized passage
- emphasis
(1) can help you determine whether a foreign word should be italicized.
Black’s Law Dictionary
4 things that should not be capitalized in a title
- articles
- prepositions
- “to” as part of an infinitive
- coordinating conjunctions
page on which a particular source begins (should be cited if included in a volume)
initial page
page on which a quotation or other relevant passage appears (should be cited when referring to material on that specific page)
pinpoint page (jump citation, jump page)
