Washington Legal Research

Washington Legal Research

Washington Legal Research Julie A. Heintz Seattle University School of Law Suzanne E. Rowe, Series Editor Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina

Copyright 2005 Julie A. Heintz All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Heintz, Julie A. Washington legal research / by Julie A. Heintz. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-59460-143-7 (alk. paper) 1. Legal research--washington (State) I. Title. KFW75.H45 2005 340'.072'0797--dc22 2005012537 Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, North Carolina 27701 Telephone (919) 489-7486 Fax (919) 493-5668 www.cap-press.com Printed in the United States of America

To my students

Summary of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1 The Research Process and Legal Analysis 3 Chapter 2 Introduction to Online Research in Washington 19 Chapter 3 Judicial Opinions and Reporters 33 Chapter 4 Statutes and Constitutions 55 Chapter 5 Digests and Other Case Finding Tools 83 Chapter 6 Legislative History 103 Chapter 7 Administrative Law 137 Chapter 8 Using Citators 155 Chapter 9 Secondary Sources 171 Chapter 10 Choosing Print or Online Sources 199 Chapter 11 Research Strategies and Organization 207 Appendix A Legal Citation 221 Appendix B Selected Bibliography 245 Appendix C xix xxi Commonly Used Washington Legal Research Abbreviations 247 Index 249 vii

Contents Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1 The Research Process and Legal Analysis 3 I. Washington Legal Research 3 II. The Intersection of Legal Research and Legal Analysis 4 III. Types of Legal Authority 5 IV. Court Systems 6 A. Washington Courts 7 1. Trial Courts 7 2. The Court of Appeals 7 3. The Supreme Court 8 B. Federal Courts 9 C. Courts of Other States 10 V. Overview of the Research Process 11 A. Generating Research Terms 12 B. Frequently Used Source Terms 13 1. Citation 14 2. Volume 14 3. Index 14 4. Table of Contents 15 C. Researching the Law 15 1. Organization of This Text 15 2. Publisher Relevance 16 3. The Effective and Efficient Researcher s Secret 17 ix xix xxi

x Contents Chapter 2 Introduction to Online Research in Washington 19 I. Integrating Print and Online Research 19 II. Online Sources for Legal Research 19 A. Commercial Websites 20 B. Government and Government-Affiliated Websites 20 C. University Websites 21 D. A Word About CD-ROM Products 21 III. Approach of This Text 22 IV. Two Basic Online Searching Methods 24 A. Terms and Connectors Searching 24 1. Select a Database 24 2. Generate Search Terms 25 3. Construct a Search 25 a. Using Boolean Connectors 26 b. Expanding or Restricting Your Search 26 c. Segment and Field Searching 28 d. Natural Language Searching 28 B. Table of Contents Searching 29 C. Creating Washington Tabs 31 Chapter 3 Judicial Opinions and Reporters 33 I. Reporters for Washington Cases 33 A. The Anatomy of a Reported Case 36 B. Additional Information in Reporters 41 C. Advance Sheets 42 D. Slip Opinions 42 II. Retrieving a Case Online When You Have a Citation 43 A. Commercial Providers 43 B. Government and Government-Affiliated Websites 44 III. Reporters for Federal Cases 44 A. United States Supreme Court 45 B. United States Courts of Appeals 45 C. United States District Courts 46 IV. Topical Reporters 46

Contents xi V. Reading and Analyzing Cases 47 A. A Thimbleful of Civil Procedure 47 B. Analyzing the Substance of Cases 49 C. Strategies for Reading Cases 52 Appendix: Table of Reporter Coverage 53 Chapter 4 Statutes and Constitutions 55 I. Washington Statutory Research 55 A. Session Laws Laws of Washington 56 B. Official Code Revised Code of Washington 56 C. Unofficial Annotated Codes Revised Code of Washington Annotated and Annotated Revised Code of Washington 58 D. The Research Process 60 1. Using the Codes in Print 61 a. Develop a List of Research Terms 61 b. Search the Index 61 c. Find and Read the Statutory Language 62 d. Find Relevant Cases Interpreting the Statutory Language 64 e. Update 65 f. Read the Cases that Your Research Reveals 67 2. Using the Online Codes 70 a. Searching Using Research Terms 70 b. Searching Using the Table of Contents 71 c. Updating Online 72 3. When to Use the Official Code 73 II. Researching the Statutes of Other States 74 III. Federal Statutes 75 IV. Constitutions 76 A. Researching the Washington Constitution 76 B. Broader State Protections the Gunwall Factors 76 C. The United States Constitution 77 V. Court Rules 78 A. Washington Court Rules 78

xii Contents 1. Using Print Sources for Court Rules 79 2. Using Online Sources for Court Rules 80 B. Federal Court Rules 81 Chapter 5 Digests and Other Case Finding Tools 83 I. West Digests 84 A. Topics and Key Numbers 86 B. Headnotes 86 II. Digest Research in Print 88 A. Beginning with the Descriptive Word Index 88 1. Develop a List of Research Terms 89 2. Search the Descriptive Word Index 89 3. Update the Descriptive Word Index 90 4. Review Each Topic-Key Number in the Main Volumes of the Digest 90 5. Update Each Topic-Key Number 92 6. Read the Relevant Cases 93 B. Beginning with a Relevant Case 94 C. Beginning with the Topic Analysis Outline 94 D. Words and Phrases 95 E. Table of Cases 96 III. The Cumulative Subject Index 96 IV. Digest Research Online 97 A. Topical Searching 97 B. Using One Good Case 98 V. Terms and Connectors Searching 99 Appendix: Table of Digest Coverage 101 Chapter 6 Legislative History 103 I. The Legislative Process 103 II. Washington Bill Tracking 107 A. Researching with a Bill Number 107 B. Learning About Other Pending Bills 108

Contents xiii III. Washington Legislative History Research 109 A. Sources of Washington Legislative History 109 1. Bills 109 2. Digests and Histories 110 3. The House Journal and the Senate Journal 110 4. Bill Reports 111 5. Veto Messages 111 6. Session Laws 112 B. The Research Process 112 1. Online Research 114 a. Using the State s Website 114 b. Using Westlaw 116 2. Print Research 117 3. State Archives 118 4. TVW 118 5. Researching Older Statutes 119 C. Traditional Use of Legislative History 119 IV. Initiative and Referendum 120 V. Federal Legislative Research 122 A. Federal Bill Tracking 122 B. Federal Legislative History 122 1. Sources of Federal Legislative History 123 2. Compiled Legislative History 124 3. Print Sources for Federal Legislative History 124 4. Online Sources for Federal Legislative History 125 Appendix: Examples of Washington Legislative History 126 Chapter 7 Administrative Law 137 I. Administrative Law and Governmental Agencies 137 II. Administrative Regulations 138 III. Researching Washington Administrative Regulations in Print 141 A. Washington Administrative Code 141 B. Washington State Register 144

xiv Contents IV. Researching Washington Administrative Regulations Online 145 V. Researching the Validity of Regulations 147 VI. Judicial and Agency Decisions 147 VII. Other Agency Resources 149 VIII. Attorney General Opinions 149 IX. Federal Administrative Law 150 A. Code of Federal Regulations 151 B. Federal Register 152 C. Updating Federal Regulations 153 D. Decisions of Federal Agencies 154 E. Judicial Opinions 154 Chapter 8 Using Citators 155 I. The Process of Using a Citator 155 A. Purposes of Citators 155 B. Citator Terminology 156 C. Using Online Citators 157 1. Shepard s Online 158 a. Using Shepard s for Validation 158 b. Using Shepard s for Research 159 2. KeyCite 161 a. Using KeyCite to Update a Case 163 b. Using KeyCite to Do Additional Research 163 D. Analyze the Impact of Each Citing Source 165 II. General Tips 165 A. When to Use a Citator 165 B. Flags and Signals 166 C. Prior History on Shepard s for Research 168 III. Updating Other Authorities 168 IV. Ethics 169

Contents xv Chapter 9 Secondary Sources 171 I. Legal Encyclopedias 172 A. Washington Practice (Print and Online) 172 B. Washington Lawyers Practice Manual (Print Only) 176 C. National Encyclopedias 177 II. Practice Guides and Continuing Legal Education Publications 178 III. Washington Legal Researcher s Deskbook 3d 180 IV. Legal Periodicals 181 A. Law Reviews and Journals 181 B. Bar Journals 182 C. Locating Articles 183 V. Treatises and Other Books 183 VI. General Online Search Engines 186 VII. American Law Reports 187 VIII. Forms 188 IX. Loose-leaf Services 189 A. Print Resources 189 B. Electronic Resources 191 X. Restatements 191 XI. Uniform Laws and Model Codes 192 XII. Ethical Rules 194 XIII. Jury Instructions 194 XIV. Using Secondary Sources and Practice Aids in Research 195 Chapter 10 Choosing Print or Online Sources 199 I. What is the document? 199 II. Who wrote the document? 200

xvi Contents III. When was the material published? 201 IV. How much context is provided? 202 V. How much does it cost, and who is paying? 203 VI. How fast and how efficient will research be? 204 Chapter 11 Research Strategies and Organization 207 I. Moving from Story to Strategy 207 II. Planning Your Research Strategy 208 III. Taking Notes 209 IV. Organizing Your Research 209 A. Research Plan 210 B. Secondary Authorities 212 C. Notes on Primary Authorities 212 1. Notes on Statutes and Rules 214 2. Notes on Cases 214 D. Updating 218 V. Outlining Your Analysis 219 VI. Ending Your Research 219 Appendix A Legal Citation 221 I. The Bluebook 223 A. Format of The Bluebook 223 B. Citations for Memos and Court Documents (the Bluepages ) 224 1. Incorporating Citations into a Document 225 2. Case Citations 225 a. Essential Components of Case Citations 226 b. Full and Short Citations to Cases 229 3. Statutes 231 a. State Statutes 231 b. Federal Statutes 232 4. Signals 233 5. Parenthetical Information 234

Contents xvii 6. Quotations 235 7. Noteworthy Details 236 C. Citations for Law Review Articles 237 II. Washington Citation Rules 238 A. The Washington Style Sheet 238 B. Parallel Citations 239 C. Differences Between The Bluebook and the Style Sheet 240 III. Other States Citation Rules 241 IV. The ALWD Manual 241 V. Editing Citations 242 Appendix B Selected Bibliography 245 Appendix C Commonly Used Washington Legal Research Abbreviations 247 Index 249

Preface This book is part of a series of research books published by Carolina Ac ademic Pre s s. E ach book in the series explains how to condu ct legal re s e a rch in a particular state. Al t h o u gh this book is spec i fic to Washington, some of the material draws from earlier books in the series. This is most evident in the ordering of the chapters and in the explanations of federal materials. I am sure I speak for all of the seri e s a ut h ors wh en I say thank yo u to Profe s s or Suzanne Rowe for h er con tri buti on. Profe s s or Rowe is the aut h or of one of the firs t books in the seri e s, O regon Legal Re se a rch, and a co - a ut h or of F l o ri d a Legal Research. She deserves much credit for developing this content and for providing a template for other authors to follow. As with all of the books in Carolina s series, the primary audience for Wa s h i n g ton Legal Re se a rch is firs t - year law stu den t s. However, t h e information in the books would be no less valuable for paralegal students, new associates, and even more experienced practitioners new to Washington. One major difference between this book and earlier books in the series is that this book incorporates online research into each chapter. Although members of the legal research and writing community disagree about when and how to teach electronic research, computer research is becoming the norm in both law schools and law firms. In our program at Seattle University School of Law, we incorporate online research into our teaching as soon as possible, and the book follows this format. In writing the book, I tried to make the explanations understandable for those new to legal research. Too many times, research books and legal re s e a rch te ach ers for get that most stu dents are starti n g f rom a point of vi rtu a lly no knowl ed ge of l egal re s o u rces and the lega l xix

xx Preface re s e a rch proce s s. Ex peri en ced attorn eys and stu dents familiar wi t h re s e a rch fundamentals may find some of the boo k s inform a ti on very basic; nevertheless, I erred on the side of reinforcing what some may a l re ady know ra t h er than alien a ting those who are just begi n n i n g t h eir ven tu re into legal re s e a rch. For those who would just like to re ad s el ected ch a pters, Appendix C provi des a qu i ck referen ce to som e com m on ly used Wa s h i n g ton legal re s e a rch abbrevi a ti ons that may not be explained in the chapters you select to read. In addition, for students or attorn eys who may want more det a i l ed inform a ti on than this book provides, Appendix B contains a list of recommended texts. Julie A. Heintz January 2005

Acknowledgments I need to start my acknowledgments with an expression of gratitude for Professor Suzanne Rowe. Not only did she give me the opportu n i ty to wri te this boo k, but she was also an inva lu a ble re s o u rce. As noted in the Pref ace, p a rts of this book are based on her earl i er work, and it was her vision to create process-oriented, state-specific re s e a rch books that were unders t a n d a ble for those new to the law and also helpful for those with more experience. In ad d i ti on, I have to thank Profe s s or Laurel Oate s. Profe s s or O a tes is the director of the legal wri ting program at Seattle Un iversity, and she is a nationally recognized leader in teaching legal writing. To me, though, Professor Oates is much more; she has become a true role model for me. Professor Oates exemplifies all that is good in te aching and in men tori n g, and she re a l i zes how mu ch it means to hear I know you can do it! Of course, I also have to thank all of the reference librarians at the l aw libra ry at Seattle Un ivers i ty. I pay tri bute to their inva lu a ble skill s in Chapter 1, but I would also hope they know how much I appreciate their willingness to answer any question, no matter how esoteric, I may have. This book could never have come to be without Angie Martinez, my te aching assistant. An gi e s keen eye for det a i l, excell ent re s e a rch and wri ting skill s, and con s t a n t ly upbeat pers on a l i ty are qu a l i ties that not only made her a good teaching assistant, but will also make her an excellent attorney. I also have to say thank you to Professor Connie Kron t z, who even in the middle of a busy sem e s ter, was never less than eager to help with editing. Finally, on a personal level, I need to thank my husband, who always believes in me and also puts up with me. In addition, I have to xxi

xxii Acknowledgments thank my parents and yo u n ger bro t h er. I have been so fortu n a te to have grown up with a family that provides unconditional love, support, and en co u ra gem en t. L a s t, but cert a i n ly not least, I want to thank Profe s s or Shelly Sa xer. Her en t husiasm in the cl a s s room and s ense of c a ring for her stu dents insti ll ed in me an en du ring love of learning and teaching the law. JAH