NFPA Paralegal Core Competency Exam (PCCE)Legal ResearchEasy
A paralegal is reviewing a federal appellate court opinion and needs to determine if the case has been subsequently appealed, reversed, or otherwise affected by later judicial decisions. Which legal research tool is specifically designed for this purpose?
- AAmerican Jurisprudence 2d (Am. Jur. 2d).
- BWestlaw's KeyCite.
- CThe Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.
- DLexisNexis's Shepard's Citations.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. LexisNexis's Shepard's Citations.
Shepard's Citations (and its modern equivalent on LexisNexis) is a critical tool for 'Shepardizing' a case, which means checking its precedential value by identifying subsequent cases that have cited, affirmed, reversed, or modified it.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Am. Jur. 2d is a legal encyclopedia, a secondary source for general information, not for validating case law.
- B. KeyCite is Westlaw's equivalent tool for validating authority, but Shepard's is the traditional and explicit term often associated with LexisNexis.
- C. The Bluebook is a style guide for legal citations, not a tool for validating legal authority.
Shepard's Citations
A legal research tool, primarily associated with LexisNexis, used to check the precedential value and subsequent history of cases and statutes.
- Identifies citing cases and statutes.
- Indicates if a case has been affirmed, reversed, modified, or distinguished.
- Essential for ensuring legal authority is current and valid.
Memory trick: Don't 'Cite' without 'Shepard' or 'Key' in hand!