NFPA Paralegal Core Competency Exam (PCCE)Legal ResearchMedium
A paralegal is reviewing a newly published federal court opinion to understand its implications for an ongoing case. To ensure the opinion is still good law and has not been overturned or negatively affected by subsequent decisions, which online tool should the paralegal primarily use?
- ALexisNexis's Shepard's Citations
- BWestlaw's KeyCite
- CGoogle Scholar
- DFastcase
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Westlaw's KeyCite
KeyCite is Westlaw's citation research service that provides information about the history of a case, statute, or regulation, as well as its treatment by subsequent cases. Shepard's is the equivalent service on LexisNexis. Both are essential for validating legal authority.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Shepard's is LexisNexis's citator service, not Westlaw's. While it serves the same purpose, the question implies using a Westlaw tool if one were to choose between the two major providers for a specific tool.
- C. Google Scholar is a free search engine but does not offer the advanced citator functionality of KeyCite or Shepard's.
- D. Fastcase is a legal research platform but does not have its own proprietary citator service equivalent to KeyCite or Shepard's; it often integrates with other citator services.
KeyCite
Westlaw's citation research service that tracks the history and treatment of cases, statutes, and regulations.
- Uses flags (red, yellow) to indicate negative or cautionary treatment.
- Provides citing references to show how other cases have treated the authority.
- Essential for validating the currency and reliability of legal authority.
Memory trick: KeyCite and Shepard's: the traffic lights of legal authority.