Paralegal Certification PrepLegal Research and WritingHard
A paralegal is conducting research for an appeal where a trial court's decision is being challenged based on an alleged error in applying a complex legal standard. To fully understand the legal standard's historical development and nuances, the paralegal needs to find cases that have cited and interpreted the seminal case establishing that standard. Which online research tool is specifically designed to help paralegals find citing cases and assess a case's precedential value?
- AGoogle Scholar
- BWestlaw/LexisNexis KeyCite or Shepard's
- CFastcase
- DPublic library online catalog
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Westlaw/LexisNexis KeyCite or Shepard's
KeyCite (Westlaw) and Shepard's (LexisNexis) are specialized citator services that track the judicial history of cases, statutes, and other legal authorities. They allow researchers to find all subsequent cases that have cited a particular authority, indicating whether it has been affirmed, reversed, or otherwise affected.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Google Scholar is a general academic search engine and lacks the specific citator functionality of professional legal databases.
- C. Fastcase is a legal research platform but does not offer the same depth of citator functionality as KeyCite or Shepard's.
- D. A public library catalog finds books, not case history and citing references.
Legal Citator Services
Online tools (like KeyCite and Shepard's) used to verify the precedential value of legal authorities and find all citing references.
- Tracks judicial history (affirmed, reversed, overruled).
- Identifies all cases, statutes, and secondary sources that have cited a particular authority.
- Essential for 'Shepardizing' or 'KeyCiting' to ensure authority is still good law.
Memory trick: To 'Shepard' the 'Sheep' (cases), use a 'Citator' to 'See' who 'Cited' them.