Legal Research

Citators 101: Why, What, When, How

By Amy Levine

Why:  Citators are used for a couple of reasons.  They are used first to check to see whether a case or statute is still good law.  Secondly, a citator is used to find other sources (primary and secondary) that have cited to a particular authority.

What: LexisNexis has Shepard’s online version and Westlaw has KeyCite. 

When: If you cite a case or statute in a memo or brief you must cite check it.  And it’s a good idea to run your opponent’s cases and statutes through a citator as well.  One easy way to win a case is to show your opponent is relying on bad law.  But keep in mind, an easy way to lose a case is to rely on bad law. 

How: When you sign on to Westlaw there is a “KeyCite this Citation” box on the left-side menu.  You can enter a citation in this box and click “GO”.  You can also access KeyCite by clicking on the KeyCite link at the top of the page. That link will take you to a page which explains KeyCite and the meanings of the colored status flags used. After clicking “GO” the resulting page is the history page. 

When you sign on to LexisNexis you can access the Shepard’s online version.  There is a Shepard’s tab that is along the upper part of the page just left of center. On the resulting page enter the citation for the authority to be checked and click the red “Click” button.  The next page is the Shepard’s Summary page.  If you scroll to the bottom of the summary there is an explanation of the colored status circles used by LexisNexis.

For more information about KeyCite go to: http://west.thomson.com/support/user-guide/keycite.aspx

For more information about Shepard’s online version go to: http://law.lexisnexis.com/shepards/brochures

Full post as published by Ross-Blakley Law Library Blog on September 17, 2009 (boomark / email).