Court & Legal ResearchNov. 12, 2013
http://craft1research-fall.2013.journalism.cuny.edu/
Court & Legal Research“It is a well-established principle that court records are presumed to be open to the public. Courts
in the United States have recognized both a common law
right and a First Amendment right to judicial records of court
proceedings.”The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
http://www.rcfp.org/rcfp/orders/docs/EACR.pdf
Basics of Legal Research: Cornell University Law
Library http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/whatwedo/researchguides/basics.cfm#questions
Articulate the legal issue. What jurisdiction is involved? Federal or state? Is this a civil or criminal matter? Who are the parties and what relief is sought?
How the Criminal Justice System Works: Arrest to
SentenceThe New York County District Attorney’s Office
: http://manhattanda.org/criminal-justice-system-how-it-works?s=37&page=1
Manhattan man booted from public library for body odor sues for $5.5M
New York Post, Oct. 21, 2012http://nypost.com/2012/10/21/manhattan-
man-booted-from-public-library-for-body-odor-sues-for-5-5m/
SCROLL: http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/iscroll/
http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/iscroll/
Supreme Court Records Online Library
New York State Supreme Court and the County Clerk of New York The Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County handles civil
cases (those not involving criminal offenses).
The Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County is a trial-level court, the highest such court for civil cases in the state court system in New York County
Located in the New York County Courthouse, the Supreme Court's
main courthouse at 60 Centre Street
WebCrims: NY State Unified Court System
Cold Case Solved: Baby HopeWho is Conrado Juarez?
New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/nyregion/baby-hope.html?_r=0
Visiting 60 Centre Street: New York County Court Guide
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/litigants/courtguides/1stJD_newyork.pdf
Federal Cases
Justice Department Website: Press releasesi.e. Johnson & Johnson
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/November/13-ag-1170.html
Bureau of Prisons: Inmate Locatorie. Bernard MadoffFor court documents, do a google
search :”bernard madoff and site: .gov and court documents”
First result takes you to the Justice Dept website, which attaches all court documents for his case
LexisNexis
LexisNexis has case information for the most jurisdictions–federal, state and local–but not all of it is available in the academic version universally accessible to CUNY students.
Lexis has published opinions of the courts. i.e. Roe v
Wade or landmark cases LexisNexis Video Tutorial: On YouTube.com; Looking
up a Legal Case Search Lexis Academic
PACER
Public Access to Electronic Court Records Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is an
electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information from federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts, and the PACER Case Locator via the Internet. PACER is provided by the federal Judiciary in keeping with its commitment to providing public access to court information via a centralized service.
Video Tutorial: http://www.pacer.gov/training/display.html Court Information Tutorial:
http://www.pacer.gov/training/display.html#myplayer
USCourts.gov
Journalist’s Guide to the Federal CourtsWebsite:
http://www.uscourts.gov/News/JournalistsGuide.aspx
Understanding the Federal CourtsWebsite:
http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx
Research Guides
Court Records ResearchLink:
http://researchcenter.journalism.cuny.edu/research-guides/craft-resources/court-records-research/
Cops & Crime ResearchLink:
http://researchcenter.journalism.cuny.edu/research-guides/craft-resources/cops-crime-research/
Cops & Crime Essentials CheatsheetLink:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OC9aYrWLwQ8Y48BTOc3ba4sXlCnQzxOSRPNWxMC_508/edit?pli=1
Finding LawyersLLRX
LegalDockets
Martindale.com
Legal Blogs: Keeping on top of the industry
Law 360@Law360
Above the Law@atlblog The Crime Report@thecrimereport The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog@WSJlawblog ScotusBlog@SCOTUSblog
Any Questions?Class Blog Link:
http://craft1research-fall.2013.journalism.cuny.edu/Feel free to post your questions on the class blog.