Chapter 8

8.5

Interactive Study | Validating Authority

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INTRODUCTION

Shepard's (Library and on Lexis)

KeyCite (On Westlaw only, no library version)

Shepard's goes back about a century. It is the original validation tool. Since the courts do not rip out or stamp cases, statutes, or other authorities that had been overturned or otherwise invalidated, there had to be a way to tell if the authority being relied upon was still valid. Shepard's was the solution.

Shepard's, though, signed a contract with Lexis to offer its validation service exclusively on Lexis (and, of course, still in the law library). Thus, Westlaw desperately needed to come up with a validation solution of its own. That system became KeyCite.

You are not required to Shepardize in the Law Library for the assignments in this manual. The reason is that most law libraries have stopped subscribing to the hard copy of Shepard's. Those volumes are remarkably expensive, and they are the victim of tight budgets. Instead, most law libraries provide public access to Westlaw and/or Lexis to validate authority found in the Law Library.

Thus, for this program, only Shepard's on Lexis and KeyCite on Westlaw are required to be studied.

What can be validated?
Even though we concentrate on cases and statutes in terms of validation, almost any authority can be validated by the use of Shepard's or KeyCite. Just look for the validation symbols to the left of the title of whatever document you are looking at.

Oh, and have you noticed that the systems are very similar in structure? That should help you. If you can use one, you can use both.

Cited v. Citing Authority
It is important to be able to discuss material being validating in the proper context.

Cited authority is the authority being validated (Shepardized or KeyCited)
Citing authority is the material that is mentioning (citing) the authority being validated.

Citing authority is "citing" the Cited authority.

I know. Confusing. But keep at it. It will make sense. Eventually!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Time Sheets

You are required to keep track of your billable hours when working on legal research and writing assignments and to turn them in with your written assignments. Click on the examples of Time Sheets below to zoom in and compare. Yours should look like the Good example.

The Good

Notice the accurate hours and the detailed descriptions.

The Bad

Not a very accurate time sheet. Very little attention to detail.

The Ugly

Obviously created after-the-fact. Don't let your time sheet look like this!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A TIME SHEET that automatically adds up your billable hours. You should keep track of any research or writing you perform on behalf of your client, including training exercises and assignments in this program.

Paralegal Perspective . . .

VALIDATING AUTHORITY AS A PARALEGAL
John was an attorney at our firm. He was wonderful to work for. On one occasion, he included me in on a phone conference between himself, the opposing counsel, and the judge in the case. It was actually a hearing by telephone. John had the speaker phone on and we were listening to the opposing counsel make his arguments. He referred to three cases, and faxed them to us and the judge as the hearing was proceeding. I asked John if I should Shepardize the cases, and at first he said no. A minute later John changed his mind, and asked me to Shepardize the cases. The authorities looked valid in the main volumes. I checked the softbound supplements, no problems. But when I Shepardized in the hard bound supplements, bingo. Two of the three cases had been overturned. It was obvious that the other side had not thoroughly Shepardized the cases. When John saw the results of my research (as the opposing attorney continued to spew out his case), he simply smiled. When it was his turn, I left to fax the Shepard's page to the judge and opposing counsel, John told the judge that he wasn't sure how to respond to an argument based on two invalid cases. The judge was furious. The other side humiliated. And we got what we wanted out of the hearing.

The lesson? Validate all authority. Not only your own, but any authority relied upon from the other side.

Also, be thorough. The opposing party in the above example may have done a quick Shepard's check, but if they did, they did not go far enough. Most likely, they did not validate the cases at all, either with Shepard's or KeyCite. Be conscientious and thorough when validating authority.

Commonly Asked Questions . . .

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