Book Description

Connecticut Legal Research was written for legal researchers at various levels, including first-year law students, paralegals, and Connecticut practitioners. For those just learning the basics of legal research, the book explains basic research skills and strategies and introduces Connecticut sources both in print and online. It also explains how to research analogous federal materials and the law of other states, allowing a student to use the book as the sole text in a legal research course. More experienced researchers will also benefit from having a text that brings together all of the print and online sources in Connecticut, and provides a step-by-step manual for researching each Connecticut source both in print and online. Researchers can use the book to find specific websites that contain Connecticut legal materials and follow the steps outlined to access those materials. This book begins with an introduction to the research process and a discussion of the relationship between legal research and legal analysis. Chapter one introduces the reader to the state and federal court systems, and outlines the basic process used for researching the law, and chapter two discusses research strategies and organization. The book then turns to secondary sources, recognizing that these sources are often the starting point for researching a new legal question, and provide a way for researchers to gain important background information on an unfamiliar legal topic as well as find references to key primary sources. Next, Connecticut Legal Research discusses primary authority, with chapters devoted to constitutions, statutes, case law, and administrative law. Also included in this portion of the book is a chapter devoted to researching the legislative history of a statute, and a chapter on updating case law using citators. An appendix discusses legal citation, with sections on both of the national citation manuals, the ALWD Citation Manual and the Bluebook. A second appendix provides a brief bibliography of sources for legal research and analysis. Connecticut Legal Research integrates the discussions of print-based and online legal research, recognizing that effective legal research often requires a combination of both formats. The goal of the book is to provide researchers with the tools needed to access each authority both in print and online, and to provide researchers with the background information needed to develop a research plan that integrates effectively all of the research formats available. The book also includes short excerpts from print and online sources. This book is part of the Legal Research Series, edited by Suzanne E. Rowe, Director of Legal Research and Writing, University of Oregon School of Law.