LEGL 454 Midterm Study Guide

• The LEGL 454 Midterm Study Guide is for the Spring 2025 semester at California State University, Chico.
• The exam is on Thursday, March 27th from 9:30-10:45 during class time.
• Arrive 5-10 minutes early to get settled, and the exam duration is 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• The exam is cumulative and covers all materials from the semester.
• Expect multiple-choice and short-answer essay questions, including hypotheticals.
• Answers should be based on classroom materials like lectures, slides, and readings, and note use of outside sources may be considered plagiarism.
• Prepare for the midterm by reviewing PowerPoint slides, class notes/assignments, and assigned readings.

General Definitions

• Official publications are cases published by statutory directive or court rule, examples include U.S. Reports and CA Reports.
• Unofficial publications are cases published without government approval, for example, Westlaw’s Federal Reporter.

Role of Legal Paraprofessional and Ethical Duty

• Paralegals and attorneys have a responsibility to conduct accurate legal research.
• ABA Model Rule 1.1 includes "competent representation," which requires knowledge of research tools.
• CA Business and Professions Code 6453 extends competence duty to paralegals.
• Technology and research proficiency are part of ethical responsibilities.

Primary vs. Secondary Source Materials

• Primary sources are binding, this includes cases, constitutions, statutes, administrative regulations, executive orders, and treaties.
• Secondary sources are persuasive, this includes encyclopedias, law review articles, restatements, annotations, and dictionaries.

Law and Judicial Hierarchy

• Stare decisis means courts follow precedent to ensure consistency.
• Judicial hierarchy dictates that higher courts bind lower courts within the jurisdiction.
• Primary law in a jurisdiction is binding, while law from outside the jurisdiction is persuasive.

Phases of Legal Research

• The suggested phases of legal research are to identify the legal issue, locate primary and secondary sources, analyze the sources, apply findings to legal issues, and update research using citation tools.

General Citation Information

• Official and unofficial sources of law have different citation methods.

Judicial Branch Materials

• Federalism involves shared powers between federal and state governments.
• Federal jurisdiction involves federal question jurisdiction (constitutional issues) and diversity jurisdiction (citizens of different states, $75,000+ in controversy).
• State jurisdiction includes state law matters unless a federal issue is present.
• Exclusive jurisdiction means some cases can only be heard in state or federal courts, while concurrent jurisdiction means cases can be heard in either.
• Parallel citations are when cases appear in multiple publications.

Federal and State Materials

• U.S. Supreme Court publications include U.S. Reports (official) and S. Ct. (unofficial).
• Courts of Appeals publications include F., F.2d, and F.3d.
• District courts publications include F. Supp. and F. Supp. 2d.

Judicial Review

• Marbury v. Madison established that courts assess the constitutionality of laws.

Types of Legal Disputes

• Criminal disputes involve the government prosecuting, with liberty at stake.
• Civil disputes are between individuals, with monetary penalties.

Accessing Judicial Branch Materials

• Access methods include online databases like Westlaw and LexisNexis, and print resources like law libraries and official reporters.

Using Precedents

• Vertical stare decisis means lower courts must follow higher court rulings.
• Horizontal stare decisis means courts follow their own prior rulings.

Elements of a Case

• Elements of a case include the case name, docket number, decision date, headnotes, opinion, and the decision itself.

Briefing Cases

• Case briefing includes Facts, Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion (IRAC).

Statutory Law/Legislative Branch Materials

• Statutes are laws passed by legislative bodies at the federal and state levels.
• Codification refers to statutes compiled by subject, like the CA Civil Code.
• Session laws are chronological arrangements of law (statutes at large).

Legislative Cycle/Codification

• The legislative cycle involves a bill's introduction, committee review, floor debate and vote, sending to another chamber, conference committee if needed, and the President's approval or veto.

Classifications of Statutes

• Statutes can be classified as public (applying broadly), private (applying to individuals/groups), or permanent vs. temporary.

Accessing Statutory Materials

• Accessing materials can be done through print resources (law libraries, official reports) or online databases (Westlaw, LexisNexis).

Statutory Interpretation

• The Plain meaning rule is that statutes are applied as written unless ambiguous.
• Legislative intent is considered by looking at legislative history if the statute is unclear.

Constitutions

• Constitutions are foundational laws setting government structure and individual rights.
• The U.S. Constitution can be found in National Archives and government websites.
• State constitutions can be found in state legislative websites and legal databases.
• Annotations explain statutory interpretation, law review articles give scholarly perspectives, and case law provides judicial interpretations.

Case Briefs

• Case reading strategies are important to distinguish between primary and secondary sources.
• Secondary sources can be used for explanation and locating primary sources and are persuasive rather than binding.

Law Review Journals

• Law review journals are scholarly articles on legal issues.
• Law review journals aid in legal research and are published by law schools or bar associations.

Law Dictionaries

• Law dictionaries are used to define legal terms.
• Black’s Law Dictionary is an example of a law dictionary.

Law Encyclopedias

• Law encyclopedias summarize legal topics and are useful in legal research.
• American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum are examples of law encyclopedias.