How To Do A Memorandum of Law

Basic information on How to Do a Memorandum of Lw
The most common source of citation standards is A Uniform System of Citation, Fifteenth Edition, published and
distributed by The Harvard Law Review Association, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is more commonly referred to as
"The Bluebook" and sometimes as the "The Harvard Citator." All of the information required for proper citation
format can be found in this one text.
Authority is the information used to convince a court how to apply the law to the facts of a case. Legal authority is
divided into two classes -- primary and secondary. There are two sources of primary authority: (1) constitutions,
codes, statutes, and ordinances; and (2) court decisions, preferably from the same jurisdiction where the case is filed.
Secondary authority, which is not cited except in certain circumstances, is found in legal encyclopedias, legal texts,
treatises, law review articles, and court cases in other jurisdictions.
- Primary authority is the most accepted form of authority cited and should be used before any other authority.
1. Constitutions, codes, statutes, and ordinances are the written laws of either the United States, the individual states,
counties, and municipalities. These laws are enacted by the United States Congress, state legislatures,
commissioners, and city councils.
2. When a particular case is decided, it becomes "precedent" which means that it becomes an example or authority
for an identical or similar case or a similar question of law. Court decisions are the basis for the system of stare
decisis. These decisions are published in what is called the National Reporter System which covers cases decided by
the United States Supreme Court down to the individual state district courts. These reporters each have their own
"digest" system which serves as an index by subject on points of law. There are many reporters in this system and
they can be found in most law libraries.
- Secondary authority is used to obtain a broad view of the area of law and also as a finding tool for primary
authority. Secondary authority is not cited to the court unless there is no other authority available.
1. Legal encyclopedias contain topics which are arranged alphabetically and are substantiated by supporting
authorities.
2. Treatises are texts written about a certain topic of law by an expert in the field.
3. Law review articles are published by most accredited law schools and are sometimes a broad diagnosis of a
particular area.
4. The Index to Legal Periodicals provides the only book reviews in the law and also provides case comments,
which cases are listed in the "Table of Cases."
5. American Law Reports Annotated (A.L.R.) is a collection of cases on single narrow issues. You must be aware
that A.L.R. must be constantly updated.
6. Restatements are publications compiled from statutes and decisions which tell what the law is in a particular field.
7. Shepard's Citations is a large set of law books which provide a means by which any reported case (cited decision)
may be checked to see when and how another court (the citing decision) has cited the first decision. All cases must
be checked to make sure another court has not reversed or overruled your cited decision.
Some basic rules of legal research are as follows:
1. Give priority to cases from your own jurisdiction.

2. Search for the most recent ruling on a subject matter.
3. Check the pocket part in the back of almost all law books. The pocket part is the most frequently used device for
updating law books.
4. Pay attention to dates on books, i.e., copyright date and date of pocket parts.
5. Be aware of "2d" and "3d" citations. They distinguish one series from another.
6. All legal citations are written with the volume number first, an abbreviation of the title, and the page number, e.g.,
152 P.2d 967 or 144 A.L.R. 422.
7. Shepardizing your citations can save a lot of embarrassment later on.
As state above, the above information is not meant to be a complete or comprehensive guide to the law library or to
legal research and writing.

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Basic information on How to Do a Memorandum of Lw

Some basic rules of legal research are as follows:

1. Give priority to cases from your own jurisdiction.

7. Shepardizing your citations can save a lot of embarrassment later on.

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