Legal Research and Writing I Due: 12/1/15
Final Research Assignment
to Accompany Final Writing Assignment
This Research Assignment will help you to find the authority you need to complete your Final Writing Assignment. You may do any or all of this assignment online, using your Westlaw password, but I do encourage you to check yourself by using the books as well. Please don’t forget to use Bluebook citation form for your answers when appropriate, and remember: scientia potentia est!
- First, you might want to familiarize yourself with the law surrounding the question of liability for dog bites. There are many background resources that are available to get you up to speed, including legal encyclopedias and ALR articles.
- Legal Encyclopedias: As you know, encyclopedias can be useful in gaining background information, in familiarizing yourself with the words and phrases used in a particular area of law, and in finding cases which can always lead you to cases in your jurisdiction. Go to C.J.S. and find a section that might help you here. What section did you choose and why?
- ALR articles: As you know, ALRs are also a great background resource if you can find an ALR article about your subject precisely. Thus, while the encyclopedia may have only a general article about liability for animals, ALR might have an article specifically about who is defined as one who harbors or “keeps” a dog.
- Go to the ALR Digest, which is designed to coincide with the West Digest System. That is, once you find an appropriate key number in the ALR Digest, that key number will be exactly the same as the West Digest key number that covers that subject. What key number and topic do you think will be helpful here? Why?
- Can you find an ALR article that you think will assist you in your research? It should be one that talks specifically about “keepership.” Please identify it here (but don’t worry about cite form; remember, ALR articles are unciteable secondary authority).
- Find the statute in question and answer the following questions.
- What method did you use to find the statute?
- Name at least one other method a researcher could use to find the statute.
- Cite the statute in proper Bluebook form.
- Now, using the key number(s) you found when researching the ALR article above, find the case you think your boss is thinking of when he’s remembering a case between 1996 and 2002, and cite it here. Remember that it’s a Mass Appeals court case, not a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case.
- Are there any Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court cases you think may assist you here? If so, cite them and explain why.
- Are there any Massachusetts cases that you have found that you have rejected? Cite them and tell me in one or two sentences why you have rejected them (for example, they might not be reported cases, or they might not add to the points the main case makes, or they might be outdated, etc.). You should have found at least one.
- Are there any Massachusetts cases that you have found that you think will add to your analysis or assist you in reaching a conclusion, other than ones you have previously mentioned? Cite them and tell me in one or two sentences why you think they might be useful (for example, their facts may be closer to our facts, or their reasoning may make it easier to prove that Gulch is or is not a “keeper,” etc.).
EXTRA CREDIT: In Massachusetts, we are lucky to have a series of books written and compiled by master Massachusetts lawyers that contain practice tips and articles about the law in Massachusetts; this series is called the Massachusetts Practice Series, and though it is generally not citeable because its articles are more like encyclopedia articles specific to Massachusetts, it is a treasure trove of information on Massachusetts law. For extra credit, find a Mass. Practice Series article that explains the law in this area and that cites to the important case on “keepership” that your boss is thinking of. Cite it here.
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