Westlaw Court Cases and Opinions

Section One : Reading Westlaw Court Opinions

Use Westlaw® to locate the following case and provide the complete citation:

579 F.2d 1200

1. Name the prevailing parties in the trial court proceeding.

2. Name the trial court. Also name the appellate court.

3. What kind of case is it?

4. In your own words, provide a summary of the facts of the case

5. What are the issues on appeal?

6. Who wrote the opinion?

7. What is the docket number?

8. On what date did the court issue the decision and how did the court rule?

9. Provide the text of Headnote [6] as well as the name of the author referenced in the portion of the text which is summarized by that headnote.

10. Provide the name of the attorney or attorneys who represented the appellants.

Section Two : Using Westlaw KeyCite

Using Westlaw® KeyCite the following case:

Parker v. State of Oklahoma, 556 P.2d 1298 (Okla. Crim. App. 1976). 

A) How many citing references does the case provide?

B) Has a Maryland case cited the Parker case? If so, provide the case citation for the citing case.

C) Has a Connecticut case cited the Parker case? If so, provide the citation for the citing case.

D) How many of the citing cases are no longer good law? Provide the citation to the case or cases.

E) Have any legal encyclopedias cited Parker? If so, provide the citation to each of the articles.

Section Three : KeyCiting Headnotes

Your attorney has asked you to determine whether any cases have cited Headnote [6] as referenced in Question 9 of Section One above.

Using proper citation, please provide any citing references you have located.

Please describe your process for locating this information.

Section Four : Westlaw Search Queries

Directions:  Enter the following two searches on Westlaw exactly as they appear and answer the questions below based on the results under VIEW.  

• Search One:  freedom of speech on college campus

1. How many cases did the search return?
2. How many statutes & court rules did the search return?
3. How many secondary sources did the search return?

• Search Two: “freedom of speech” and “college campus”

1. How many cases did the search return?
2. How many statutes & court rules did the search return?
3. How many secondary sources did the search return?

• Explain why these searches returned different results.

Section Five  : Preliminary Research for final memo

Directions:  Review the following facts and answer each of the following.  

FACTS:  Hunter Nash, is an independent journalist with a popular blog and YouTube channel.   While live-streaming a large political protest in O’Fallon, Missouri, Nash was caught up in a “kettling” incident when lines of heavily armed police in full riot gear surrounded protesters and corralled them into an intersection.  More than 150 people, including Nash, were held in that location while police processed arrests and then transported individuals to headquarters.  During this time, one officer violently wrenched Nash’s arm behind his back in an attempt to stop him from recording the events with his cell phone.  When Nash protested and asserted his status as a journalist, he was zip tied, sprayed with pepper spray, and forced to sit on the pavement with other detainees for several hours. 

1. Does this matter involve civil or criminal law?
2. Does this matter involve state or federal law?
3. Provide any jurisdictions you will select in researching applicable law for this assignment.
4. Phrase the legal issue or issues you will discuss in your Interoffice Memo.