Post on 16-Jul-2020
PER CURIAM ALEGALRESEARCHNEWSLETTERFOR THEFEDERALCOURTSFROMWEST
Volume 29, Number 1 January 2011
JayShuck,J.D.,EditorThomsonReuters610OppermanDr.Eagan,MN55123-1396e-mail:jay.shuck@thomsonreuters.com
Forsearchassistance,calltheWestReferenceAttorneysat1-800-REF-ATTY (1-800-733-2889)
ForassistanceusingWestlaw®,call1-800-WESTLAW (1-800-937-8529)
ForinformationonWest,visitwest.thomson.com
GRAPHICALKEYCITE®:THELIFEOFACASE—ATAGLANCETrythisexperiment:
1.RetrieveMatz v. Household International Tax Reduction Investment Plan,265F.3d572(7thCir.2001)
2.LookattheKeyCite®historyresult(clicktheblueH).
3.Trytotakeitallin.
NowclickDirect History (Graphical View)ontheLinkstab.Withthisdisplay—alsoknownasGraphicalKeyCite—youcangraspthebroadoutlinesoftheprocedurallifeofthiscaseinseconds.Suddenly,everyOn Remand toandAffirmed byfallsintoplace!
WithGraphicalKeyCite,yougetthedirecthistoryofacaseinoneeasy-to-readgraphicalview.Thepriorandsubsequenthistoryofthecaseisdisplayed,witheachcourtdecisionreferencedinaboxattheappropriatetrialorappellatelevel.Decisionsonthemeritsarereferencedinthelargerboxes(i.e.,thecase boxes),whilecourtordersorrulingsonpetitionsandmotions,suchasthegrantingofcertiorari,arereferencedinthesmallerboxes(theprocedural boxes).
How to take a closer lookToenlargethegraphicaldisplay,usetheplus(+)orminus(–)buttonsorthedrop-downlistintheupper-leftcornerofthedisplay.Toenlargeaproceduralboxsothatthecasetitleandcitationaredisplayed,moveyourpointeroverthebox.
How to view related documents or negative citing referencesToviewthefulltextofadecision,order,ruling,orrelatedbrieforothercourtdocumentcitedinacaseorproceduralbox,clicktheappropriatelinkinthebox.Toreturntothecase’sfullhistoryandcheckfornegativecitingreferences,i.e.,casesoutsidethedirecthistoryofthecasebutthatmayhaveanegativeimpactonitsprecedentialvalue,clickFull History (Text)atthetopofthepage.
Not Seeing the Big Picture?
[I]t is delusive to treat opinions
written by different judges at
different times as pieces of a
jig-saw puzzle which can be,
by effort, fitted correctly into a
single pattern.
—U.S. district court judge Charles Wyzanski, in United States v. United Shoe
Machinery Corp., 110 F.Supp. 295, 342 (D.C. Mass. 1953)
Direct history (graphical view) of case
WestClip: Create Entry page
PERCURIAMJANUARY2011
WESTCLIP®ANDKEYCITEALERT:WHEREWESTLAWGETSREALLYEASYYou can now access any automatic monitoring or searching tool on Westlaw by clicking Alert Center at the top of any page.Good:Researchsoeasyyoucandoitwhileyousleep.
Better:Researchthat’sactually done for youwhileyousleep.
WerefertoWestClipandKeyCiteAlert,twoalertservicesonWestlawthatautomaticallyrunsearchesforyouandnotifyyouwhenspecificinformationisaddedtoWestlaw.Onceyoucreateanentryinanalertservice,younolongerhavetokeepcheckingfordevelopments.Ifthere’sbeenadevelopment,itcomestoyouautomatically—eveninthedeadofnight.
Here’showthesealertserviceswork:
WestClipWestCliprunsTermsandConnectorssearchesasfrequentlyasyouwantinoneormoredatabasesyouselect.Theserviceautomaticallydeliverstheresultstoyouinthemethod(e.g.,bye-mailortoaprinter)andform(e.g.,asacitationlist,selectedpages,orthefulltextofallpages)thatyoudesignate.WestClipentriesareespeciallyusefulwhenmonitoringnewsorcaselawinvolvingaparticularcompany,individual,ortopic.
TocreateaWestClipentry,doeitherofthefollowing:
•IfyouhavejustretrieveddocumentsusingtheTermsandConnectorsmethod,andyouwishtorunthesamequeryonaperiodicbasis,clickAdd Search to WestClip atthetopoftheresultlist.Inthealternative,clickResult OptionsontheResultsListtabofadisplayeddocumentandchooseAdd Search to WestClipfromthemenuthatisdisplayed.CompletetheWestClip:CreateEntrypage.
•AtthetopofanyWestlawpage,clickAlert Center.TheAlertCenterDirectoryisdisplayed.ClickCreate EntryintheWestClipsection,thencompletetheWestClip:CreateEntrypage.
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KeyCite AlertIfyouwanttostaycurrentonKeyCiteresults(ratherthansearchdatabases),useKeyCiteAlert.KeyCiteAlertautomaticallymonitorsthestatusofspecifiedcases,statutes,administrativedecisions,regulations,andpatentsandsendsyouupdateswhentheirKeyCiteresultschange.
Foraddedconvenience,allofthesealertservicescanbeaccessedfromasinglelocationinWestlaw:ClickAlert CenteratthetopofanyWestlawpage.TheAlertCenterDirectoryisdisplayed.Tocreateanewentryinanyofthesealertservices,clicktheCreate Entrylinkfortheservice,thenfollowtheonlineinstructions.
Toviewalistofentriesyoupreviouslycreatedforanalertservice,clickthearrowtotheleftofthealertservice(e.g.,Docket Alert).YoucandeleteunwantedentriesrightfromtheAlertCenterDirectorybyclickingDeletenexttotheentry.
Researchrarelygetseasier.
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KeyCite Alert e-mail notification
PERCURIAMJANUARY2011
Infederalruleanalysis,thefirstquestionmaybethetoughest:Wherearethefederalrules,again?
Here’saquickguidetousefulfederalrulesdatabasesonWestlaw:
•FederalrulesFindtemplate:Ifyouknowthenumberoftheruleyouwant,typeitscitationintheFind this document by citationtextbox,e.g.,frcp 44.1.Ifyoudon’tknowthecitationformat,typefederalrulesinthetextbox,andapageoffill-in-the-blanktemplatesisdisplayed.
•FederalRules(US-RULES)containstherulesfromtheUnited States Code Annotated®(USCA®),suchastheFederalRulesofCivilProcedureandtheFederalRulesofEvidence.Searchexample:witness /s recalcitran! hostile
•IndividualStateCourtRulesdatabases(XX-RULES,whereXXisastate’stwo-letterpostalabbreviation)containnotonlytherulesofstatecourtsbutrulesofU.S.district
AdvancedSEARCHTIP
andbankruptcycourtsinthestate.Searchexample:Toretrieverulesgoverningaparticularissue,youcanrestrictyourquerytotheprelim(pr)andcaption(ca)fields,e.g.,accessFloridaCourtRules(FL-RULES)andtypepr,ca(“automatic stay”)
•FederalRulesDecisionsMultibase(FRD)containsarticles,cases,andrulesfromWest’sFederal Rules Decisionspublication,inwhichyoucanretrievefederalrules,courtinterpretationsofthoserules,andarticlesaboutthoseruleswithasinglesearch.Searchexample:class /3 certif! /p “fair labor standards act” f.l.s.a. /s opt-in opt-out
TIP:Whenviewingarulethatappearstoapplytoyourissue,usetheTableofContentsservicetoseeifarulecodifiednearbyapplies,aswell.ClickTable of ContentsintheLinkstab,thenbrowsethecontentsofthesurroundingcode.
Who’stosaywhetheraparticularjarofmayonnaiseinthestoreis“real”mayonnaise?Thefederalgovernment,that’swho.
Accordingtosection21C.F.R.§169.140,mayonnaiseisan“emulsifiedsemisolidfood”(yum!)thatcontains“egg-yolk-containingingredients,”acidifyingingredients(i.e.,vinegarorlemonorlimejuice),andatleast65%vegetableoil.Saladdressing,incontrast,containsatleast30%vegetableoil.21C.F.R.§169.150.
Toretrievethefulltextofsection169.140,useFindoraccesstheCodeofFederalRegulationsdatabase(CFR)andrestrictyourquerytothecaptionfieldasfollows:
ca(mayonnaise)
PerCURIOUS
©2011ThomsonReutersL-365257/1-11Thetrademarksusedhereinarethetrademarksoftheirrespectiveowners.WesttrademarksareownedbyWestPublishingCorporation.
ClassicCASE
Federal Rules: The Cheat Sheet
When Is “Real Mayonnaise” Real?
The Mayo Contest: Did They Beat the Spread?Sure,mayoandMayo Clinicsoundalike,butnoonewouldeverconfuseonewiththeother,right?
ThiswasessentiallythepositionofFrederickGash,whosubmittedanapplicationforfederaltrademarkprotectiononbehalfof“mayo7,”animitationmayonnaise.TheTrademarkTrialandAppealBoardrejectedhisapplicationonthegroundsthatcustomerswouldlikelyassociatealow-calorie,healthyfoodproductwiththeMinnesotahealthcenter.Mayo Clinic et al., v. Frederick Gash, Inc.,162USPQ263(TT&ABd.,1969).ThoughGashclaimedthatmayo
isarecognizedslangtermformayonnaise,theBoardwouldhavenoneofit:
“[T]hereisnoindicationthatthepublic,asidefromlunchcounterpersonnel,isawareofsuchmeaning.”Id.,at264.(Lunchcounterpersonnelareapparentlyhiptoeverything.)
Howdidmayo7doonappeal?RetrievetheCourtofCustomsandPatentAppealscasebyusingFindtoretrievetheBoarddecisionandthenclickingtheKeyCitestatusflag.Inthealternative,accesstheFederalIntellectualProperty–CourtsofAppealsCasesdatabase(FIP-CTA)andusethefollowingsamplequery:
“mayo 7”