Chapter 2: Legal Research
Test Questions
True or False
1. Because much of the articles in law reviews contain the author’s opinions, law reviews are not
a reliable source for legal research.
2. Daniel R.R. v. State Board of Education, 854 F. 2d 1036 (5th Cir. 1989) has controlling
authority in put the name of your state here.
3. Florence County School District #4 v. Carter, 114 S. Ct. 361 (1993) has controlling authority
in put the name of your state here.
4. Supreme Court decisions are published in the reporter abbreviated F. Supp.
5. Law resources on the Internet are an excellent substitute for the law library.
6. Listservs, discussion groups, newsgroups and usenet are all means of staying up-to-date on
legal information and making contacts within the world of law.
7. A primary problem with law articles on the internet is that they may have not been subjected
to a rigorous peer review process as have law review articles in a law library.
8. Blogs are useful tools for staying informed on legal matters and for easily communicating
information to others.
9. The U.S. Department of Education maintains a webpage that can be very useful to teacher,
researchers, students, and parents.
10. Many university law libraries devote parts of their websites as starting points for legal
researcher.
Multiple Choice
1. The resources used to facilitate the legal research process are:
a. Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources
b. Finding tools, secondary materials and tertiary sources
c. Primary sources, finding tools and secondary materials
d. Secondary materials, regulations and finding tools
2. Although secondary sources do not have controlling authority, they can be very influential and
persuasive. Two examples of secondary sources are:
a. Annotated codes and Shepard’s citators
b. Law reviews and Federal court reporters
c. Various court reporters and West’s digests
d. Law journals and law reviews
3. In the citation 300 F.2d 95 (4th Cir. 1986) the volume number is
a. 300.
b. F. 2d.
c. 95
d. 4th
4. The level of the court is
a. Federal District Court.
b. US Court of Appeals.
c. US Supreme Court.
5. On what page of the appropriate court reporter does Daniel R.R. v. State Board of Education,
854 F.2d 1036 (5th Cir. 1989) begin?
d. 854
e. F. 2d
f. 1036
g. 5th
6. Case occurring at the United States District court level can be found in West’s
a. Federal Supplement.
b. Federal Reporter.
c. United States Code.
d. Code of Federal Regulations.
7. Which of the following is a secondary legal source?
a. United States Code Annotated.
b. West’s Education Law Reporter.
c. Federal Supplement.
d. Federal Reporter, 2nd edition.
8. What publication contains Federal Regulations?
a. USCA
b. USC
c. FR
d. S. Ct.
9. FindLaw’s LawCrawler allows the researcher to
a. limit searches of the World Wide Web to legal websites.
b. access FindLaw’s legal dictionary or legal news.
c. obtain records of defendants.
d. only a and b
e. All of the above
10. The ____________ is the largest international professional organization dedicated to the
education of students with disabilities.
a. The IDEA Organization.
b. The Council for Exceptional Children
c. The Education Law Association.
d. The ED.gov.
Short Answer
1. List and describe the three categories of primary source material.
2. Why are the annotated code versions of the United States Code so useful?
3. In conducting legal research, it is often easier to begin with secondary sources. What are
secondary sources and what are their primary functions?
4. What are looseleaf services and what are they used for?
5. In what two sources are federal regulations published?
6. Although there are no official government publications for Federal District and Appellate
courts, what sources are available for researching cases in these courts?
7. Describe the purpose of a weblog, or blog.
8. Describe two examples of legal search engines and directories on the internet.
9. What are the two primary purposes or functions of secondary legal sources?
10. What are law reviews and how can they be useful in conducting legal research?
Essay
1. Describe the three levels of federal courts and the corresponding reporters.
2. Label the components (underlined) of the following citations.
a. 34 C.F.R. 303.404
b. 29 U.S.C. 794 (b)
c. 347 U.S. 483
3. Explain the three-stage procedure for conducting legal research.
4. Describe four online government resources.
Chapter 2: Legal Research
True or False
Multiple Choice