Legal Research and Writing Final
UPDATED Actual Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
"The Law" comes from what several different sources? - CORRECT ANSWER-
✔✔Constitutions
Statutes
Common Law (Judicial Opinions)
Describe Constitution Law (both Federal and State): - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔"The
organic and fundamental law of a nation or state, which may be written or unwritten,
establishing the character and conception of its government, laying the basic principles to
which its internal life is to be conformed, organizing the government, and regulating,
distributing, and limiting the functions of its different departments...."
Describe Statute Law (Legislative Branch) & Administrative Regulations (Executive
Branch): - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔The legislature passes laws (statutes, acts) and it
allows government-created agencies to regulate as well (administrative law).
Describe Common Law/ Cases: - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Common law is when judges
interpret law or apply it to specific facts.
Sometimes common law becomes statutory law.
"[T]he common law method of reasoning by analogy is still the primary means by which
attorneys evaluate cases and predict what the law might say about their clients' conduct."
Slocum, p. 11.
Sometimes the 3 sources of law build upon? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔One another.
What are Secondary Sources? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔These are not "the law."
They summarize the state of the law or its history.
They analyze the soundness of the law.
They comment on existing law or the law as it has developed.
,Secondary sources are typically written by? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Professionals
(lawyers, judges) or academics (professors).
Secondary sources are useful because they? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔help educate you;
lead you to primary sources of law; and
make you think about whether existing law is good or bad.
What are the types of Secondary sources? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Treatises
Law Reviews
Practice Guide
Hornbooks
Encyclopedias
Nutshells
Websites for federal and state legal issues
You cannot ignore binding authority because it will? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Dictate the
outcome.
Judges have to follow? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Binding authority.
What is Stare Decisis? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔We want to respect prior decisions
applying same law to similar set of facts.
What is considered Mandatory Primary Authority? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Your
constitutions, Statues, Cases, Court rules, Regulations.
What is considered Persuasive Primary Authority? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Other's
constitutions, statutes, cases, court rules, regulations, your unpublished opinions.
What is considered Secondary Authority (Never Mandatory)? - CORRECT ANSWER-
✔✔Restatement, treatises, law reviews, hornbooks, etc
UCC- cited a lot
, What is "Weight" of authority? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔This term often refers to degree
to which authority controls the answer to a legal issue
For example, a U.S. Supreme Court opinion carries more weight in a federal district court
than an opinion of another jurisdiction's trial court judge.
A secondary source or a source of primary authority from another jurisdiction is not
considered weighty.
Also, unpublished opinions are primary sources of law, but only persuasive.
As a lawyer, you will research the law for? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Each client.
You want to find binding law in your client's? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Favor.
If you can't bind the court, then turn to? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Persuasive authority.
Courts are bound by earlier decisions because of the premise of? - CORRECT ANSWER-
✔✔Stare decisis.
They don't want to relitigate the same issues over again for? - CORRECT ANSWER-
✔✔("judicial economy").
They want to provide notice to other parties of? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Likely
outcome.
They want to respect the position of higher courts and? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Their
wisdom.
What is Black's Law definition on Stare Decisis? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔"[W]hen [a]
court has once laid down a principle of law as applicable to a certain state of facts, it will
adhere to that principle, and apply it to all future cases, where facts are substantially the
same."
UPDATED Actual Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
"The Law" comes from what several different sources? - CORRECT ANSWER-
✔✔Constitutions
Statutes
Common Law (Judicial Opinions)
Describe Constitution Law (both Federal and State): - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔"The
organic and fundamental law of a nation or state, which may be written or unwritten,
establishing the character and conception of its government, laying the basic principles to
which its internal life is to be conformed, organizing the government, and regulating,
distributing, and limiting the functions of its different departments...."
Describe Statute Law (Legislative Branch) & Administrative Regulations (Executive
Branch): - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔The legislature passes laws (statutes, acts) and it
allows government-created agencies to regulate as well (administrative law).
Describe Common Law/ Cases: - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Common law is when judges
interpret law or apply it to specific facts.
Sometimes common law becomes statutory law.
"[T]he common law method of reasoning by analogy is still the primary means by which
attorneys evaluate cases and predict what the law might say about their clients' conduct."
Slocum, p. 11.
Sometimes the 3 sources of law build upon? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔One another.
What are Secondary Sources? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔These are not "the law."
They summarize the state of the law or its history.
They analyze the soundness of the law.
They comment on existing law or the law as it has developed.
,Secondary sources are typically written by? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Professionals
(lawyers, judges) or academics (professors).
Secondary sources are useful because they? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔help educate you;
lead you to primary sources of law; and
make you think about whether existing law is good or bad.
What are the types of Secondary sources? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Treatises
Law Reviews
Practice Guide
Hornbooks
Encyclopedias
Nutshells
Websites for federal and state legal issues
You cannot ignore binding authority because it will? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Dictate the
outcome.
Judges have to follow? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Binding authority.
What is Stare Decisis? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔We want to respect prior decisions
applying same law to similar set of facts.
What is considered Mandatory Primary Authority? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Your
constitutions, Statues, Cases, Court rules, Regulations.
What is considered Persuasive Primary Authority? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Other's
constitutions, statutes, cases, court rules, regulations, your unpublished opinions.
What is considered Secondary Authority (Never Mandatory)? - CORRECT ANSWER-
✔✔Restatement, treatises, law reviews, hornbooks, etc
UCC- cited a lot
, What is "Weight" of authority? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔This term often refers to degree
to which authority controls the answer to a legal issue
For example, a U.S. Supreme Court opinion carries more weight in a federal district court
than an opinion of another jurisdiction's trial court judge.
A secondary source or a source of primary authority from another jurisdiction is not
considered weighty.
Also, unpublished opinions are primary sources of law, but only persuasive.
As a lawyer, you will research the law for? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Each client.
You want to find binding law in your client's? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Favor.
If you can't bind the court, then turn to? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Persuasive authority.
Courts are bound by earlier decisions because of the premise of? - CORRECT ANSWER-
✔✔Stare decisis.
They don't want to relitigate the same issues over again for? - CORRECT ANSWER-
✔✔("judicial economy").
They want to provide notice to other parties of? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Likely
outcome.
They want to respect the position of higher courts and? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Their
wisdom.
What is Black's Law definition on Stare Decisis? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔"[W]hen [a]
court has once laid down a principle of law as applicable to a certain state of facts, it will
adhere to that principle, and apply it to all future cases, where facts are substantially the
same."
