Why if everything is so much easier on the internet I have to still do my research in paper?Here's the deal. I don't mind doing research except when everyone here tells me that its much easier to do this research via Lexis and Westlaw (which are the online sources for citation for law [in case you were confused]). Anywho this research path we have to do makes us look up case citation in the actual case books and then we have to "Shepardize" the cases (i.e. look for subsequent history of the cases, and who else has cited it). There are two ways to go about that last part- 1. To actually grab all the shepards within a give court citator and look the case up in the book, bound supplements and softcover supplements. Which take about 2 hours for any give citation. or 2. Open up your browser, type in www.westlaw.com or www.lexis.com and punch in the ciation and find if that case has been superceeded, overruled, distingued etc- this takes about 30 minutes for any given citation.
Now I understand why i need to look in the books (because there may be some law firm out there [though I cannot imagine who wouldnt] that may not have westlaw or lexis subscriptions) but why on God's green Earth would you honestly torture us to death when you know for a fact most of us are just going to look up our citations on westlaw or lexis regardless of whether you tell us to or not?
I am just so frustrated because its hard enough to locate the damn citator you want and then to have to look at 5 more books of bound supps and softcover supps- you know how much space that takes up and after a while you just see a string of things that look like this
(214 A.D 2d 845) 345 NYS 2d 254, 219 N.E 987 UGH and you have no idea what the hell you are looking at until its too late...i say give me the easy way....
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L'absence est ŕ l'amour ce qu'est au feu le vent; Il éteint le petit, il allume le grand.
- Comte de Bussy- Rabutin
