LEGAL RESEARCH 101: CLASS 7  
By Joan Olson, CLA, MACP President

Shepard’s Citations (Shepardizing)

Now that you have located your case on point, how do you determine if it is still good law?   You Shepardize!!!!  This step is often forgotten in legal research, but it is the most crucial.  One of my first research projects involved verifying the status of caselaw listed in a defendant’s answer. I discovered that the case they were citing was overturned, and we won the case because the defendant’s attorney did not take 5 minutes to Shepardize a case.

What is Shepard’s Citations (”Shepard’s”) and what does it do?

Shepard’s accomplishes 3 things:

1. Traces judicial history of a cited case;

2. Verifies the current status of a case, administrative decision or statute;  and

3. Identifies later cases, which have cited a case, and provides research leads to other research tools such as periodical articles, attorney general opinions, ALR annotations.

Shepard’s has a separate set of volumes for:

1. Each of the seven regional reporters;

2. Each state reporter;

3. The Supreme Court;

4. The U.S. Court of Appeals; and

5. The U.S. District Courts.

Shepard’s displays two types of citing cases:

1. Later disposition of the same case is displayed. Whether the case was affirmed, reversed, modified or vacated is located in the Shepard’s Citator.

2. Other cases are those cases that have cited the case because they involve the same or similar legal issues. These case could overrule, criticize, explain or the follow the cited case.

HOW TO SHEPARDIZE A CASE

1. Select the correct set of Shepard’s Citator and the correct volume. The spines list their coverage by volume number of the reporters.

2. Familiarize yourself with the Shepard’s book.

3. Find your cited case by locating the volume number and starting page number.

4. Learn the order of cases listed. For example for the regional reporter the order goes as follows:

1. Case history

2. In-state cases

3. Federal cases

4. In-region cases

5. Out-of-region cases

6. A.B.A. Journal

7. A.L.R.

8. Treatises

5. Determine what has occurred with your case from the abbreviations provided by Shepard’s.

6. Pay attention to the superscript numbers because these are the headnote numbers, and this can narrow down your research.

7. Shepardize ALL supplements

1. pocket parts

2. monthly or quarterly paperback supplements

8. Run the key number through slip opinions.

9. Consult the authorities or cites referenced. For example, for over 30 years, Shepard’s DID NOT indicate that Brown v. Bd. of Educ. had been overruled by Plessy v. Ferguson. The reason—Shepard’s will NOT use the abbreviation “o” for overruled unless the court explicitly states so in the case.

DON’T FORGET TO ALWAYS VERIFY THE STATUS OF A CASE!!!!

Joan Olson is the Assistant Vice President of Regulatory and Corporate Compliance for Swiss Re Life & Health America Inc. Joan received a Bachelors of Art in Government from the University of Texas in 1991 and her Certificate of Completion from the Paralegal Program at University of Texas at Arlington in 1992. She is a Certified Legal Assistant and the President of the Metroplex Association of Corporate Paralegals.

Hope of a lifetime may provide some credit

By Craig Hackler
Financial Advisor
Raymond James Financial Services

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 created a number of provisions designed to lighten the financial burden of higher education. Two new additions to the college-saving arsenal are the Hope Scholarship and the Lifetime Learning credits.

The Hope credit is available to assist low- and middle-income families and students pay for post-secondary education. A tax credit can be claimed of up to $1,500 per year per student for each of the first two years of college. This amount consists of 100% of the first $1,000 of eligible expenses and 50% of the second $1,000 of eligible expenses.

The Lifetime Learning credit picks up where the Hope credit leaves off. It is available for the remaining years of college, graduate school and classes attended to acquire or improve job skills. For expenses paid there is a $1,000 maximum credit amount each year per family. The credit is calculated as 20% of the first $5,000 of eligible expenses. The credit will be increased to $2,000 (20% of the first $10,000 of expenses) in 2003.

Like the Lifetime Learning credit, the Hope credit may be claimed by the student or the parents. However, the Lifetime Learning credit is available per family where the Hope credit is available per student. It is a distinction that is easily overlooked and may be a big difference when it comes to the total amount of potential assistance. Both of  these credits are nonrefundable to the taxpayer, that is,  the taxpayer can only reduce their tax liability to zero. This restriction may actually keep some taxpayers from using the full amount of the credit, especially if the family is able to claim other types of credits.

The ability to claim the Hope and Lifetime Learning  credits are phased-out according to level of adjusted gross income (AGI).  The phaseout range for a single tax filer is between $40,000 and $50,000, and a joint filer’s phaseout range is between $80,000 and $100,000. Taxpayers whose AGI exceeds these phaseout ranges are not able to utilize these credits. Individuals claiming married filing separately status may not claim the credit(s). Also, these credits cannot be claimed in the year a student receives a distribution from an Education IRA.

Qualified expenses are limited to tuition and fees. Unfortunately, room and board, books and supplies are not considered qualified expenses and, therefore, are not covered. The amount of eligible expenses are determined after scholarships and other forms of financial aid that are excludable from the student’s income are taken into account.

Of course, this brief article is no substitute for a careful consideration of all of the advantages and disadvantages of this matter in light of your unique personal circumstances. Before implementing an education planning strategy, contact and consult with your Financial Advisor and tax professional.

Craig Hackler holds the Series 7 and Series 63 Securities licenses, as well as the Group I Insurance license (life, health, annuities). Through Raymond James Financial Services, he offers complete financial planning and investment products tailored to the individual needs of his clients. He will gladly answer your questions. Call him at 512.894.3473 or 800.650.9517

YOU'VE GOT LEGAL MAIL

By Dave Murphy

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled [recently] that legal documents could be e-mailed to an offshore company with no physical address.

“When faced with an international e-business scofflaw playing hide-and-seek with the federal court, e-mail may be the only means of effecting service of process,” the court said. “We acknowledge that we tread upon untrodden ground.”  The ruling favors the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada which claimed a Costa Rican online sports book infringed on the hotel’s trademark by operating gambling Web sites similar in name and form to the hotel’s trademark.

U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro had allowed the Las Vegas business to use e-mail to serve legal documents because no physical address was available. The appeals court upheld Judge Pro’s decision, saying it was a reasonable way to inform the Web site operators of legal action and give them the opportunity to respond.

Dave Murphy is the founder and membership director of ITrain, the International Association of Information Technology Trainers. Founded in 1997, the nonprofit association serves over 6,700 members in 167 countries by helping member trainers improve their training skills. The association's Web site is itrain.org, and the phone number is 1.888.290.6200.