Nancy P Johnson, Law Librarian and Professor of Law
140 Decatur Street
Atlanta, GA 30302-4008
651-4140 (Please leave a message on voice mail)
Room 106
e-mail: njohnson@gsu.edu
COURSE SYLLABUS
TEXT:Johnson, Berring, Woxland, Winning Research Skills (to be distributed in class)ON RESERVE
Purchase: RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS: Johnson & Cochran, Legal Research Exercises, 5th ed. (West Pub. Co., 1996).
NOTE: You may share the exercise book with classmates. There are four versions for each assignment: A,B,C, or D. Complete one version for each assignment.
The Bluebook; Uniform System of Citation, 16th edition.Read the designated materials before attending class. Legal research assignments are due as noted.
Johnson & Deel, Researching Georgia Law (1998 Edition) 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 545(1998).
Video Tapes: Commando Legal Research.
Information on our web site: http://law.gsu.edu
1. Wednesday, September 2, 1998
Introduction to the Course2 Wednesday, September 9, 1998
Internship Program - Prof. Rhea Ballard-Thrower
Discuss: Winning Research Skills, Chapter One, Case Law
ASSIGNMENT: Research Assignments 2, 3 due September 16.View:
Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial
http://www.lib.Berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html
Michael Geist's Legal Research and Writing
http://www.columbia.edu/~mag76/legindex.html
Introduction to Basic Legal Citation
http://www.law.cornell.edu
3. Wednesday, September 16 1998No class - Professor Johnson out of town
Quiz #1 on Court Reports4. Wednesday, September 23, 1998
Discuss Winning Research Skills, Chapter Two, Finding Cases
ASSIGNMENT: Research Assignment 4 due September 23.View:
FindLaw
http://www.findlaw.com/casecode
Quiz #2 on Finding Cases5. Wednesday, September 30, 1998
Discuss Winning Research Skills, Chapter Three, Updating Case Law Research
ASSIGNMENT: Research Assignments 5, 7 due Sept 30.View:
Shepard's Computerized Tutorial on the Internet
http://www.shepards.com/citeseer/howtoshep/howto1.htm
KeyCite Tutorial on the Internet
http://www.westgroup.com/products/keycite
Quiz #3 on Updating Cases6. Wednesday, October 7, 1998
Discuss Winning Research Skills, Chapter Four, Legislation and Legislative History
ASSIGNMENT: Research Assignments 9, 10 due October 7.View:
Legislative Histories in the U.S. Congress
http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/legishis.html
U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library
http://law.house.gov
Quiz #4 on Statutes and Legislative History7. Wednesday, October 14, 1998
Discuss Winning Research Skills, Chapter Five, Administrative Law
ASSIGNMENT: Research Assignments 12, 13 due October 14.View:
CFR Titles on GPO Access
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr
Quiz #5 on Administrative Publications8. Wednesday, October 21, 1998
Discuss Winning Research Skills, Chapter Six, Seven, Secondary and Treaties
ASSIGNMENT: Research Assignments 6, 14, 15 due Nov. 4.View:
FindLaw: Law Reviews
http://www.findlaw.com/lawreviews
Fundamentals of Treaty Research
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/treaties.html
9. Wednesday, October 28, 1998WESTLAW Training - work through Assignments 16 & 17 - do not hand in.
10. Wednesday, November 4, 1998LEXIS Training - work through Assignments 18 & 19 - do not hand in.
Quiz #6 on Secondary Authority, Treaties11. Wednesday, November 11, 1998
Discuss Georgia Materials - read article on reserve (Researching Georgia Law)
Assignment: Georgia Research Exercise - due Nov. 11.
Review.12. Wednesday, November 18, 1998
Short Summary of Article Due
Exam.December - Continuation of WESTLAW and LEXIS training.
Grading Policy
Your grade will be calculated as follows:
Six quizzes
25%
Thirteen assignments
25%
Class participation
10%
Short Summary of Article
5%
Exam
35%
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