Course Info
This course will provide students with the practice-ready research skills needed when entering an externship, work setting or the practice of law. The focus will be on learning to research efficiently and cost-effectively with exposure to current technologies used in legal practice. The course will expose students to the skills needed in presenting thorough and reliable research to a supervisor or a court. The class will be formulated in a way that will allow students to spend much class time specifically working on research problems where they can get real time assistance.
Instructor
Prof. Joe Custer oversees all staff and operations for the Judge Ben C. Green Law Library, as well as teaches Advanced Legal Research and Electronic Discovery. His scholarship has primarily been in the areas of legal research, administration and issues pertaining to historical social justice. Custer joined Case Western Reserve in 2015 after serving five years as Director of the Vince C. Immel Law Library and as a faculty member at the University of Saint Louis School of Law. In addition to his JD, Custer holds a Masters in Library and Informational Science and a Masters in Business Administration.
Syllabus
The syllabus for your course is available on Canvas.
Textbook
Ohio Legal Research by Call Number: KFO75.H357ISBN: 9781611637496Publication Date: 2015-09-02Available via LexisNexis Digital Library.
Study Aids
These study aids are available online. Please click the hyperlinked title to view them. For instructions on how to use the specific platforms, including troubleshooting, please view Andy Dorchak's Study Aids Research Guide.
Examples and Explanations for Legal Research by ISBN: 9781454886549Publication Date: 2016Available via Aspen Learning Library.
Gilbert Law Summary on Legal Research, Writing and Analysis by ISBN: 9781642426724Publication Date: 2019-06-24Available via West Academic Study Aids.
International Legal Research in a Nutshell by ISBN: 9781684675845Publication Date: 2021-05-07Available via West Academic Study Aids.
Legal Research in a Nutshell by ISBN: 9781640208049Publication Date: 2018-09-20Available via West Academic Study Aids.
Principles of Legal Research by ISBN: 9781640208056Publication Date: 2020-08-24Available via West Academic Study Aids.
CALI
Computer-Aided Legal Instruction (CALI) requires an authorization code to use. If you do not have a CALI account, please contact Kieran Layton or the reference desk for assistance.
Audio Guides
Legal Research and Writing: In Other Words Audio Series by ISBN: 9781543823929Publication Date: 2/6/2020Available via Aspen Learning Library.
Sum and Substance Audio on Legal Research by ISBN: 1634605128Publication Date: 2016Available via West Academic Study Aids.
Sept. 29, 2022
International and Foreign Law Resources (Nov. 5, 2021)
- CIA: Legal Systems of the Worldthe legal systems of nearly all countries are generally modeled upon elements of five main types: civil law (including French law, the Napoleonic Code, Roman law, Roman-Dutch law, and Spanish law); common law (including English and US law); customary law; mixed or pluralistic law; and religious law (including Islamic sharia law); an additional type of legal system - international law - governs the conduct of independent nations in their relationships with one another
- Statute of the International Court of JusticeArticle 38
1. The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such disputes as are submitted to it, shall apply:
international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;
international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law.
2. This provision shall not prejudice the power of the Court to decide a case ex aequo et bono, if the parties agree thereto. - Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocidegenocide convention site:https://treaties.un.org/
- United Nations TreatiesRome treaty international criminal court AND site:https://treaties.un.org/
- Interntional Court of Justicepending cases, contentious cases, judgments, advisory opinions, and orders
- What Is Transnational Law?2012 article
- Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weaponstext of the treaty
- Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weaponsstatus of the treaty
- United Nations Library (via HeinOnline)includes U.N.T.S. (in PDF and additional UN yearbooks, periodicals, and documents
- Putin Announces Annexation (Youtube)Sept. 29, 2022
In-Class Assignments
International Law by ISBN: 9780198791836Publication Date: 2018-08-21Chapter: Statehood, self-determination, and recognition / Matthew Craven and Rose Parfitt
Evans' International Law is widely celebrated as an outstanding collection of interesting and diverse writings from the leading scholars in the field. The fully updated fifth edition succeeds in explaining the principles of international law and exposing the debates and challenges thatunderlie it. Now fully revised and updated, it continues to provide an authoritative and stimulating overview of this increasingly important subject; revealing international law in its full diversity.Online resources:International Law is also accompanied by online resources, featuring the personal views and recollections of eminent international law practitioners.
Statehood and the State-Like in International Law by Call Number: Oxford Scholarship OnlineISBN: 9780192591937Publication Date: 2019
- Budapest AgreementMemorandum on security assurances in connection with Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Budapest, 5 December 1994.pdf
- What Are the Minsk Agreements (Feb. 11, 2022)Moscow Times explainer
Foreign and International Law Resources
Foreign and International
- Statute of the International Court of Justice (Article 38)Article 38
1. The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such disputes as are submitted to it, shall apply:
international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;
international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law.
2. This provision shall not prejudice the power of the Court to decide a case ex aequo et bono, if the parties agree thereto. - United Nationspress releases, current events, Security Council resolutions
- Max Planck Encyclopedias of International LawThis resource is technically the online edition of a large multi-volume encyclopedia. However, the scope and quality of this resource are sufficiently unique to set it apart as an extremely valuable online starting point for any research in public international law topics and Oxford University Press treats it as a database. This is published in partnership with Germanys Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Laws and International Law.
- Brill's Foreign Law GuideThe Foreign Law Guide is perhaps the single most important resource for beginning inquiries into foreign law and foreign legal jurisdictions. Covers over 190 jurisdictions. Provides audio YouTube tutorial. Important for foreign and comparative law.
- Oxford Reports on International LawSelective reporter of decisions on public international law from international law courts, domestic courts, and ad hoc tribunals, with added commentary and analysis.
- Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal TribunalsProvides annotated commentary and the full-text of selected decisions from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and others, including the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the International Criminal Court for Timor-Leste.
- IFARProduced by the International Foundation for Art Research. Includes the Art Law and Cultural Property database. It consists of several components: International Cultural Property Ownership & Export Legislation (ICPOEL), Case Law & Statutes (CLS, United States). Links connect foreign legislation to relevant U.S. case law. It also provides "Country Contacts" which provides government officials for countries to query in re legality of acquiring works. Note: Does not include the full-text of the IFAR Journal.
- Kluwer Arbitration
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This is the best starting point for international (commercial) arbitration research, providing an extensive collection of primary source materials and expert secondary sources. Includes: ICC cases & awards; commentary from the ICAA; bilateral investment treaties (BITs), conventions, legislation, rules, & models. Also provides comprehensive list of important websites for this topic. - China Legal Knowledge Database (CLKD) Chinese Interface
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China Legal Knowledge Database (CLKD) is part of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), launched in late 2010. Its content is officially sanctioned by the People's Republic of China. Content includes: Laws/regulations from 1949 to date (500,000 records); Cases from 1979 to date (230,000 records); and Secondary Sources: (1.5 million records). The database is updated daily and newly enacted laws are provided within 48 hours. Both primary and secondary resources cover over 400 legal topics. Includes an English-Chinese dictionary. (English search interface) - Elgaronline eBook Collections
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E-book collection from Edward Elgar Publishing. This collection focuses on the law titles, including research monographs and handbooks providing access to 295 selected electronic book titles on various international law topics. - EUR-LexEUR-Lex provides free, public access to the legal portion of the European Union's Europa web portal. Selected legal documents, such as the L and C series of the Official Journal since 1998 and selected court opinions, treaties, and Commission documents are available.
- FBI Art Theft ProgramThe FBI runs the National Stolen Art File (NASF), which is a database of lost or stolen art. This site also includes news and notices about art thefts.
- LLMC DigitalProvides access to full text archival materials for United States federal and state archival resources. Covers archival Canadian & United Kingdom historical legal materials; limited German legal materials; Legal materials from other countries, international law and organizations, e.g., Canon Law, International Law and Organizations, and other countries. Special Focus Collections include a Islamic Law, Military Law Collection; Native American Collection; the Yale Blackstone Collection; Canon Law; and a Comparative Law Collection. Cataloged, but also may search by browsing.
- World Treaty Library (HeinOnline)This is probably the most comprehensive collection of treaties (formal international agreements) that is currently available.
- WorldCatWorldCat searches and describes the holdings of many U.S. libraries and some foreign libraries. Items discovered on Worldcat can be ordered through the Law Librarys Interlibrary Loan service, if they are not available through CWRU libraries or OhioLINK. Each WorldCat record indicates the libraries that own that title. Users may search by subject, title or ISBN. Many material formats are covered by the system. Not searchable: individual article titles or stories in journals, newspapers, magazines or book chapters.
