[blindlaw] Case Searching

Fri Jun 14 00:22:22 UTC 2019

Yes, I recommend that you ask. Many attorneys obtain access to Westlaw and Lexis through an institutional membership via a firm, government agency, or other office. FindLaw and Google Scholar are fine for a lay legal audience. If you are focused on Supreme Court work, the Court's own website, SCOTUS Blog, and OYEZ are good resources.

I should also add that PACER, which gives you access to federal court dockets, may be helpful, as you can search by party as well. Recently, the website underwent some changes, and accessibility is okay, if not entirely ideal. PACER, however, requires a paid membership.

What are you expected to do? I am curious, especially since it seems unusual that a college internship is requesting you to perform legal research.

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Vejas Vasiliauskas via BlindLaw
Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2019 6:26 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Vejas Vasiliauskas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Case Searching

Hi Shannon,
Thanks. I had never heard of FindLaw until you mentioned it, but you looks very cool.
I was under the impression from what Nandini said that you can use WestLaw or Lexus Nexus if your institution is subscribed, but I could be wrong. I'll ask my supervisor when I next see her (she's out of the office).
Thanks,
Vejas 

> On 13 Jun 2019, at 15:14, Shannon Dillon via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Vejas,
> 
> I haven't used Lexis in a long time but I use WestLaw regularly and it 
> is pretty accessible. I don't know how you access it without a 
> subscription, though.
> 
> Have you tried using www.findlaw.com to look up the information you're 
> searching for?
> 
> 
> 
>> On 6/13/19, Singh, Nandini via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Yes, both are fairly accessible and have JAWS specialists who are 
>> attentive to screen reader access. I slightly prefer Westlaw, since 
>> it is more intuitive, but Lexis has resources that Westlaw does not. 
>> If your firm or office has a subscription to both, then you have a 
>> majority of your legal research covered.
>> 
>> As for searching cases against a particular store, you can perform a 
>> party search. This can be layered by jurisdiction or legal topic, 
>> meaning you could find, as a for-instance, all civil employment cases 
>> where Sears is a party in the Central District of California.
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Vejas 
>> Vasiliauskas via BlindLaw
>> Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2019 4:29 PM
>> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Vejas Vasiliauskas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Case Searching
>> 
>> Hi,
>> Thank you so much for this information. Yes, I probably should have 
>> been more clear: what I meant by "category" was being able to search, 
>> for example, for cases against a particular store, or lating to a 
>> particular subject.
>> Are Westlaw and LexusNexus fairly accessible?
>> Thank you,
>> Vejas
>> 
>>> On 13 Jun 2019, at 12:53, Singh, Nandini via BlindLaw 
>>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I am not really sure what you mean by "category." There are two 
>>> major subscription-based web services that allow you to look up case law:
>>> Westlaw and LexisNexis. You are able to slice and dice searches 
>>> between civil and criminal proceedings in addition to jurisdiction 
>>> and overall legal topic, such as torts, environmental damages, 
>>> securities, etc. Both services offer a number of treatises and 
>>> secondary sources, like the American Law Reports, that present case 
>>> law by topic as well. Keep in mind that this is a small fraction of 
>>> what Westlaw and Lexis have, as these are absolutely gigantic repositories of legal knowledge.
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Vejas 
>>> Vasiliauskas via BlindLaw
>>> Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2019 3:11 PM
>>> To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: Vejas Vasiliauskas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: [blindlaw] Case Searching
>>> 
>>> Hi All,
>>> I'm very new to law and am currently doing an internship this 
>>> summer, before I start my senior year of college.
>>> I was wondering if there are any Web sites that conveniently let you 
>>> look up cases by category?
>>> Thanks,
>>> Vejas
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> 
> 
> --
> SHANNON L. DILLON
> Secretary and Legislative Coordinator
> National Federation of the Blind
> of California
> The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and 
> friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind.
> Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they 
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