Oklahoma Legal Research

Oklahoma Legal Research Darin K. Fox Darla W. Jackson Courtney L. Selby Suzanne E. Rowe, Series Editor Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina

Copyright 2013 Carolina Academic Press All Rights Reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fox, Darin K. Oklahoma legal research / Darin K. Fox, Darla Jackson, Courtney Selby. pages cm. -- (Legal research series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61163-134-0 (alk. paper) 1. Legal research--oklahoma. I. Jackson, Darla. II. Selby, Courtney. III. Title. KFO1275.F69 2013 340.072'0766--dc23 2013014907 Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, North Carolina 27701 Telephone (919) 489-7486 Fax (919) 493-5668 www.cap-press.com Printed in the United States of America.

Dedicated to Albert O. Brecht, my mentor and friend. D.K.F. and to Richard E. Ducey, with gratitude and love. C.L.S. and to family (Nathan, Jacob, and Scott), my inspiration and support. D.W.J.

Summary of Contents Contents List of Tables and Figures Series Note Preface and Acknowledgments ix xix xxv xxvii Chapter 1 The Research Process and Legal Analysis 3 Chapter 2 Online Legal Research 15 Chapter 3 Secondary Sources 37 Chapter 4 The Constitution 65 Chapter 5 Judicial Opinions 77 Chapter 6 Researching Judicial Opinions 109 Chapter 7 Statutory Research 129 Chapter 8 Legislative Process and Legislative History Research 155 Chapter 9 Oklahoma Administrative Law 181 Chapter 10 Researching Tribal Law 205 Chapter 11 Updating Legal Authority with Citators 227 vii

viii Summary of Contents Chapter 12 Research Strategies and Organization 245 Appendix A Legal Citation 261 About the Authors 279 Index 281

Contents Chapter 1 The Research Process and Legal Analysis 3 I. Oklahoma Legal Research 3 II. The Intersection of Legal Research and Legal Analysis 3 III. Types of Legal Authority 4 IV. Overview of the Research Process 7 A. Frame the Questions and Develop Search Terms 9 B. Identify, Prioritize, and Consult Relevant Sources 11 1. Secondary Sources 11 2. Primary Authorities 12 C. Expand and Update 12 D. Make Sure Your Research Is Responsive to the Questions Presented 13 E. Know When to Stop 13 V. Organization of This Book 14 Chapter 2 Online Legal Research 15 I. Introduction 15 II. Developing an Effective Online Search 15 A. Generating Search Terms 16 B. Types of Online Searches 17 1. Natural Language Searching 17 a. How Natural Language Search Engines Work 18 b. Relevancy versus Thoroughness 18 ix

x Contents c. Mandatory Search Terms 19 2. Terms and Connectors Searching 19 a. Key Uses of Terms and Connectors Searching 20 b. Field Searching 22 3. Online Tables of Contents and Indexes 22 III. Types of Online Legal Research Services 23 A. Commercial Research Services 24 1. Westlaw (WestlawNext and Westlaw Classic) and Lexis (Lexis Advance and Lexis) 24 2. WestlawNext and Lexis Advance 26 3. Bloomberg Law 27 4. HeinOnline 27 5. Fastcase, Casemaker, and VersusLaw 28 6. Loislaw 29 7. Google Scholar 29 B. Public Research Services 30 1. Oklahoma State Court Network (OSCN) 30 2. Oklahoma State Legislature Website 32 3. Oklahoma Secretary of State Website 33 4. Legal Information Institute 34 IV. Appendix: Where to Find Oklahoma Law 34 Chapter 3 Secondary Sources 37 I. Introduction 37 II. Legal Encyclopedias 38 A. National Legal Encyclopedias 38 B. State Legal Encyclopedias 39 III. Legal Treatises 40 A. How to Locate and Evaluate Treatises 40 B. State versus National Treatises 44 C. Checking the Currency of a Treatise 45 D. Nutshells and Hornbooks 47 E. Looseleaf Treatises 47

Contents xi IV. Law Journals and Law Reviews 48 A. Types of Law Journals 49 B. Finding Law Review Articles by Citation 50 C. Finding Law Review Articles by Keyword 50 1. HeinOnline 51 2. LegalTrac and Index to Legal Periodicals 51 3. Law Journals on Westlaw and Lexis 52 4. Google Scholar 53 5. Bar Journals 53 V. American Law Reports 55 VI. Form Books 57 A. Oklahoma Form Books 58 B. National Form Book Sets 60 VII. Continuing Legal Education Materials 60 VIII. Restatements 62 Chapter 4 The Constitution 65 I. Introduction 65 II. Sources for Accessing the Oklahoma Constitution 68 A. The Constitution in the Oklahoma Statutes 68 B. The Constitution in West s Oklahoma Statutes Annotated 70 C. Free Online Access to the Oklahoma Constitution 71 D. The Constitution on Lexis and Westlaw 71 III. Amendments to the Oklahoma Constitution 72 IV. Research Questions Related to the Oklahoma Constitution 73 V. State versus Federal Constitutions 75 Chapter 5 Judicial Opinions 77 I. Court Systems 78 A. Oklahoma Courts 78 B. Federal Courts 80

xii Contents II. Citation to and the Precedential Value of Published and Unpublished Judicial Opinions in Oklahoma Courts 83 A. Oklahoma Supreme Court and Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals Decisions 83 B. Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Decisions 86 III. Citation to and the Precedential Value of Unpublished Judicial Opinions in Federal Courts 87 IV. Trial Court Opinions 87 A. Oklahoma Trial Court Decisions 88 B. Federal Trial Court Opinions 91 V. Publication of Oklahoma Appellate Cases 92 A. Slip Opinions 92 B. Advance Sheets 94 C. Print Reporters for Oklahoma Cases 94 VI. Publication of Federal Cases 96 VII. Composition of a Case 97 VIII. Strategies for Reading and Analyzing Cases 104 A. Procedural Terminology 104 B. Reading Cases 105 C. Case Analysis 106 Chapter 6 Researching Judicial Opinions 109 I. Retrieving Court Opinion by Citation 110 II. Searching for Court Opinions by Keyword 112 A. Searching for a Specific Phrase or Term of Art 113 B. Searching for Specific Names or Facts 113 C. Conducting a Natural Language Search for Court Opinions 115 III. Searching for Court Opinions by Subject Matter 117 A. West s American Digest and Key Number System B. Using West Topic and Key Number System to Find Cases by Subject 120

Contents xiii C. Using West Digests in Print 122 D. Finding Cases by Topic on Lexis Advance and Lexis 124 IV. Unpublished Cases 127 V. Citators and Case Law 127 Chapter 7 Statutory Research 129 I. Introduction 129 II. Legislative Enactments Individual and Collections 131 A. Individual Enactment 131 1. In Print 131 2. Available Online 131 B. Codified Statutes 131 C. Session Laws 132 D. Historical Statutory Compilations 134 E. Annotated Statutes 134 III. Methods of Statutory Research 135 A. Using Codes in Print 136 B. Using Online Codes 137 1. Bloomberg Law 138 2. Fastcase 140 3. Oklahoma State Court Network (OSCN) 140 4. Statutes on Lexis and Lexis Advance 141 a. Get a Document with a Citation on Lexis 141 b. Keyword Searching for Statutes on Lexis and Lexis Advance 142 5. Statutes on Westlaw and WestlawNext 146 a. Find by Citation on Westlaw Classic and WestlawNext 146 b. Keyword Searching for Statutes on Westlaw Classic and WestlawNext 146 IV. Federal Statutory Research 150 A. Slip Laws 150 B. Session Laws/Statutes at Large 150 C. Codified Statutes 151

xiv Contents D. Annotated Code Sources 151 V. Appendix 7 State of Oklahoma & Oklahoma and Indian Territory Statutory Compilations 152 Chapter 8 Legislative Process and Legislative History Research 155 I. Introduction 155 II. Defining Legislative History and Its Use in Oklahoma Courts 156 A. Defining Legislative History in Oklahoma 156 B. Use of Legislative History in Oklahoma Courts 156 III. Oklahoma Legislature and the Legislative Process 158 A. Oklahoma Legislature 158 B. Legislative Process 159 IV. Locating Oklahoma Legislative History Materials 161 A. Bill Chronologies 162 B. House and Senate Journals 162 C. Bills Files Bill Text 164 D. Committee Reports 166 E. Floor Debates, Proceedings and Votes 166 F. Other Documents 167 1. Fiscal Impact Statements 167 2. Gubernatorial Action on Measures 168 3. New and Other Unofficial Legislative Information Sources 169 V. Researching the Legislative History of Codified Laws 171 A. Identifying the Relevant Session Law 171 B. Identify the Bill Number for Each Session Law 172 VI. Tracking Bills 173 A. Using the Oklahoma Legislature System 174 B. Using WestlawNext and LexisNexis 175 VII. Conclusions Regarding Oklahoma Legislative History Research 175

Contents xv VIII. Federal Legislative History Research 176 A. Federal Legislative Process and Publication 176 B. Sources of Federal Legislative History 177 1. Committee Reports and Hearings 177 2. Floor Debates 177 3. Compiled Legislative History 179 4. Online Sources for Federal Legislative History 179 Chapter 9 Oklahoma Administrative Law 181 I. Introduction 181 II. Locating Statutory or Constitutional Provisions Creating an Agency or Granting an Agency Authority to Act 184 III. Locating Administrative Rules 185 A. Oklahoma Administrative Code in Print 188 B. Oklahoma Administrative Code Available Electronically 188 1. Secretary of State s Website 188 2. Westlaw Classic and WestlawNext 189 3. Lexis and Lexis Advance 190 4. Bloomberg Law 191 IV. Updating Rules 193 A. The Oklahoma Register 193 B. Using KeyCite to Update Rules 197 V. Locating Agency and Judicial Decisions or Opinions of the Attorney General Regarding Application of the Rule 198 A. Agency Decisions and Determinations 198 B. Judicial Decisions 199 C. Opinions of the Attorney General 200 VI. Concluding Remarks on Oklahoma Administrative Law Research 201 VII. Federal Administrative Law Research 201

xvi Contents Chapter 10 Researching Tribal Law 205 I. Introduction 205 II. Secondary Sources 207 A. Legal Research Guides 207 B. Treatises, Deskbooks, Study Aids, and Text 208 1. Cohen s Handbook of Federal Indian Law 208 2. American Indian Law Deskbook 208 3. American Indian Law in a Nutshell 210 4. Tribal Legal Studies 211 C. Law Reviews and Journals 212 D. Other Sources 213 1. Sovereignty Symposium 213 2. Oklahoma Indian Legal Services 213 E. Sources for Locating Other Secondary Sources 214 III. Tribal Constitutions, Codes, Treaties, and Compacts 215 A. Tribal Constitutions and Codes 215 B. Treaties 216 IV. Tribal Case Law 218 A. American Tribal Law Reporter 218 B. Indian Law Reporter 219 C. Oklahoma Tribal Courts Reports 219 D. Other Online Sources 222 E. Tribal Websites 223 V. Customary Law 224 VI. Research Strategy in Tribal Law Research 225 VII. Conclusion 226 Chapter 11 Updating Legal Authority with Citators 227 I. Introduction 227 II. When to Use a Citator 228 III. KeyCite on WestlawNext 230 A. KeyCite for Cases 230 1. Negative Treatment 232

Contents xvii 2. History 233 3. Citing References 233 B. KeyCite for Statutes 235 1. History 235 2. Context and Analysis 235 C. KeyCite Alert 236 IV. Shepard s on Lexis Advance 236 A. Shepard s for Cases 237 B. Shepard s for Statutes 240 C. Table of Authorities 240 D. Shepard s Alert 241 V. OSCN s Citationizer 242 Chapter 12 Research Strategies and Organization 245 I. Developing a Research Strategy 245 A. Review the Research Process 245 B. Ask the Critical Questions 246 C. Take Notes That Make a Difference 248 D. Choose a Strategy That Fits 250 1. The Fresh Search 250 2. Starting with a Case, Statute, or Regulation on Point 251 3. Use an Iterative Approach 252 4. Research with Time Constraints 252 E. Cost- Effective Research Methods 252 1. Consider the Format 252 2. Consider Free Sources 253 F. Sample Strategy 254 II. Organization 254 A. Organizing Authorities 256 B. Organizing Analysis 256 III. Ending Research 258 Appendix Legal Citation 261 I. Introduction 261

xviii Contents II. Sources of Legal Citation Rules 262 III. Legal Citation Basics 263 A. Court Opinions 263 B. Statutes 266 C. Law Journals and Law Reviews 267 D. Abbreviations 267 E. Pinpoint Citations 268 F. Parallel Citations 269 IV. Oklahoma Citation Rules 270 A. Rules for Citing to Oklahoma Court Opinions 270 B. Rules for Citing to Oklahoma Statutes 273 C. Rules for Citing Oklahoma Court Rules 274 D. Rules for Citing to Oklahoma Regulations 275 V. The Bluebook 275 VI. ALWD Citation Manual 277 About the Authors 279 Index 281

List of Tables and Figures Tables Chapter 1 The Research Process and Legal Analysis 3 Table 1-1. Essential Elements of the Research Process 8 Table 1-2. Developing Search Terms 11 Chapter 2 Online Legal Research 15 Table 2-1. Common Connectors Used in Boolean Searching 21 Chapter 3 Secondary Sources 37 Table 3-1. Titles Included within the Oklahoma Practice Series 45 Table 3-2. Other Oklahoma- Specific Treatises 46 Table 3-3. Law Reviews and Journals Published by Oklahoma Law Schools 49 Table 3-4. Oklahoma Form Books 59 Chapter 4 The Constitution 65 Table 4-1. Articles of the Constitution of Oklahoma 67 Chapter 7 Statutory Research 129 Table 7-1. Outline for Oklahoma Statutory Research 136 xix

xx List of Tables and Figures Chapter 8 Legislative Process and Legislative History Research 155 Table 8-1. Steps in Oklahoma Lawmaking Process Documentation 160 Table 8-2. Comparison of Oklahoma and Federal Legislative History Sources 178 Chapter 9 Oklahoma Administrative Law 181 Table 9-1. Outline of Oklahoma Administrative Law Research Strategy 183 Chapter 11 Updating Legal Authority with Citators 227 Table 11-1. KeyCite Status Flags 231 Table 11-2. Shepard s Signal Indicators 238 Chapter 12 Research Strategies and Organization 245 Table 12-1. Template for Research Notes 249 Table 12-2. Sample Research Strategy 255 Table 12-3. Organizing Research Results 257 Appendix A Legal Citation 261 Table A- 1. Purposes of Legal Citation Rules 262 Table A- 2. Oklahoma Citation Forms After May 1, 1997 271 Table A- 3. Oklahoma Citation Forms Before May 1, 1997 272 Table A- 4. OCCA Citation Examples Prior to 1954 272 Table A- 5. OCCA Citation Examples After January 1, 1954 273

List of Tables and Figures xxi Figures Chapter 2 Online Legal Research 15 Figure 2-1. Legal Resources Available on the Oklahoma State Courts Network 31 Figure 2-2. Searching for Bills by Subject on the Oklahoma Legislature Site 33 Chapter 3 Secondary Sources 37 Figure 3-1. Accessing Treatises on WestlawNext 42 Figure 3-2. Accessing Treatises on Lexis Advance 43 Figure 3-3. Excerpt from Restatement (Second) of Contracts, 278 Substituted Performance 63 Chapter 4 The Constitution 65 Figure 4-1. Oklahoma Constitutional Provision 69 Chapter 5 Judicial Opinions 77 Figure 5-1. Organizational Chart of the Oklahoma Judicial System 79 Figure 5-2. Map Reflecting U.S. District Court Jurisdiction in Oklahoma 80 Figure 5-3. Map Reflecting Geographical Boundaries of U.S. Courts of Appeals & U.S. 82 Figure 5-4. Map Reflecting Use of KellPro and OCIS by County 88 Figure 5-5. Trial Court Orders on WestlawNext 90 Figure 5-6. Opinions & Dockets on Health Practice Center Tab on Bloomberg Law 91 Figure 5-7. Dockets Search on Bloomberg Law 93 Figure 5-8. Pacific Reporter Case with Labels 100 Figure 5-9. Case Excerpt from Lexis with Related Content 101

xxii List of Tables and Figures Figure 5-10. Pacific Reporter Case Excerpt in Lexis Advance 102 Figure 5-11. Oklahoma Case Excerpts with Labels from the Oklahoma State Court Network 103 Chapter 6 Researching Judicial Opinions 109 Figure 6-1. Sample Citation to Oklahoma Court Opinion 110 Figure 6-2. QuickCase Feature in OSCN 111 Figure 6-3. Sample Oklahoma Citation with Paragraph Citation Format 112 Figure 6-4. Searching for a Phrase in Oklahoma Cases Database in OSCN 113 Figure 6-5. Search by Party Name Field in WestlawNext 115 Figure 6-6. Natural Language Search Option in OSCN 116 Figure 6-7. Browsing the West Key Number System in WestlawNext 119 Figure 6-8. Browsing to a Specific Topic and Key Number in WestlawNext 120 Figure 6-9. Accessing the West Key Number System from the Headnote of a Case 121 Figure 6-10. Headnotes and Topic Outline on Lexis Advance 125 Chapter 7 Statutory Research 129 Figure 7-1. Image of Print Oklahoma Session Laws Available from HeinOnline 133 Figure 7-2. Oklahoma Acts on Bloomberg Law 133 Figure 7-3. Oklahoma Statutes Annotated in Print with Citation 135 Figure 7-4. Oklahoma Statutes on Bloomberg Law 139 Figure 7-5. Bloomberg Law Currency Information 139 Figure 7-6. Fastcase Statutory Research Interface 141 Figure 7-7. Oklahoma Statutes Citationized on OSCN 142 Figure 7-8. Advanced Search Function on OSCN 143 Figure 7-9. Lexis Advance Browse Sources 144

List of Tables and Figures xxiii Figure 7-10. Using Filtering in Lexis Advance 145 Figure 7-11. Oklahoma Statutes Find Template on WestlawNext 147 Figure 7-12. Scope and Functions of Oklahoma Statutes on WestlawNext 148 Figure 7-13. Statutory Annotation Information, including Content & Analysis Tab, on WestlawNext 149 Chapter 8 Legislative Process and Legislative History Research 155 Figure 8-1. House of Representatives Committee Report 157 Figure 8-2. Bill Chronology Available on the Oklahoma Legislative Service Bureau Website 163 Figure 8-3. Searching for House of Representative Journals on WestlawNext 164 Figure 8-4. Oklahoma Bill Versions Available on Lexis Advance 165 Figure 8-5. Source Information for Oklahoma Legislative Bill History on Lexis Advance 168 Figure 8-6. Legislative History Materials Tab on WestlawNext 170 Figure 8-7. Bloomberg Law Link to Session Laws 172 Figure 8-8. Bill Number Designation Available on OSCN Session Law 173 Figure 8-9. Setup Page for Notifications from the Legislative Electronic Notification System (LENS) 174 Chapter 9 Oklahoma Administrative Law 181 Figure 9-1. Oklahoma Agencies, Boards, and Commissions 184 Figure 9-2. West s Oklahoma Law Finder 186 Figure 9-3. Oklahoma Regulation on WestlawNext 189 Figure 9-4. Oklahoma Regulation on Lexis Advance 191

xxiv List of Tables and Figures Figure 9-5. Oklahoma Administrative Code on Bloomberg Law 192 Figure 9-6. Accuracy and Currency of Oklahoma Regulations on Bloomberg Law 193 Figure 9-7. Updating Regulations Using KeyCite on WestlawNext 197 Chapter 10 Researching Tribal Law 205 Figure 10-1. Cohen s Handbook of Federal Indian Law on Lexis Advance 209 Figure 10-2. American Tribal Law Reporter on WestlawNext 220 Figure 10-3. OTCR on WestlawNext 223 Chapter 11 Updating Legal Authority with Citators 227 Figure 11-1. KeyCite Status Flag for Sicking Case 231 Figure 11-2. KeyCite Citing References Tab for Cases 234 Figure 11-3. Shepard s Access from a Case 237 Figure 11-4. Shepard s Report 239 Figure 11-5. Shepard s Citing Decisions 240 Figure 11-6. Shepard s Table of Authorities 242 Figure 11-7. Citationizer on OSCN 244 Appendix A Legal Citation 261 Figure A- 1. Components of a Case Citation 264 Figure A- 2. Excerpt of a Sample Case in a Print Reporter 265 Figure A- 3. Components of a Statutory Citation 266 Figure A- 4. Components of a Law Journal Citation 267

Series Note The Legal Research Series published by Carolina Academic Press includes titles from states around the country as well as a separate text on federal legal research. The goal of each book is to provide law students, practitioners, paralegals, college students, laypeople, and librarians with the essential elements of legal research in each jurisdiction. Unlike more bibliographic texts, the Legal Research Series books seek to explain concisely both the sources of state law research and the process for conducting legal research effectively. xxv

Preface and Acknowledgments This book is the first publication to explore comprehensively both the sources of Oklahoma and tribal law and the best strategies to employ when researching that law. It will be valuable to a wide range of audiences, from novices to seasoned legal researchers. Writing the book was a collaborative effort, although each author took a leading role in various chapters. Darin Fox was the primary author for the chapters dealing with online legal research, secondary sources, researching judicial opinions, and legal citation. Darla Jackson was the primary author for the chapters on judicial opinions, statutory research, legislative process and history, administrative law, and tribal law. Courtney Selby was the primary author for the chapters on research process and legal analysis, the Oklahoma constitution, citators, and research strategies and organization. Many people contributed to the development and completion of this book and we gratefully acknowledge their contributions. For substantive and editorial review of the text, we thank Suzanne Rowe. For guidance and shared expertise in some of the details and nuances of Oklahoma legal research, we appreciate Melanie Nelson, Lee Peoples, Joel Wegemer, and Jennifer Gerrish. For proofreading and offering continuing support of our efforts, we are grateful to Jill Markman, Elaine Bradshaw, Katie Brown, Marilyn Nicely, and Jennifer Prilliman. Finally, we would like to thank the entire staffs of the University of Oklahoma Law Library, the Oklahoma City University Law Library, and the University of Tulsa Mabee Legal Information Center for their support. We recognize Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, W.S. Hein & Co., Lexis- Nexis, the Oklahoma State Court Network, and Thomson Reuters for permission to reproduce portions of their online and print products in this work. Due to the small size of this book, some screens have xxvii

xxviii Preface and Acknowledgments been cropped and some page excerpts slightly modified. Please note that further reproduction is prohibited. Darin K. Fox Darla W. Jackson Courtney L. Selby July 2013