California Legal Research

The fourth edition of California Legal Research continues to fill a unique niche in the literature available for California state law research, explaining both the sources of California law and the process of conducting research using those sources. This new edition increasingly emphasizes online research, while including essential guidance with relevant print sources.

After introductory chapters devoted to the basic research process and research techniques, California Legal Research explores judicial opinions in two chapters, both of which have been substantially revised to embrace the shift to online case research. The book then turns to the state constitution, statutes and legislative history, and administrative law. Those chapters are followed by a discussion of updating research with Shepard's and KeyCite, using secondary sources and practice guides, and planning a research strategy. A final chapter explains legal citation, with information on the California Style Manual, the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation, and The Bluebook.

The book should be valuable to a wide range of audiences—from first-year students to seasoned veterans. Outlines of the research process and excerpts from key state sources make the book easy to use. The text includes brief discussions of legal analysis throughout, recognizing the interplay between research and analysis.

California Legal Research supplements its detailed discussion of state research with brief discussions of federal research. Thus, it can be used as the sole text in a research course or in conjunction with texts focusing on topical or federal research.

This book is part of the Legal Research Series, edited by Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff, Director of the Legal Research and Writing Program, Concordia University School of Law.