Shepard's Citators

Shepard’s is the primary validator of authority.  Shepard’s is considered non-authority.

 

After the researcher finds primary authority, she or he must be certain that the authority her or his attorney will rely upon is still valid. This is the role of Shepard’s.

 

When discussing case law, Shepard’s has three major functions:

 

 

FIRST, LOOK UP THE ACTUAL CASE!  (Not in Shepard’s, but in the reporter itself!)

 

The Cited Material

When Shepardizing a case, it is helpful to realize that the researcher is really Shepardizing a publication.  The place the researcher begins depends on the publication being Shepardized. Here we will use the cite 736 P.2d 254 as a sample cite.  The case being Shepardized is the cited case.

 

Step 1: Locate the Shepard’s volume for the cited material (your cite). Our sample cite is in the Pacific Reporter, Second Series.  We therefore must find the series titled Shepard’s Pacific Citations.

     

Step 2: Find the section of Shepard’s for your publication. Some Shepard’s volumes contain citations for more than one publication. For instance, Shepard’s  Nevada  Citations contains citations for the Nevada Revised Statutes, the Nevada  Reports, Pacific Reporter Nevada Cases, etc. However, our sample cite led us to Shepard’s Pacific Citations which only contains citations from the Pacific Reporter.

 

Step 3: Locate the pages covering the volume number of your cite. There  are  multiple volumes  of  Shepard’s  Pacific  Citations. Researching our sample case, we must find the book containing Pacific Reporter Second Series volume number  736. (Be sure to note the specific series the book contains. One of the most common mistakes is for the researcher to find the Shepard’s Citator for the wrong series.) Shepard’s provides the volumes contained within each book on the spine of each Shepard’s volume. Once the correct volume is found, simply turn to the pages covering the volume: in this case, volume 736.  On the top corner of each page Shepard’s provides the volume number on that page, like a phone book.

 

Step 4: Locate the page in Shepard’s which contains the page number of your cite. The page numbers for the cited material will be in large, boldfaced print. Our sample page number is 254. Newer editions of Shepard’s will also provide the name of the case, which is very helpful.  

 

Now that the researcher has utilized the cited case to access Shepard’s, the citing material will validate, or invalidate, the cited opinion.

 

The Citing Material

Citing material is material that is citing, or mentioning, your cited case.

 

Shepard’s provides the following tools within the citing material:

 

Parallel Cites

Immediately after the boldfaced page number and, if there is one, the case name, Shepard’s will provide any parallel cites in parenthesis.  A parallel cite is another publication which has published the same, word for word opinion.

 

History Notations

The History of a case is indicated by the letters to the left of the citing material immediately after the cited page number (and any parallel cites).  These cases are previous, or subsequent, levels of the cited case itself.   For example, “cc” in Shepard’s is a history notation indicating that the citing case and the cited case are “connected cases.”  Refer to the Table of Abbreviations to insure that you are referring to a history notation, not a treatment notation.

 

Treatment Notations

Treatments are how other cases have viewed your cited case. Look for any Treatments in the citing  material.  These are listed after the History cites, (if there are any), in the same manner, but with different abbreviations. For example, “f” in Shepard’s is a treatment indicating that the citing case “followed” the reasoning of the cited case.  This might indicate that the cases were similar.

 

Grouping of Jurisdictions

Shepard’s will group citing materials by jurisdictions and publications. For instance, Shepard’s will collect cases from federal circuits together, as well as cases from states.  Shepard’s will also group cases from regional reporters together with other cases from the same region. Shepard’s will not group cases into federal districts.

 

References to Headnotes in the Cited Case

Shepard’s has a system whereby the researcher can focus the scope of his or her research by concentrating only on the citing material most relevant to the issue being researched.  The original cited case may have dealt with multiple issues, only one of which is of interest to the researcher. If the researcher makes note of the relevant headnote numbers in the cited case being Shepardized, she or he can look for cases in the citing material which refer only to those specific headnote numbers. If, for instance, only Headnote Number 4 is relevant for the researcher, Shepard’s will inform the researcher which citing cases deal with the same topic as does Headnote Number 4.  Shepard’s does this by using a raised number (or superior number) between the citing publication abbreviation and page number (i.e., 825 P.2d 4 173).

 

Utilizing Shepard’s as a Case Finder

One key to utilizing Shepard’s Citators is to understand the tools it possesses as a case finder. The tools under the Citing Material heading on these pages each act not only to validate, but to assist the researcher in locating additional case law which may prove relevant.

 

Parallel Cites as Case Finders

If  the  researcher Shepardizes the official cite, the unofficial parallel cite is helpful, since the unofficial  provides key topics and numbers in the headnotes (not found in the official), which lead to West Digests.  The Digests then lead to additional case law.

 

History Notations as Case Finders

The History Notations lead the researcher to additional opinions involving the same, or a closely related, court action as the case being Shepardized.

 

Treatment Notations as Case Finders

An excellent source for finding additional relevant authority. For instance, if a cite has an “f” next to it, this indicates that the court in that new cite has “followed” the reasoning of the case being Shepardized.

 

Grouping of Jurisdictions as Case Finders

Since Shepard’s groups its citing material by jurisdiction (Federal Circuits, Regions, and States), the researcher who finds an onpoint case which is not in his or her jurisdiction may be able to locate relevant local authority by Shepardizing that case.

 

Headnote References as Case Finders

Once the researcher identifies a relevant headnote in the cite being Shepardized, the researcher may then focus the scope of the research by locating citing materials with references to the same Headnote number, not the Key Number, but the Headnote number!

 

Shepardizing Parallel Cites

A researcher should Shepardize all parallel cites that she or he will rely upon.

 

The researcher should Shepardize all parallel cites. The reason is that the Shepard’s publication for the official cite may contain different citing material than the Shepard’s publication for the unofficial cite. The problem a researcher often is faced with is that not all libraries contain all the Shepard’s publications.

 

Shepard’s Supplements

Shepard’s updates its hard bound volumes with Advance Sheets and Supplements. It is critical that each supplement, hard bound and soft bound, be checked.

 

Shepard’s updates its volumes with a series of Advance Sheets and Cumulative Supplements. They must all be researched just as the main volume was researched. They come out in the following order:

 

WHITE ADVANCE SHEET

This is the most recent update, and is a thin, white pamphlet.

BLUE INTERMEDIATE SUPPLEMENT

This is the newest of the supplements. It comes out for selected volumes between the white and red supplements.

RED CUMULATIVE SUPPLEMENT

This soft bound pamphlet collects several advance sheets.

YELLOW CUMULATIVE SUPPLEMENT

This soft bound booklet collects several previous supplements.

 

The researcher should be aware that the Shepard’s Advance Sheets and Cumulative Supplements do not repeat the parallel cites provided in the original Shepard’s volume.

 

“Your Library Should Contain”

On the cover of each Advance Sheet  (or cumulative supplement) is a section titled “Your Library Should Contain.” This provides a list of all the Shepard’s materials that should be in the law library. The researcher should always make sure the materials are complete.  If any volumes or supplements are missing, you may want to call the phone number provided on the back of the supplement. If you tell Shepard’s what library you are calling from, and if the library still subscribes to Shepard’s they will Shepardize the material for you over the phone!

 

Hard- bound Supplements

Some groups in Shepard’s will contain hard-bound supplements. Materials should be Shepardized in all hard-bound supplements. Note that if there is a hard- bound supplement, it will not repeat the parallel cites contained in the original Shepard’s volume.

 

Online Validation

It is possible to validate authorities online in at least three ways:

 

 

 

Copyright 2008

 

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