Assessing the
Precedential Value of a Citation Using TheLaw.net
(Don't miss the detailed sample searches provided way
below.)
It is very easy to check the precedential value
of a citation using TheLaw.net. You can find cases
citing your case or ask for cases citing your case
only for those reasons you specify.
1. Click the Big Red Button that says Click Here
to Search Case Law
2. Select a jurisdictional path. Federal Circuits,
State Appellate, etc.
3. Click the checkbox of the originating
jurisdiction.

4. Click the button for V. Cite and enter
your citation, as below.

5. Click the Submit Button
6. View results. The first case is the original
opinion. The other three are the opinions
in Florida that have cited the original opinion. Click the
link of any opinion you wish
to view. The opinion ranked first is the opinion that cites
the original opinion most often.

7. To expand the search to include any state court
that may have cited the original opinion, scroll to
the bottom of the list in the left hand frame, and
hold the Shift Key while clicking on the last
item in the list. This will highlight the entire
list. Then click the Submit Button. To search
multiple selected jurisdictions, click on each
jurisdiction while holding the CTRL Key.
8. If after expanding your search, you find an
unmanageable number of opinions, consider
refining your search by adding a critical term in the
Search Text Field provided. This will
winnow the results to only those opinions that cite your
opinion for the reason you specify
so that you don’t have to view opinions that may have cited
your opinion for a Rule 404(b)
reason when what you really care about are opinions that
cited your opinion in the context
of resolving an income tax question.
6. Now click the Find Button or using your
keyboard press Ctrl-F to display the Find Window
which will allow you to scan the opinion for each
instance of the citation. The
Find Function
will pause at each instance of the
citation each time you click Find Next. You
will then be
able to quickly see why the Court cited
your opinion. Note: You can move the Find Window
around the screen if it is covering text you want to
read by simply holding your cursor down in
the title
bar of the Find Window and moving your mouse.
CITE CHECKING USING
STANDARD SEARCH
QUERIES
Everything explained above can be accomplished using
Standard Search Query and simply entering 343
So.2d 611 and income tax as your search
query. The results would be the same.
To
find opinions in the database in the jurisdictions
selected that cite your opinion enter the citation
just as you would in a brief or memo then click
SUBMIT.
Example: 100 F.3d 200
To
find opinions in the database in the jurisdictions
selected that cite your opinion for a specified
reason enter the citation and a critical term then
click SUBMIT.
Example: 100 F.3d 200 AND medical malpractice
To
find opinions in the database in the jurisdictions
selected that cite your opinion for alternative
reasons, enter the citation, then group your alternative
critical terms in parenthesis separated by the word
OR then click SUBMIT.
Example: 100 F.3d 200 AND (404(b) OR death
penalty)
To
find opinions from the database in the jurisdictions
selected that cite your opinion for more than one
reason, enter the citation and multiple critical
terms separated by the word AND then click SUBMIT.
Example: 100 F.3d 200 AND 404(b) AND death
penalty
To find opinions from the
database that may have cast your opinion in a
negative light, enter the citation followed by terms
that one would expect to see in an opinion reversing
the ruling of a lower court, then click SUBMIT.
Example: 100 F.3d 200 AND death penalty AND
(remand* OR reverse*) |