How do you update a Court opinion?
Use a Citator.
When a court decides a legal issue,
it sets a “precedent” for that jurisdiction which guides the court
in future decision making. Until such time as that precedent
is reversed, or modified in some manner, it remains as “good law”.
This policy of building upon our judicial body of law based upon
past decision making is referred to as stare decisis. It
is this concept of adhering, to the extent reasonable under current
circumstances, to previously decided points of law that makes
citators a useful method for tracking changes in the law.
Citators are books containing lists
of references (citations) to subsequent court opinions that refer
to (cite) a particular earlier opinion. There are citators
for every state and federal jurisdiction as well as citators for
particular subject areas of the law, such as tax, labor and the
Uniform Commercial Code. Additionally, citators for constitutions,
court rules, jury instructions, etc., can be used to find citing
court opinions.
Print citators are kept current
with regularly issued updates in the form of softbound pamphlets
(advance sheets). Citators are primarily published by Shepard’s
Publishing Company and instructions on how to use the Citator
are contained in the introduction to each volume. Checking
for subsequent citations to an earlier court opinion (case) is
often referred to as “Shepardizing.”
Law students have online access
to citators using KeyCite on Westlaw and Shepard’s on Lexis.
By way of example, in 1993 the Oregon Supreme Court in Dolan
v. City of Tigard, 317 Or 110, upheld the City's conditions
imposed on the development of Dolan’s commercial property.
Using the Oregon Citator you will discover that in 1994 the
United States Supreme Court in 512 U.S. 374, reversed the decision
of the Oregon Supreme Court.
Always remember to “Shepardize” the Court opinions upon which
you are relying as a statement of current law.
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Note: The abbreviations used in the Citators are unique to
Shepard’s. For an introductory explanation of citations
and abbreviations used in legal writing, consult "Citations".
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Note: Due to the delay in publication of print updates, it
is advisable to "Shepardize" online.
