It's crucial to evaluate the quality and relevance of the secondary sources you encounter while researching. The following is a great start in evaluating your choices.
Not all secondary sources are created equal. The reliability and credibility of a source depend on several factors:
1. Authorship: Is the author an expert in the field? Look for information about the author's qualifications, including their education, professional experience, and other publications. On a legal research platform, you can often find author information at the beginning or end of a resource, or by selecting a “more information” icon associated with the resource.
2. Publication Type: Scholarly publications, like law reviews or legal treatises, often undergo rigorous editorial and peer-review processes, enhancing their reliability. Popular legal blogs or news sites might offer valuable insights, but they may not be as thoroughly vetted. That said, some legal blogs or news sites might be better vetted than some scholarly publications. When you find a new resource, you must do due diligence in evaluating them.
3. Citations: Does the source cite to primary legal materials, like statutes or case law? Relevant citations to primary sources—or even other secondary sources—lends credibility to a secondary source.
Relevance is about whether the source addresses your specific research question or topic. To assess relevance:
1. Scope: Does the source cover the legal issue or jurisdiction you're researching? A source that focuses on federal law may not be relevant if you're researching state law, and vice versa.
2. Depth: Does the source provide a surface-level overview or an in-depth analysis? Depending on your research needs, either could be appropriate—or inappropriate. You may find it easier to move from a surface-level resource so that you can obtain a basic understanding before moving on to the more in-depth resources.
Remember, secondary sources provide interpretation and analysis, not the law itself. Always cross-check the information in secondary sources with primary sources to ensure accuracy. Even when relying on accurate and up-to-date secondary sources, the final and crucial step in legal research is to verify the law using primary sources. Law is not static; it constantly evolves through legislative amendments, new court rulings, and administrative updates. Thus, even the most current secondary sources might not reflect the very latest changes. Failing to verify the law could lead to reliance on outdated or overturned precedents, potentially undermining your legal argument or advice.
As a lawyer, it is your professional responsibility to ensure that the law you cite or rely upon is current and valid. Nobody else can take this responsibility for you. It is part of your due diligence to your clients, to the court, and to the integrity of the legal profession.
Citators, like Shepard's in LexisNexis or KeyCite in Westlaw, can be invaluable tools for this task. These services provide information about the subsequent history and treatment of a case or statute, allowing you to determine whether a case has been overruled, questioned, or distinguished, or if a statute has been amended or repealed.