Legal Research Scavenger Hunt
Scenario
In a Florida case, John Smith was in an argument with Sam Jones, who had a knife in his hand. Jones says to Smith, “I intend to stab you.” Smith responds by hitting Jones in the head with his fist, and Jones dies as a result of the blow.
You think that under some situations killing someone might not be considered a crime. What you don’t know is under what circumstances killing a person might be excused. John Smith has hired you to find out.
Code Books
Look in the index of the relevant annotated codebook and figure out what Florida law calls an unlawful killing.
Write down the correct name of the crime:
Identify the code by number:
In the correct volume, find the code and copy down the relevant wording:
In the same index, find a law that addresses when you can kill someone:
Write down the name of the law and the statute number:
Copy down the law word-for-word:
Digests
Look in the index of the appropriate digest and find the descriptive word (the subject heading) associated with your case; in this situation that would be the name of the code.
Write down the abbreviation associated with the subject heading:
Identify the key number of the element most closely associated with your question:
Digest volumes are alphabetically arranged by topics like an encyclopedia. Look at the spines of the digest volumes and find the digest volume containing your subject heading.
Turn to your topic and to the key # you have identified.
For the purposes of this exercise, note the page number:
Read through the summary paragraphs and decide which case is pertinent to your research or question.
Write down the case citation (e.g.: 376 So. 2d 230):
Reporters
In the appropriate reporter, find the volume and turn to the page number of the case.
Write down the page # of the case:
Write down the name of the case:
Read the summary of the case, and copy word-for-word the headnote associated with your question: