Volume II, Chapter §2.8
 The Foundations of Legal Research

American Jurisprudence, 2d (Am. Jur. 2d)

§2.8    


Click to Zoom!

(Click on the above image to Zoom.)

Introduction
American Jurisprudence, 2d (Am. Jur. 2d) is one of the two national legal encyclopedias. The structure of the two encyclopedias is basically identical. In other words, if you can use one, you can use them both. It is usually just called "Am. Jur."

American Jurisprudence 2d has the following key points:

Am. Jur. 2d is a national legal encyclopedia
As an encyclopedia, Am. Jur. 2d discusses almost every area of law, then refers the researcher to other forms of authority (including law) through the footnotes.

Always start in the index
Am. Jur. 2d has a multi-volume index titled the General Index.

Am. Jur. 2d is published by Lawyer's Cooperative Publishing Company
This is important because Lawyer's Coop. utilizes a special research system called the Total Client Service Library. (see below.)

Am. Jur. 2d is part of the Total Client Service Library
This is simply a system whereby Lawyer's Coop. sends the researcher to other materials that they publish which are relevant to the topic being researched. Very effective.

Am. Jur. 2d is secondary authority
Because it is not law, Am. Jur. 2d is considered secondary authority.

Using Am. Jur. 2d
When using secondary authority, the researcher almost always begins in the broadest index. The index for Am. Jur. 2d consists of paper backs and are called the General Index.

When researching in legal encyclopedias, the researcher must obtain two things from the index: A topic and section number (for example: Veterinarians § 285). The topic leads to the appropriate volume. The section number will lead us to the appropriate place within the volume. (Notice the topic on the spine of the volume in the picture above.)

Once the appropriate topic and section number in the volume is located, Am. Jur. 2d provides a general discussion of the specific topic. The encyclopedia then provides raised numbers, referred to as superior numbers, such as: 12. These are footnote references. Am. Jur. 2d leads the researcher to primary authority through the footnotes.

The encyclopedias are fairly easy to use. They are very broad. They contain a little bit about virtually every area of law (as opposed to treatises, for example, which contain a whole lot about specific areas of law.) Before the researcher leaves Am. Jur. 2d, he or she should check the pocket-part. In the pocket-part, the researcher locates the same topic and section number that had been checked in the main volume.

There is also a Title Index at the back of each volume. The Title Indexes (sometimes called volume indexes) are excellent indexes, but they are dangerous. Sometimes the index in the back of the volume can be 5 or 6 times as thorough as the General Index. However, the references contained in the Title Index lead within that volume only and not to other volumes.

On the other hand, the General Index leads to many different volumes. Therefore, don't begin your research in the Title Index. However, once the researcher has checked the General Index, it is certainly a good idea to take a look in the back of the volume for the Title Index.

The research system utilized by Am. Jur. 2d is the Total Client Service Library.

InterActive Study
    

Demonstration

Introductory Tour of Am. Jur. 2d.

 

Paralegal Perspectives . . .

AM. JUR. 2d
Legal encyclopedias can be a good initial research source for paralegals. Even if you haven't been given a specific research assignment, an encyclopedia can give you foundational information about a specific area of law.

Be aware that while a paralegal wants to use encyclopedias as a research source, it is not usually a good idea to quote them. While it is not technically wrong to quote an encyclopedia, most attorneys would not since they carry such little weight with the court. There is an exception to this rule, however. If you are citing an encyclopedia to define a term or phrase, that would be acceptable.

Lecture Notes . . .

American Jurisprudence, 2d
It's very important that you read all the information provided in this exercise, then answer the Assignment questions as you go.

But what happens if you are looking in the index for Am. Jur. 2d (pronounced: am jer second) and don't find anything for your research topic? Does this mean you are doing something wrong? Not necessarily. If you have cartwheeled your topic and checked all the places you can think of for your topic, you may have to accept an unpleasant fact: The book in which you are researching doesn't deal with your topic! That happens often. But what are you to do regarding your assignment?

The important thing at this stage is to get to know the materials, so if you don't find anything, just switch topics. You can go back to the Manual, or even better, just scan the Index of Am. Jur. 2d for something of interest to you. Then switch to that topic just for the purpose of answering the questions in this exercise. When you start the next exercise, in C.J.S., switch back to your original topic.

And remember, if you find relevant authority as you conduct these exercises, copy them and keep them. Those authorities may be needed later when you draft your final assignment.

 
InterActive Study
    

ViewPoint

How to Read Legal Encyclopedias
 
 

Commonly Asked Questions . . .

Click here if you are having difficulty seeing answers to the quiz below

 

InterActive Study
    

Legal Research Lab: Law Library

Law Library Lab
(Flash Required)

We recommend that you use the Law Library Lab for Am. Jur. 2d both before starting the law library exercises and after you have completed the exercises (for review). You can always revisit the Labs. Just click on the Labs button and navigate to Am. Jur. 2d, or just CLICK HERE (Flash Required).

Troubleshooting:
If you have problems viewing the Law Library Lab in Internet Explorer, try the following:

1. Click on Tools
2. Click on Compatibility View

In some versions of Internet Explorer, you can simple click on the green Compatibility View icon to the right of the address bar. It has the appearance of a broken page.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Time Sheets

Click on the examples of Time Sheets below to zoom in and compare. Yours should look like the Good example.

Click to Zoom Click to Zoom Click to Zoom
The Good
The Bad
The Ugly

Time Sheet Download

Click here to download a Time Sheet that automatically adds up your billable hours. You should keep track of any research or writing you do on behalf of your client, including the Audio Companion research assignments below as well as other assignments in this chapter.

Audio Companion: Researching Am. Jur. 2d

A.

B.

C.

After you have finished the assignments in the law library, check your answers in by clicking on the Exercise Answers below . But it is critical that you do the Assignments in the law library (or online) first!