PO4332 (Fall 2005)Name

Accessing Court Cases (Exercise)

  1. Click on the Netscape icon.
  • From the LAC home page, click on Library HP (left navigation bar, 3rd link from the bottom) or in the location box, type library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/ and press Enter.
  • From the library home page, click on Lexis/Nexis (left column).
  1. Once connected to the LEXIS-NEXIS Academic page, click on Legal Research.
  2. Click on Federal Case Law.
  • At the Basic Search screen, type Morrison in the keyword box.
  • Type violence and women in the Narrow search with additional terms:
  • Change the Date entry to "Previous ten years"
  • Click on the Search box.
  1. Click on United States v. Morrisonto bring up the text.
  1. When was the case argued?January 11, 2000
  1. When was the case decided?May 15, 2000
  1. Who delivered the opinion?Rehnquist
  1. Who joined in the opinion?O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas
  1. What was the case about?A woman who had been a student at a Virginia university (1) filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia against defendants including two male individuals; and (2) alleged, among other matters, that (a) she had been raped by the two individuals while she and they had been attending the university, and (b) this attack violated 42 USCS 13981, which provided a federal civil remedy for the victims of gender-motivated violence. The United States intervened to defend 13981's validity under the Federal Constitution. the Court of Appeals, among other matters, instead affirmed the District Court's determination that Congress lacked authority under the Constitution to enact 13981's civil remedy (169 F3d 820) and the Supreme Court affirmed.
  1. What was the decision of the case?Congress held to have no authority under either Federal Constitution's commerce clause or 5 of Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment to enact 42 USCS 13981, providing federal civil remedy for victims of gender-motivated violence
  1. Look at the "Documenting Legal Cases" guide on page 3 of this exercise. Which citation format will you use? Document this case using the format you selected:

APA:

United States v. Morrison. 529 U.S.598 (2000). Retrieved September 27, 2005, from LexisNexis Academic database.

MLA:

United States v. Morrison. 529U.S.598. 2000. LexisNexis Academic. LexisNexis. St. Mary's U, Blume Lib., San Antonio, TX. 27 Sept. 2005.

Click on the Edit Search bar near the top of the page on the right side.

  • In the Keyword box, type medical marijuana
  • Make sure the Court box reads "Supreme Court Cases"
  • Change the Date entry to "Previous year"
  • Click on the Search box.
  1. Click on the name of the case to retrieve the text.
  1. When was the case argued? November 29, 2004
  1. When was the case filed? June 6, 2005
  1. Who delivered the opinion? Stevens
  1. Were there any concurring opinions? If so, who concurred? Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer joined Stevens; Scalia filed a concurring opinion.
  1. Were there any dissenting opinions?If so, who dissented? O’Connor dissented, Rehnquist & Thomas joined all, but Part III. Thomas filed a dissenting opinion.
  1. What was the case about?
  1. What was the decision of the case?Controlled Substances Act's (21 U.S.C.S. §§ 801 et seq.) prohibition of marijuana manufacture and possession, as applied to intrastate manufacture and possession for medical purposes under California law, held not to exceed Congress' power under Federal Constitution's commerce clause (Art. I, § 8, cl. 3).
  1. Look at the "Documenting Legal Cases" guide on page 3 of this exercise. Which citation format will you use? Document this case using the format you selected:

APA:

Gonzales v. Raich. 529 S. Ct. 2195 (2005). Retrieved September 27, 2005, from LexisNexis Academic database.

MLA:

Gonzales v. Raich. 529 S. Ct. 2195, 2005. LexisNexis Academic. LexisNexis. St. Mary's U, Blume Lib., San Antonio, TX. 27 Sept. 2005.

  1. Click on the Edit Search bar near the top of the page.
  • In the left hand navigation column, click on State Case Law.
  • Click on Texas
  • In the Search terms box, type school finance
  • Change the Date entry to "All available dates"
  • Click on the Search box.
  1. Click on "Edgewood Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Meno," as Modified February 16, 1995.
  1. When was the case argued?
  1. When was the opinion delivered?
  1. Who delivered the opinion?
  1. How many justices filed opinions?
  1. Who delivered concurring opinions?
  1. Who delivered dissenting opinions?
  1. What was the case about?
  1. What was the decision of the case?
  1. Look at the "Documenting Legal Cases" guide below. Which citation format will you use? Document this case using the format you selected:

MLA format

The following are examples of the format for documenting legal citations in MLA format. More documentation examples can be found on the library web site at

Cisneros v. Alpine Ridge Group. 508 US 10. 1993. LexisNexis Academic. LexisNexis. St. Mary'sU, Blume Lib., San Antonio, TX. 10 June 2004.

Cisneros v. Alpine Ridge Group. 508 US 10. 1993. FindLaw. 10 June 2004<

Compaq Computer Co. v. Lapray. No. 02-0705. Supreme Ct. of TX. 7 May 2004. LexisNexisAcademic. LexisNexis. St. Mary's U, Blume Lib., San Antonio, TX. 30 June 2004.

EsperanzaPeace & JusticeCenter v. City of San Antonio. Cause No. SA-98-CA-0696-OG. USDist. Ct. for the Western Dist. of TX, San Antonio Div. 15 May 2001. LexisNexisAcademic. LexisNexis. St. Mary's U, Blume Lib., San Antonio, TX. 26 Jan. 2004.

Roper v. Simmons. No. 03-633. Supreme Ct. of the US. 1 Mar. 2005. LexisNexis Academic.LexisNexis. St. Mary's U, Blume Lib., San Antonio, TX. 10 Mar. 2005.

APA format

The following are examples of the format for documenting legal citations in APA format. More documentation examples can be found on the library web site at :

Cisneros v. Alpine Ridge Group, 508 U.S. 10 (1993). Retrieved June 10, 2004, from LexisNexis Academic database.

Cisneros v. Alpine Ridge Group, 508 U.S. 10 (1993). Retrieved June 10, 2004, from

Compaq Computer Co. v. Lapray, No. 02-0705, 2004 Tex. LEXIS 435 (May 7, 2004). Retrieved June 30, 2004, from LexisNexis Academic database.

EsperanzaPeace & JusticeCenter v. City of San Antonio, Cause No. SA-98-CA-0696-OG, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6259 (May 15, 2001). Retrieved January 26, 2004, from LexisNexis Academic database.

Roper v. Simmons, No. 03-633, 2005 U.S. LEXIS 2200 (March 1, 2005). Retrieved March 10, 2005, from LexisNexis Academic database.

For future reference:

  • Political Science Resources -
  • Political Science Databases -

Questions? Contact Diane Duesterhoeft at or 436-3346 or 436-3508 (Reference Desk).

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