Are headnotes secondary authority?
federal, or another state, the authority is persuasive. Digests are basically collections of headnotes. Since headnotes should never be cited, a digest should never be cited, either, making it non-authority. Since an index would never provide quotable material, it is considered non-authority.
What is considered secondary authority?
In law, a secondary authority is an authority purporting to explain the meaning or applicability of the actual verbatim texts of primary authorities (such as constitutions, statutes, case law, administrative regulations, executive orders, treaties, or similar legal instruments).
What is primary and secondary authority?
When we refer to ‘authority’ or ‘primary authority’, we mean “the law.” The law being a constitutional or statutory provision, an administrative regulation or a court opinion. ‘Secondary authority’ refers to material that is NOT the law, but that which leads you to the law or helps to explain the law.
What is the difference between primary and secondary authority?
Briefly, primary authorities are those documents that contain a statement of the law itself. These are the materials that are vital when referencing previous law for a current issue or case. Secondary sources are any material that analyze, abstract, and/or comment on the substance of the primary sources.
What are case headnotes?
Headnotes are summaries of a point of law that appear at the beginning of a case. Headnotes are written by editors at Westlaw and Lexis (sometimes the language is verbatim from the text of the opinion). When citing a case, you should only cite to the actual text of the opinion written by the judge or justice.
What are three types of secondary authorities that are cited?
Secondary Authorities
- American Law Reports (A.L.R.) Unique to law, an ALR annotation covers a single, narrow legal issue based on a lead case that exemplifies the issue.
- Dictionaries.
- Digests.
- Law Journals and Periodicals.
- Legal Encyclopedias.
- Looseleaf Services.
- Restatements.
- Treatises.
Are dissents secondary authority?
dissenting opinion: an opinion written by a judge or justice explaining why she does not agree with the majority opinion. holding: that part of the written opinion that has precedential value and is considered primary authority because it is the ruling or decision of the court.
Is secondary authority ever binding?
Most legal secondary authorities have many citations to primary authorities like cases, statutes, and regulations. Secondary authority does not have binding effect on the court but helps explain what the law is or should be. There are many types of secondary authorities.
Are headnotes legal authority?
A headnote is a brief summary of a specific point of law decided in a case. Headnotes appear before the judicial opinion and are generally written by a publisher’s editors. Headnotes are a great research tool but are not considered legal authority and should never be cited to.
What is an example of primary authority?
A primary authority is a document issued by an official body that makes a legally binding statement about the law. A classic example of a primary authority is a law itself.
What is primary authority?
Primary authority. A primary authority is a term used in legal research to refer to statements of law that are binding upon the courts, government, and individuals.
What are the types of legal authority?
Legal researchers utilize two types of authority, referred to as primary and secondary authority. Primary authority is the law, which includes constitutions, statutes and ordinances, rules and regulations, and case law. These authorities form the rules that courts follow. Secondary authority is not the law.
What is the definition of mandatory authority?
Mandatory Authority. Precedents, in the form of prior decisions by a higher court of the same state on point, statutes, or other sources of law that must be considered by a judge in the determination of a legal controversy. Mandatory authority is synonymous with binding authority.
