Use the Shepardize® option in LexisNexis Academic to see if a court ruling is still good legal precedent.
Start by finding a case and viewing the full document. Then follow these steps:
(1) Click on the Next Steps pull-down menu in the upper-right side of the screen.
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(2) Select Shepardize® and click on the blue Go button.
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(3) Click on the Restrict By pull-down menu and select All Negative.
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(4) Scroll down to CITING DECISIONS, looking for the phrases listed below:
- Overruled by: Sets a precedent that the original ruling is no longer to be considered valid law.
- Criticized by: Disagrees with the original ruling, but the court lacks authority to overrule it.
- Distinguished by: Argues that a ruling is valid precedent under one set of facts but not another.
- Limited by: Sets a precedent that a prior ruling applies only in specific, limited circumstances.
- Questioned by: Questions whether a prior ruling is still valid precedent, but does not overrule it.
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(5) To read the relevant section of a citing case, click on the page number for each citation.
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(6) Then slowly scroll through the full text to find a highlighted citation to your original case.
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