Legal Methods Practice Research Exam
PROBLEM SET I:
Your client, Larry, claims the landlord shut off the heat in his New York City apartment last year during the winter. Larry’s afraid the landlord will do it again this year unless he sues, and wants to know if he has a claim.
1. Your firm handled a similar case in New Jersey last year, and you find a memo that was written for that case. How can this memo help you with Larry’s case?
A. If the laws are the same in New Jersey and New York, you would not have to do more research.
B. You could use the headnotes in the New Jersey cases to find similar New York cases.
C. It might cite to a relevant law review article.
D. It will provide binding authority from the highest court in New Jersey.
2. The New Jersey cases cited in the memo are:
A. Primary and mandatory authorities.
B. Secondary and mandatory authorities.
C. Primary and persuasive authorities. REASON – THEY ARE PRIMARY BECAUSE THEY ARE CASES – THEY ARE PERSUASIVE BECAUSE THEY ARE FROM ANOTHER STATE.
D. Secondary and persuasive authorities.
3. What is the best reason to read cases in the unofficial reporter?
A. It contains practice commentary about the cases.
B. You can use the headnotes and key numbers to locate cases in the New York Digest.
C. The opinion is annotated for easier reading.
D. It’s easier to read because the opinion has been edited to make it easier to understand.
4. You determine that there is a New York statute dealing with the landlord’s obligations to the tenant. Where would you look to find the text of the New York statute?
A. United States Code.
B. United States Code Annotated.
C. Consolidated Laws Service.
D. New York Jurisprudence.
PROBLEM SET II
Jackie O and Arnie Rich approached your law firm about suing a photographer for violation of their right to privacy under New York State law. The photographer went as the date of an invited guest to the couple’s engagement party at the Plaza and secretly took pictures of celebrities who were present.
5. What is the best place to start your research if you know nothing about this area of law?
A. American Jurisprudence
B. New York Reports
C. New York Jurisprudence
D. New York Law Journal
6. You discover 4 cases that will help you begin your research. Which case should you read first?
A. 677 F. Supp. 67 (E.D.N.Y. 2000). NOT A FEDERAL ISSUE.
B. 167 Misc. 2d 56 (Sup. Ct. 1997). Too low a court.
C. 197 F.3d 78 (2d Cir. 1997). NOT A FEDERAL ISSUE.
D. 78 N.Y.2d 666 (1997). CORRECT ANSWER BECAUSE IT IS THE COURT OF APPEALS
7. It seems as though McKinney’s Civil Rights Law § 50 on the unauthorized use of photographs might provide a basis for recovery for your client. You found a New York case that interprets § 50. Why would it be a good idea to know which of its headnotes are relevant to your problem?
rces.
B. Sometimes. Secondary sources are only binding on courts when they are authored by noted experts in a particular area of law.
C. Never. Judges sanction attorneys for including citations to secondary authority.
D. None of the above.
Non-Problem Questions
1. A client’s case is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. You want to find mandatory authority on a federal issue. Which would be the best authority?
A. United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
B. United States Supreme Court
C. New York Court of Appeals
D. United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
2. What is the reporter for the Federal District Courts? The F. Supp. Or F. Supp. 2d
3. What is the reporter for the Circuit Courts of Appeals? The F., F.2d or F.3d
4. Assume you represent Donald Grump in a lawsuit against his former wife, Ivana, for NIED. Negotiations with Ivana have failed and you must now go to trial. For each source listed below, indicate whether the source is primary or secondary, binding (a/k/a mandatory) or persuasive.
A. New York Court of Appeals cases. Primary Binding.
