TMLL Research Guide - Chapter 7

LOCATING PERIODICAL ARTICLES BY CASE NAME

Print periodical indexes (ILP and CLI) offer tables of cases that can be helpful for locating articles dealing with a specific case. Such articles often appear near the time the case was decided so it is important to include an appropriate time frame in the search.

Another possibility is to select a full text law review database and use a terms and connectors search that contains the case cite to retrieve articles in which that cite appears. Such searches must be constructed carefully because there are often variations in the way that cites appear.

An example of a possible search would be 667 pre/5 922 to retrieve articles that cite Bordell v. General Elec. Co., 667 N.E.2d 922 (N.Y. 1996). Some of the considerations in designing this search are:

• the pre/n connector is used to ensure that the volume number appears in the document before the page number (and no more than 5 words before it)
• it is not a good idea to ask for a case name to be in close proximity to the cite because the name may appear in the text while the cite is in a footnote
• the number 5 is safer than a lower number because unless you are sure about the way the computer treats separate capitals, it is best to expand rather than contract the number of "words" as defined by the computer
• if necessary, a search term could always be added to narrow results, for example: 677 pre/5 922 and whistle-blow! or whistleblow!