ISSUES IN AUTOMATED LEGAL RESEARCH STATE COURT JOURNAL, V 1, N 4 (FALL 1977), P 3-5, 40-51

• NCJ Number: 43598
• Author(s): R A CALDWELL
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): 77-DF-99-0021
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Sale Source: National Ctr for State Courts
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: BASED IN PART ON RESULTS OF A CONFERENCE ON AUTOMATED LEGAL RESEARCH, FUNDED BY LEAA AND PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS IN PHILADELPHIA, PA, OCTOBER 1976 RESEARCH ESSAY SERIES NO-E003

Annotation

THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TWO COMPUTER-ASSISTED LEGAL RESEARCH SYSTEMS ARE ASSESSED, AND THE UTILITY OF SUCH SYSTEMS AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE COURTS ARE DISCUSSED.

Abstract

THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE LEXIS SYSTEM OF MEAD DATA CENTRAL AND OF THE WESTLAW SYSTEM OF WEST PUBLISHING COMPANY ARE DESCRIBED. ESSENTIALLY, BOTH SYSTEMS USE DIGITAL COMPUTERS TO SEARCH THROUGH A LARGE COLLECTION OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS. THE LEXIS SYSTEM PERMITS FULL-TEXT SEARCHES, WHEREAS THE WESTLAW SYSTEM USES HEADNOTES. IF THE TEST OF EFFECTIVENESS IS THAT ALL RELEVANT INFORMATION AND ONLY RELEVANT INFORMATION CAN BE RETRIEVED, THEN NEITHER SYSTEM IS ENTIRELY SATISFACTORY. AMONG THE ADVANTAGES OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED REASEARCH ARE THAT IT IS SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER AND MORE ACCURATE THAN CONVENTIONAL METHODS, MAY BE MORE THOROUGH, AND CAN AVOID PROBLEMS POSED BY THIRD-PARTY INDEXING. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE DATA BASE IN AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM MAY NOT BE COMPLETE OR UP TO DATE. A SECOND DISADVANTAGE LIES IN THE FACT THAT THE COMPUTER CANNOT ANALYZE THE LEGAL CONTEXT OF A WORD. QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF AUTOMATED RESEARCH SYSTEMS AND THE TRAINING OF PERSONNEL TO USE THE SYSTEMS ARE DISCUSSED, AS ARE ISSUES RELATED TO THE AVAILABILITY OF COMPUTERIZED LEGAL DATA TO ALL SECTORS OF THE PRACTICING BAR, THE COURTS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. LIKELY TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN COMPUTER-ASSISTED RESEARCH ARE CITED. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE COMPUTER WILL HAVE A GROWING EFFECT ON THE PREPARATION AND DRAFTING OF LEGISLATION, THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL DOCTRINE, THE AVAILABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS, THE PROMULGATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE STANDARDS, AND THE MANAGEMENT OF LARGE-SCALE LITIGATION. THE LEGAL PROFESSION IS URGED TO COME TO TERMS WITH AUTOMATED RESEARCH TOOLS AND TO EXAMINE THEIR CAPABILITIES. A LIST OF REFERENCES AND A CHART SHOWING THE MAJOR FUNCTIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LEXIS AND WESTLAW SYSTEMS ARE INCLUDED.