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What are Legal Encyclopedias?
- Legal Enclopeid usually refer to American Jurisprudence 2d & Corpus Juris Secundum, but there are State specific encyclopedias as well, e.g., Ohio Jurisprudence 3d;
- They are introductory survey of the law;
- They are arranged alphabetically by subject, with index covering set;
- They have footnotes referencing relevant cases;
- Although they are great starting point, they are rarely cited by courts as persuasive authority;
- Format: Print, Lexis (Am. Jur.) and Westlaw (Am. Jur. & C.J.S.).
Why do I use Legal Encyclopedias?
- To get an introduction to an area of law;
- To get a few cites to leading cases.
An Example - Legal Encyclopedia
