Sometimes the fastest way to find the statute section that you are looking for is to browse the statute in Outline View. Using Outline View you can see the structure of the entire statute and easily toggle back and forth between different subsections.
Example: If you wanted to browse the U.S. Code to find 42 U.S.C. § 1983, you would follow these steps:
1. Select Search Statutes from the Search menu.
2. Select U.S. Code from the list of statutes and jurisdictions.
3. Underneath the title of the page there are two tabs, a Search tab and an Outline View tab. Click on the Outline View tab. This will bring you to an expandable outline of the U.S. Code.
4. Initially, you will see a list of the Titles within the Code. Click on the plus sign next to each Title to view the Chapters within each Title. Then click on the plus sign next to Chapter to view each Section.
a. Scroll down and expand Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare.
b. Then scroll down and expand Chapter 21 Civil Rights.
c. Finally scroll down a bit further and click on Sec. 1983. Civil action for deprivation of rights.
The statute text is in the panel on the right while the outline of the statute remains in the panel on the left.
Questions?
Call us at 1-866-773-2782 (7AM-7PM Central Mon-Fri) or e-mail support@fastcase.com.
Fastcase tips
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December 1, 2009 |
Member Services | Practice News
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November 24, 2009 |
Practice News
Fastcase helps you search smarter by allowing you to jump to the most relevant paragraph in a case with one click. When browsing a case, just press the M key. Alternatively, you can click on the Jump to the most relevant paragraph link at the top of the screen. You will automatically be directed to the paragraph of the case that is most relevant to your search terms. Use this feature to move through your search results more efficiently and focus on the cases that are important to you. Note: This feature is currently only enabled when using Internet Explorer. It is not enabled in other browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Apple Safari at this time. Questions? Call us at 1-866-773-2782 (7AM-7PM Central Mon-Fri) or e-mail support@fastcase.com.
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November 17, 2009 |
Practice News
When you are getting started on a new research project, it is usually a good idea to start with a broad search query and then narrow your query until you get an acceptable number of results. Use these tips to make sure you are not inadvertently excluding decisions that address your topic.
- Use synonyms. Try including common synonyms for the keywords in your query. For example, if one of your search terms is car, include automobile and vehicle in your search as well.
- Use the wildcard operator. By truncating a search term down to the root of the word and adding an asterisk at the end, your search with automatically pick-up multiple forms of the word including plurals. For example, a search for contract* will pick-up all of the following terms:
- Avoid quotation marks.
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November 9, 2009 |
Practice News
You may already know that Fastcase automatically tracks your last 10 searches. But have you ever wished that you could access even older searches? How about naming your searches and organizing them in folders by topic? You can easily accomplish all of these tasks using your web browser. 1. While on the Results screen, press Control + D. (Mac users, use Apple + D instead). This will cause a small window to appear on your screen.
- In IE: "Add a Favorite."
- In Firefox: "Page Bookmarked."
- In Chrome: "Bookmark."
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November 3, 2009 |
Practice News
Did you know that you can use Fastcase Authority Check to help you find the most authoritative cases on your research topic? In fact, if you are not taking advantage of Authority Check's second-level of citation analysis - citations within your search results - you may be missing out on valuable information. Follow these quick and easy steps to get the most out of Authority Check and find authoritative cases quickly. 1. Perform a search using the Advanced Case Law Search. Make sure that the box next to "Show Number of Citations in Search Results" is checked at the bottom of the page. 2. When you get to the Results screen, you will see a column labeled "Authority Check" on the far right of the screen. Under that heading, there will be a blue hyperlink that reads "These Results." Click on the link. 3. After you click on the link, your search results will be sorted by the number of times they have been cited by other cases within your search results. In other words, the most authoritative cases - those relied on most heavily by other cases within your search results - will be at the top of the list. Call Fastcase at 1-866-773-2782 (7AM-7PM Central Mon-Fri) or e-mail support@fastcase.com with any questions.