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.
Practice News
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December 1, 2009 |
Member Services | Practice News
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November 30, 2009 |
Practice News
If it is good enough for the National Weather Service (NWS), it ought to be good enough for lawyers. A piece in today’s State Journal-Register by Tim Landis reported that the Weather Service is changing its winter-warnings this year as experiment in some local offices. The Weather Service is going to punchier leads and use of bullet points so that readers can grasp the information more easily. Hear, hear. Compare an older warning with the new experimental version as provided in the Landis article. (Bullets are not used in the opening paragraph.) Old: “Low pressure from south Texas into central Tennessee will deepen as it tracks northeast across the upper Ohio River Valley overnight. This will continue to bring snow, and periods of sleet and freezing rains across southeast Illinois…and snow over parts of central and east-central Illinois tonight. The heaviest snow will occur south of I-70…where storm total amounts of 4 to 10 inches will be common by late tonight. Snow accumulations will steadily decrease further northward…with 3 to locally 6 inches expected as far north as a Taylorville to Decatur to Danville line.” (92 words) New: “Snow…with periods of sleet and freezing rain…can be expected in southeast Illinois through tonight. The heaviest snow is expected to be south of I-70. Snow accumulations will steadily decrease farther to the north. The snow is being caused by an area of low pressure, which is forecast to strengthen as it tracks across the Ohio River Valley tonight.” (58 words)
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November 29, 2009 |
Practice News
This weekend I finished reading A Writer's Coach by Jack Hart, who is the editor at large and writing coach at The Oregonian. One of his recommendations was to put a theme statement at the top of your screen while you write. The theme statement is a simple statement of what you are trying to say; it's not your lead or introductory synopsis. (You do use an introductory synopsis if you can, right?) The theme statement is to keep you on track as you write so that you don't get lost deeper into the document. Because if you get lost, your reader will also get lost. When you are finished with your piece, you delete it from the screen. For those interested, I liked and recommend A Writer's Coach, The Complete Guide to Writing Strategies That Work.
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November 25, 2009 |
ISBA News | Practice News
[caption id="attachment_5945" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Appearing on the shows will be (from left) Joel L. Chupack, Nancy Freeman, Myles L Jacobs and program moderator Martin Dolan."][/caption] "The ABC's of Buying Bank Owned Properties," two half-hour programs presented by Illinois Law, will air on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 during the month of December. Part I will air on Tuesdays, December 1, 15 and 29 at 10 p.m., and Part II will air on Tuesdays, December 8 and 22 at 10 p.m. Appearing on the shows will be Joel L.
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November 25, 2009 |
Practice News
I read a recent Illinois Supreme Court opinion (People v. Garstecki) that I believe validates eliminating the word “shall” in legal documents or statutes. The legal writing scholars suggest using “must” instead of “shall” for a mandatory word because “shall has become so corrupted by misuse that it has no firm meaning. It can mean ‘must,’ ‘should,’ ‘will,’ ‘may,’ or ‘is.’ (Joseph Kimble, Lifting the Fog of Legalese, 160 (2006)) If you draft documents that use the word “shall,” you may want to consider changing your approach. Richard C. Wydick in his excellent book Plain English for Lawyers (5th ed. 2005) recommends using these words of authority: "Must” is required to. “Must not” is required not to; is disallowed. “May” has discretion to; is permitted to. “May not” is not permitted to; is disallowed from. “Is entitled to” has a right to. “Should” ought to. “Will” means one of the following: (a) To express a future contingency. (b) In an adhesion contract, to express the strong party’s obligations. (c) In a delicate contract between equals, to express both parties’ obligations.
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November 25, 2009 |
Practice News
Asked and Answered By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am a member of a three attorney firm. I think we know where we are as a firm, where we want to be, but we just don't know how to get to the next level. Ideas? A. Rather that following the pack - attorneys need to find ways in which their firm's can "dare to be different." Many attorneys are providing the same service - solving the same sort of legal problems for their clients using similar tools strategies/approaches. To many clients - attorneys all look the same. What can you do to stand out? Marketing is about more than just promoting the firm to get clients. It is also about deciding on: 1. What services to offer, where, and to whom? Sometimes less is more - by focusing on fewer areas of practice. Just because a law firm focuses on say three areas of practice - doesn't mean that it does not handle matters in other areas. It just means you are building you brand around the three core areas. These are the areas you primarily promote, speak about and write about. Broader geography? 2. Pricing. Not just the amount to charge but how to charge. Clients are asking for budgetary certainty? Get creative. 3. Delivery and producing the service. Are you doing all that you can using technology, staffing, work processes, etc. to minimize the cost of producing your services? If you are - aggressively promote it.
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November 24, 2009 |
Practice News
In the latest Trial Briefs, Bob Park describes the recent case Keener v. City of Herrin, in which the Illinois Supreme Court overruled a fifth district ruling for the plaintiff because the court lacked jurisdiction. The high court held that the circuit court's "September 13, 2005, dismissal order was final and appealable, but plaintiff took no action within 30 days to either file a notice of appeal or a motion to reconsider," Park writes in summarizing the supreme court ruling. "Thereafter, the circuit court no longer had jurisdiction to act." The problem: the lower court hadn't sent a copy of the September 13 order to the plaintiff's lawyer. The lesson, according to Steven R. Merican, author of the Illinois Appellate Lawyer Blog: "[A]ttorneys have an obligation to monitor their cases. A court clerk’s failure to mail notice of a dismissal does not absolve an attorney from missing a deadline to ask for reconsideration or to appeal."
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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 23, 2009 |
Practice News
In People v. Vasquez, the second district held that police questioning of the defendant in a hospital's intensive care unit did not require Miranda warnings. As Sean Brady wrote in the latest ISBA Traffic Laws and Courts newsletter, the appellate court "reversed the trial court and ruled that the proper advisement and waiver of the right to remain silent and the right to have counsel present during questioning was unnecessary in Vasquez because the defendant was not in custody at the time of the interview and the misdemeanor DUI charge did not create a sixth amendment right to counsel." Read Sean's article.
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November 23, 2009 |
People | Practice News
[caption id="attachment_5931" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Justice Thomas Kilbride"][/caption] Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas L. Kilbride has been named Judge of the Year by the Illinois Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Justice Kilbride was honored and received the award on Friday, Nov. 20, at the University Club in Chicago. "Justice Kilbride was chosen not only because of his career on the Illinois Supreme Court, but also because of his 20 years in private practice," said Illinois ABOTA president Geoffrey L. Gifford. "His good public works, all the good things he's done in pro bono and other community service make him an unusually well-qualified candidate for this award." ABOTA is a 50-year-old national organization of civil trial lawyers comprised of an equal number of well-respected, highly talented plaintiff and defense attorneys. Its primary focus is to preserve the right of a trial by jury in civil cases, and the independence of the judiciary. The Illinois Chapter has about 90 members. Justice Kilbride, who grew up in Kankakee, received his B.A. degree magna cum laude from Saint Mary's in 1978; and his law degree from Antioch School of Law in Washington D.C. in 1981. While in law school, Justice Kilbride completed judicial internships for the administrative assistant to the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and for U.S. District Court Judge Joyce Hens Green.