This guide supports the research needs of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law's Center on Wrongful Convictions (CWC). It is intended to be used by the faculty, students, and staff currently involved with the CWC.
The first step when beginning your research is to plan your strategy. Start by taking a minute to review the task, articulate exactly what needs to be researched, identify all relevant issues, and create a list of possible search terms.
The second step (before you jump directly into statutes or cases) is to start with a secondary source that will help you understand the context of the specific issue in the larger area of law, provide you with important phrases or terms or art, and direct you to the most important cases and statutes. You can find secondary sources by:
Once you have a solid understanding of the legal issues and a list of relevant primary law citations, there are several ways and sophisticated finding tools you can use to further your research. Take a look at our other research guides on:
A final and important step in legal research is to always make sure the statutes, regulations, and cases you have selected as relevant authority are still valid by using KeyCite in Westlaw or Shepard's in Lexis to see if there are any negative subsequent developments. Ask a Librarian if you have any questions about how to determine if a statute, regulation, or case is still good law.
PLRC Research Librarians are available to help in several ways.