For many years, attorneys used a print publication called "Shepard's Citations." Shepardizing a case using the print version involved using as many as three different bound volumes and then getting as close to today's date as possible by using paper pamphlets. However, in the 1990s, Shepard's was purchased by LexisNexis and incorporated into its online system. Even today, many attorneys and judges refer to "shepardizing" when discussing the use of citators.
The Chickasaw Nation Law Library discontinued Oklahoma Shepard's in print in January 2012.
Just because a case has a red stop sign that means negative treatment is indicated does NOT mean that the entire case is no longer good law. It just means that at least one point of the case is no longer good law. Always read the case to see what part of it is overruled or no longer valid!
There is a public access terminal in the Reference Area where researchers can use Shepard's to make sure their cases are still good law. See one of the librarians for assistance with accessing Shepard's.
1. Log on to Lexis
2. Enter your citation in the search bar.
3. Document will pull up.
Review the appellate history and the citing decisions. Appellate history will show you whether your case was reversed by a higher court. Citing decisions will show how your decision was treated by other courts.
Use the narrowing features on the left column to narrow your results by analysis, court, discussion, headnotes, or timeframe.
|
You can locate secondary sources that discuss your case by clicking on "Other Citing Sources" in the left column.
Lexis Plus has tutorials to help users navigate through the system.