Wild case chase

Just got done with the library part of my second research project for legal writing class. Seeing as the assignment is due tomorrow, I expected that I would be the only one in the library at 10:30 the night before. I should have known my fellow students better.

The place was packed with students even farther behind than me. That doesn’t really make me feel too much better, but it’s nice to know I’m not the only slacker in the bunch. Or maybe we’re all just trying to balance the work they’ve given us with the rest of our lives.

So the whole research process goes something like this: read the facts you’ve been given. Find the general area of the law that applies. Search for cases within the proper jurisdiction that fit within that general area. Read those cases and figure out which ones match your facts. Go back to the library and find all the cases that mention the cases you’ve read. Read those cases. Then figure out what rules come out of all that you’ve read. Is your head spinning yet? Mine is. And I’m not even sure if I’ve done it right.

Tomorrow we also get our first assignment back — I’ll post a report on how that goes. Somehow I am expecting a lot of red ink on it. But since it wasn’t officially scored, I’ve still got a little time to figure out what the heck I’m doing before our final assignment determines our grade.