Research Guides: EDCO 280 History of American Education: Pre-Researching a case

Pre-researching a court case

To begin your research, ask yourself these questions.

1. What are the names of parties in the court case? There may be an "official" name for the case and another more "popular" or shortened name.

2. About what issue did the two parties disagree?

3. What is the legal citation for this case?

4. What year did the case go to trial?

5. What court eventually decided the case and which party won?

The Credo Reference database is a good place to get these basic questions answered.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference provides access to a large number of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and other reference books. Subjects covered include art, biography, history, literature, music, religion, and science and technology.

Some especially good legal reference books covered by Credo Reference include:

Look for entries about your case especially from these two sources, but you may find other helpful information about your case and its impact.