Discovering Case Law (Search secrets from the Kentucky woods)

Whether you're Pro Se or have retained legal counsel, you most likely will want to take an aggressive stance in defending your home against the prevalent fraud that is part of the majority of foreclosure cases being brought against homeowners today.

One way to do that is to keep in touch with the rulings made in your county and state's courtrooms, especially in the state appellate courts, which are frequently creating new case law related to foreclosure cases.

Below is a simple step by step process for researching and gathering the rulings that may be relevant to you and your case.

1.) Open up a FREE account at http://Lexisone.com. You will be able to use Lexisone.com to gain access to state cases and federal cases that are less than 10 years old. You will also have access to ALL U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

2.) The search function on LexisOne is not really that good, but Lexis does have a "Pay As You Go" account that has a much better search capability. You can create this account with a credit card ("LexisNexis™ by Credit Card"), and will only be charged for the cases that you actually open. https://web.lexis.com/xchange/ccsubs/cc_prods.asp (Check out the site for further details.)

3.) Once you have a FREE account and a "Pay As You Go" account set up, you can then use the one with the better search--"Pay As You Go"--and copy down any relevant cases you find.

4.) Next, you will open up those cases that are 10 years old and less in the free LexisOne account.

5.) Any cases you can't access on LexisOne, you will now, at the very least, have a citation for them. Searching online through other sources (http://scholar.google.com and http://justia.com) is easier and more accurate with a case citation.

6.) For those cases you cannot find online, even with a citation, make a detailed list, including the Case#, Names of the Parties involved (Plaintiff(s), Defendant(s)), County & State, etc.

7.) Search for a Law Library near you. Google the name of your town or county and "law library" in quotes, and also inquire at your local Courthouse if there is a Law Library available to you there.

8.) Call each Library and ask about access to LexisNexis and/or WestLaw. Ask if there is a charge to use these online depositories at the Library. Is it by the hour, by the download, or some other measure? What are the Library hours? Is there assistance, if needed? Ask any other questions you want answered, then get on over to the Library and capture your case law!!


Please let me know if you have any questions, suggestions, or additional tips. And thanks to Hamlet member Steve Johnson for many of the tips here.