Fastcase helps find answers

You’ve found a great case on Fastcase, the ISBA’s free-to-members online legal research service. It supports your client’s position and is right on point. How can you make sure it hasn’t been overruled or otherwise modified?

First, you can – indeed, you absolutely should – use either Shepards or KeyCite as a citator before you file papers with a court or in any way rely on the continuing validity of the case.

The good news is that both services are available without a Westlaw or Lexis subscription at an affordable per-transaction fee, and Fastcase links to them within its Authority Check feature.

And what is Authority Check? It’s an automated system that identifies later-citing cases in Fastcase. While it isn’t a citator and doesn’t include editorial information telling you what is and isn’t still good law, it’s a powerful – and free – way to track the subsequent treatment of your case.

For more about Authority Check and how it works, consult pages 11 to 13 of the Fastcase User Guide, available on the ISBA Web site at http://www.isba.org/fastcase/userguide.pdf.

Again, Authority Check isn’t Shepards and it isn’t KeyCite. But it is a useful, easy-to-use tool and just one more reason to take advantage of your free Fastcase account.

ISBA’s Fastcase plan includes caselaw from all 50 states, federal appellate cases from all federal circuits, federal district court cases from courts that sit in Illinois, and Illinois statutes.

To access Fastcase, go to www.isba.org/fastcase.