Updating Case Law
Case law must be updated in order to confirm that a found case is still "good" law. Case law reporters do not have pocket parts or other updating mechanisms like statutes or regulations. In addition, a single case may stand for a number of legal propositions, whether procedural or substantive, that you may have to check for validity.
To update case law, you must use a citator. "Shepardizing" refers to the use of a citator called Shepard's, whether in the books or online. Another online citator, Keycite, is available via Westlaw.
Note that print and online citators may also be used to update other legal authority such as statutes and regulations.
Guide maintained by Raquel Ortiz