Prepare to Practice Resources

Once you've found the statute or regulation you want to use, you'll want to make sure that you are interpreting or applying it correctly. The "Notes of Decision" is a curated list of cases that have interpreted or applied the statute and are available in annotated codes on both Lexis and Westlaw. They are grouped topically following the same scheme as topics and key numbers. If you already know the topic and key number for your issue, it makes it easy to find the relevant cases in the list. Remember, do not cite directly to a case you have found in the list.

Note: the "Notes of Decision" does not function as a citator, and even updated cases in a pocket part or supplement must be checked to ensure that the opinion is still good law. 

If you can't find definitions in the statute itself, or cases that interpret the statute's text, you should be prepared to turn to legislative history to resolve any textual ambiguities.

On Westlaw, once you've found the code you want to use, to check the notes of decision, just look to the top of the page. You can complete these steps to find the notes of decision for both the "USCA" and the "CFR."

For "Notes of Decision" in Lexis, you'll want to look to the left of the screen, make sure you're looking at "Search Terms" and not "Table of Contents," and look towards the bottom of the slider.

Once you click on the "Notes of Decision," you'll see something like the example below.