10/27/2008 09:27:01 AM EST
Identifying the Most Influential U.S. State Courts; Shepard’s® Citations Service Case Study
Which state courts are the most influential? One way of judging influence involves identifying rulings that have been the basis for other states’ judgments. However, the challenge in defining influence has been determining whether another state court has actually agreed with the ruling.
The most common methodology used in determining a court’s influence has traditionally been straightforward citation analysis - a method that simply counts the number of times a case has been referenced by other courts. However, most citation analysis has failed to take into account why and how the cases are cited. Many citations of authority are basically neutral, and courts also cite authorities to express disagreement with them.
Jake Dear, chief supervising attorney, Supreme Court of California, and Edward W. Jessen, reporter of decisions of California, decided to investigate a different way of determining influence - and they turned to LexisNexis® to help them do so. Click on the button below to read the article explaining how Shepard’s® Citations Service helped them identify which state courts are most influential.