Why should a researcher Shepardize a case or statute?

Why should a researcher Shepardize a case or statute?

• A. To locate the original filing date.
• B. To memorize case names.
• C. To determine if the case can be relied upon and has not been reversed by a higher court or overruled by a subsequent decision of the same court.
• D. To find the court's docket number.

Answer: (C)

Shepardizing is about checking how later courts have treated a case or statute to know if it remains good law and usable as authority. By tracing subsequent citations, you can see if the decision was reaffirmed, followed, distinguished, or reversed and overruled by a higher court or by another decision of the same court. This helps you avoid relying on authority that has been weakened or wiped out by later rulings. In other words, it answers: is this case still reliable for legal argument today? The other options don’t fit because Shepardizing isn’t about locating the original filing date, memorizing case names, or finding a docket number. It’s specifically about the continued authority of the ruling as shown by how later decisions treat it.

Shepardizing is about checking how later courts have treated a case or statute to know if it remains good law and usable as authority. By tracing subsequent citations, you can see if the decision was reaffirmed, followed, distinguished, or reversed and overruled by a higher court or by another decision of the same court. This helps you avoid relying on authority that has been weakened or wiped out by later rulings. In other words, it answers: is this case still reliable for legal argument today?

The other options don’t fit because Shepardizing isn’t about locating the original filing date, memorizing case names, or finding a docket number. It’s specifically about the continued authority of the ruling as shown by how later decisions treat it.