Legal Research- Spring 2018
Homework 2 - Secondary Sources
Legal Encyclopedias
For Questions 1-3, please find: Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS):
1. In CJS, cite the section under Libel and Slander that best details the actual malice requirement.
53 C.J.S. Libel and Slander, Injurious Falsehood § 83 (2018).
2. Cite a Texas case cited in the section you found for Question 1.
Brady v. Klentzman, 515 S.W.3d 878 (Tex. 2017).
3. What is the name of the Texas legal encyclopedia? In addition to CJS, what is the name of the
other prominent national legal encyclopedia? Which of these three encyclopedias does the UNT
Dallas COL Law Library have in print?
1. Texas Jurisprudence
2. American Jurisprudence
3. All three can be found in the UNT Dallas College of Law Library
Treatises & Practice Guides
For Questions 4-6, please find: Texas Practice Series - Texas Elements of an Action.
4. How current is the content? Does the UNT Dallas COL Law Library have it in print?
UNT Dallas COL Law Library has the 2014-2015 edition in print.
5. Cite the section that lists the elements of defamation in Texas.
16 Allen Gardner, Texas Practice Series: Texas Elements of an Action § 30:1 (2017).
6. According to the section found for Question 5, what provision in the Texas Code lists the
elements of libel? Cite the provision.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. § 73.001 (West, Westlaw through 2017 Legis. Sess.).
For Questions 7-8, please find: Texas Torts and Remedies.
7. How current is the content? Does the UNT Dallas COL Law Library have it in print?
1. Current through September 2017
2. Yes
8. Cite the section that provides a detailed discussion of intrusion as it relates to an invasion of
privacy cause of action.
53 Texas Torts and Remedies § 53.03 (LEXIS through 2017 legislation).
1
For Questions 9-11, please find: McDonald & Carlson Texas Civil Practice.
9. How current is the content? Does the UNT Dallas COL Law Library have it in print?
1. Current through November 2017
2. Yes
10. Cite the section that details information about the burden of proof for a defendant filing a
traditional summary judgment motion.
3 McDonald & Carlson Tex. Civ. Prac. Burden of Proof § 18:6 (2d. ed.).
11. Cite a case from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas cited within the
section found for Question 10.
Trinity River Authority v. URS Consultants, Inc. Texas, 869 S.W.2d 367, 369 (Tex. App.
—Dallas 1993).
American Law Reports
For questions 12-14, please find the title: American Law Reports.
12. Cite the ALR annotation that discusses the application of the First Amendment to bloggers.
Jay M. Zitter, Annotation, First Amendment Protection Afforded to Blogs and Bloggers,
35 A.L.R.6th 407 (2008).
13. Cite the case that is representative of the subject of the annotation found for Question 12.
Doninger v. Niehoff, 527 F.3d 41 (2d Cir. 2008).
14. Cite a law review article that has subsequently cited the annotation found for Question 12.
Jay M. Zitter, First Amendment Protection Afforded to Blogs and Bloggers, 47 U.
Louisville L. Rev. 679 (2008) (explores extent to which blogs are protected by the First
Amendment).
Legal Periodicals
15. Cite the 2013 law review article published in Texas that focuses on celebrities, especially
athletes, in the context of defamation reform.
Matthew T. Poorman, Get With The Times: Why Defamation Law Must Be Reformed In
Order To Protect Athletes And Celebrities From Media Attacks, 15 Tex. Rev. Ent. &
Sports L. 67 (2013).
16. Using the article found in Question 15, briefly describe in 2-3 sentences the author’s proposal
of reform to defamation law.
2
The author’s proposal for the reform of defamation law focuses on “removing the public
figure and actual malice standards” in order to protect “all constitutional safeguards
available to the press and the public.” The author asserts a simple rule: “any statement
that harms someone and is proven to be false is defamation.”
For question 17, find the article below:
17. Cite the brief article by Judge Royal Furgeson from a Texas publication that is focused on
racial diversity on juries.
Judge Royal Furgeson, The Jury in to Kill a Mockingbird: What Went Wrong?, 73 TEX.
B.J. 488, 488 (2010) (“Scout's description confirms what history tells us about the
composition of juries at that time: All white, all men. I believe it was this lack of
diversity that prevented the Mockingbird jury from providing Tom Robinson with his
guaranteed right to a fair trial ‘by an impartial jury of the State.”’).
For questions 18-19, find the article below:
Professor Maslanka asked you to locate an article in Texas Lawyer he wrote a few years ago
focusing on the Gettysburg Address as an example of persuasion for lawyers.
18. Cite the article.
Michael P. Maslanka, Learn Persuasiveness From Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Texas
Lawyer, Dec. 2, 2013, at 3.
19. Cite the verse from the Bible that, according to the article, inspired President Lincoln’s
opening.
“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be
fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly
away. Psalms 90:10 (King James).
